Should I have more than one cart?

[The Black Adder]

Hi all.

Loads of you have a good selection of carts but I was wondering if you actually use them for different genres or are they there for just different flavors?

I'm so made up with the sound of the modified G800 so what do I do if I've found 'my' sound? :scratch:

[AlfaGTV]

Enjoy the music? :)

For me, it's the desire to try different carts, and listen in on what difference they make!
Regards //Mike

[Rare Bird]

Mike
But don't you think you'll be continuously throwing money after money at Hi-Fi

[RobbieGong]

Sticking with the one cart I love works for me ;) I'd only move on for something that offers the same but 'better' ie: 2M Black to Cadenza Black, Funds permitting of course.

[hifi_dave]

The past few years, most of the Nottingham Analogue Dais and occasional Hyper Space truntables I have sold, have had two arms fitted. Usually a 'for best' 12 inch with MC and another fitted out to play mono recordings.

[AlfaGTV]

Mike
But don't you think you'll be continuously throwing money after money at Hi-Fi

THB, I do... But that is a part of my hobby too, not just the music.
Besides, i normally buy and sell with a little margin, so it actually is more of a zero loss situation... Sometimes even a little gain :)

To see it from another perspective; How will you know what you like if you haven't tried it?

Regards
//Mike

[khapahk]

I always keep spare cartridges for "emergency" use, just in case of the (inevitable?) accident !

k

[Rare Bird]

Mike the best thing about living in the past is i've no need to upgrade cos technically there's no future, i'm as far as can go :lol:

[walpurgis]

THB, I do... But that is a part of my hobby too, not just the music.
Besides, i normally buy and sell with a little margin, so it actually is more of a zero loss situation... Sometimes even a little gain :)

To see it from another perspective; How will you know what you like if you haven't tried it?

Regards
//Mike

I agree with Mike.

I enjoy the Hi-Fi part as well as the music. If the equipment was unimportant we'd all be using a small 'all in one' outfit (or even something from Bose?).

I used to have a huge collection of cartridges, but I'm now down to a mere twelve. They are all different and I don't keep any I don't like or would not listen to. My collection is as follows: ADC 10E Mk.II, ADC 10E Mk.IV (2 of), ADC 26, ZYX R50 H, ZYX R100 H, ZYX R100 H2, Ortofon MC25 FL, JVC Z1S, Goldring Erioca LX, Denon DL-160 and Sonus Silver E (still in the post). Each of these (Sonus apart) has something unique and enjoyable about it and I chop and change from time to time just for fun. The JVC Z1S is just kept to test arms and TTs, but actually sounds remarkably good.

[Rare Bird]

Geoff is the JVC 'Z1S' the ones with the Chrome effect model number on the front/Translucent green styli? if so i used to have one of those, i thought it sounded great tbh..

[DSJR]

My cartridges have been collected and inherited after many many years. Truth is, I rarely mess around changing them, although I do have some favourites which come out to play on high days and holidays ;)

[Wakefield Turntables]

I only have 3 carts, Koetsu, Audio Technica and the cadenza black. Yes i would like more like a different Koetsu or a Denon 103 but funds need to go on a new phonostage amongst other things:doh:

[Rare Bird]

There's a lot of important factors within cartridge choice for me & the most important is MONEY.I get tighter & tighter as i get older. :eyebrows:

I don't buy moving coils for a number of reasons (However i got my High Output Denon 'DL110' for £40.00 lo hours or i wouldnt have bothered)..

Reason being (Apart from NOT having some peoples magical hearing that,s even a wonder to modern science) :lol:

When the tips gone it done unless you re-tip or trade in this is why i do not buy them because im tight.

So Moving magnets are what i buy, i must be able to source original manufacturer Styli at reasonable price, if i can't again i won't touch them, i refuse to buy compatables no matter how ace people think they are.

Hence i stick with good sounding MM cartridges with good priced styli i know, buying in Original manufacture styli to last me when ever i get spare cash :)

[Barry]

To answer the question posed: "Should I have more than one cartridge?", well the obvious answer is "no", since you can only use (listen to) one cartridge at a time.

