Heybrook TT2 w. RB300 -- cartridge recommendations

[Svend N]

Geoff, Rob -- thanks for the recommendation of the Goldring and Denon. Both my preamps have MC capability (Sugden C28 and Sony TA-E86B), although the Sony's line section is modded to work as a passive device. I've been playing an el cheapo Technics DD table through the MM section of the Sony, just to see how it works, and it definitely needs more gain...but that's the subject for another thread (coming soon... ). If I end up with an arm on the Heybrook with a removable headshell, then I would love to have both a good MM and a MC to play with. Goldrings happen to be on sale at a Canadian distributor at the moment, and the Eroica LX is on for a very reasonable price. I had my eye on one of the 2000 series MM models - what few user reviews there are, are all very positive about the whole range. Apparently the 2000's are made by Nagaoka, whereas the 1000 series is made in-house in the UK. All have great sound quality, apparently.

As sad as this seems, I have never heard an MC cartridge. I guess I don't know what I'm missing, eh? I think it's time to get me to some shops and have a listen.

Regards,
Svend

[shane]

Not sure if this tells you anything, but I bought my first MC cartridge, an Ortofon MC20, in about 1975 and haven’t owned a MM since. If you go down the R200 or Jelco route it would be a shame not to dip your toe into the Denon DL103 pond, although the Rega would then benefit from a stiffer headshell than the standard one.

[Svend N]

Hi Shane,
I think this is one of those things where I will just have to find out for myself and try good examples of both to see what suits our taste and gear the best. There are so many differing opinions out there re. MM vs. MC, both sides of which make very convincing arguments, that deciding one way or the other won't be possible without just biting the bullet and buying one of each . If one ends up not to our taste, then it won't be left to collect dust -- at some point soon there will be four turntables in the family...two in our house, and one each in our daughters' apartments. Any cartridge purchased will certainly be put to good use, and someone will end up with a very nice moving coil. The trick will be to find one that will work well with most arms.

As for the DL-103, yes, that one would be up there as a top choice. One hears so often that it's a great cartridge, that there must be something to it. Needs a heavier arm though, than the RB300, I think.

Regards,
Svend

[shane]

True, the 103 isn’t a great Match for the RB300, and it’s a patchy performer in many ways. Sure, it’ll never track like a V15, but there’s something about the way it goes about making music that’s simply magical. Again, with the R200 or Jelco, a suitably massive headshell will do the job, but it doesn’t depend on high arm mass quite as much as many would have you believe.

[Svend N]

Hmmm...interesting... One rarely hears negative things about the 103. Gotta be something there, eh? I really like that the Denon's are sensibly priced. So many of the MC carts are crazy-expensive here, which is one of the reasons I was looking at MM models.

BTW, I just heard from the tech that the Heybrook is repaired and working! Hurrah! Seems there were a couple of broken connections in the TPS...an easy fix. Now to get a good cart and make some music! That also means that the fine tuniing begins , which is always fun. I will start another thread on that subject...tomorrow....just about to board another flight here, so will check back soon.

Thanks for all your help and sharing your experience!

Regards,
Svend

[walpurgis]

Hmmm...interesting... One rarely hears negative things about the 103.

Except from me. I've had several. They're certainly OK for the money, the mid is nice and the bass is well defined, but I find the treble lacking in analysis and a bit bland.

[Svend N]

I wonder if there is a shop in this area that is set up to do back-to-back cartridge demos? I.e. several models and types of carts set up on the removable headshells, and swapped on and off the same deck so a buyer can hear the differences? I will have to call around here to see if anyone does that. You guys have made me very curious about MC's now , especially with the recommendation of a couple of reasonable cost ones, so I'd really like to hear one now.

BTW, on the subject of proper phono pre-amplification, I am starting a new thread looking for your thoughts and experience on that:
http://theartofsound.net/forum/showt...040#post911040

Looking forward to hearing from you there....

Thanks!
Svend

[freefallrob]

Re the Denon DL-103, my first hand experience is with the 103R, I like it alot, but in my experience you don't the best of it in a standard RB300 and I've tried it on a R200 (with heavy headshell) just recently and didn't like the results much, lack of bass, cold sound, thin etc.

It does need a heavyish lossy arm in my humble opinion, it will work in many arms and sound OK, but it's more difficult to extract what it can do than more 'mainstream' cartridge. Loading can effect quite alot too. When it's right it sounds very right indeed, but the finer details can get missed, sometimes you don't care cos' your having such a rollicking good time :-).

[Svend N]

Thanks Rob and Geoff, for the comments on the DL-103. I think for the moment I am going to have a go with the RB300 that's on the TT2 at present and hear how it sounds. As mentioned, the arm was rewired by a previous owner, so I'd really like to give it a chance to prove itself before I make any changes. My cartridge choice then becomes one that will work with the mass of the RB300 but also with a slightly heavier arm like a Jelco or R200....something medium compliance would suit nicely I think. Whether MM or MC is undecided

Regards,
Svend

[hifi_dave]

You'll have no problems with the RB300, though you might get best results by adding a little extra mass at the headshell end.