However, I have always been interested the analogue replay of vinyl from a technical point of view, and as such I have, over the years built up a small collection of cartridges (as well as pickup arms, and turntables). I tend to change cartridges every few months out of curiosity, but do not use different cartridges for different musical genres.

At the moment I have four turntables, on three of which I can fit any of six arms, and up to 15 cartridges (a mixture of fixed-coil and moving-coil designs). They are:

ADC 10E Mk. IV (x2)
ADC 25 (effectively x3, as it comes with 3 different stylii)
B & O SP6 (kept out of nostalgia, it was my second cartridge)
Decca Mk. V (x2)
Decca Mk VI
Shure M55E (again kept out of nostalgia, it was my first cartridge)

Linn Asak
Denon DL103 (x2)
EMT TSD (x2, one with spherical tip, the second having a fine-line stylus profile)
EMT XSD
Ortofon SL15E
Ortofon SL15E Mk. II
Ortofon SPU

For the great majority of the time, I tend to circulate around using either EMT, Denon, Ortofon or Decca cartridges (a sample of the latter is always set up on one of my decks).

[Patrick Dixon]

Definitely ... so long as they are all Deccas.

[walpurgis]

Definitely ... so long as they are all Deccas.

Do I detect a hint of bias?

[walpurgis]

Geoff is the JVC 'Z1S' the ones with the Chrome effect model number on the front/Translucent green styli? if so i used to have one of those, i thought it sounded great tbh..

No, you aren't thinking of the X-1 by any chance?

My Z-1S has a conical stylus, but sounds very good. I understand Z-1E elliptical styli are still available from the US. I might be tempted. Here's a thumbnail of the one I have:

[Rare Bird]

No, you aren't thinking of the X-1 by any chance?

My Z-1S has a conical stylus, but sounds very good. I understand Z-1E elliptical styli are still available from the US. I might be tempted. Here's a thumbnail of the one I have:

That picture is what im thining off & i deffo had the see thru green styli fitted to it. That styli on yours doesnt look to be the original!!

It's not the 'X1' that's a different shape.

[walpurgis]

That picture is what im thining off & i deffo had the see thru green styli fitted to it. That styli on yours doesnt look to be the original!!

It's not the 'X1' that's a different shape.

The stylus is correct. I had several of these and think they may have been part of an OEM batch. That may account for the variation in appearance.

[Mr Kipling]

When I first saw this I thought it read: "Should I have more than one cat?" To which my immediate response was that one was one too many.

[Rare Bird]

Geoffrey: :D
Looks like the styli i had on the 'Z1S' was from a 'Z1EB' ! Sounded good all the same

http://www.owarano.jp/HP_5asobitai/HP_5%20cartridge1/cartridge%20victor/cartridge%20victor.htm

[walpurgis]

Geoffrey: :D
Looks like the styli i had on the 'Z1S' was from a 'Z1EB' ! Sounded good all the same

http://www.owarano.jp/HP_5asobitai/HP_5%20cartridge1/cartridge%20victor/cartridge%20victor.htm

Yes, I checked out some listings and the green is the 'E' stylus. May get one, only £12 quid! For a genuine Nivico item.

[walpurgis]

Anyway Joe, getting back to your original post, seeing as we've been hogging your thread.

I think it wouldn't hurt if you had another cartridge or two. You can then mix and match your setup to suit any varying characteristics of the gear you use. If you wanted something that sounds very nice and can be used with your existing TT and input, I'd suggest a Denon DL-160. They are a high output MC and can be used with an MM input. The sound is sweet and musical, they track well and keep surface noise low. They are only available used now, but good ones crop up on eBay quite often (there's one on there now).

[The Black Adder]

lol... oh that's ok. Don't mind a bit of banter. :)

Yeah, I might go for an additional cart, I suppose it's a good thing in case anything happens to this one. I just felt like the cart I used to have was just sat there really quite redundant as I love the sound of the G800 so much so I sold it.

Also having this modded G800 I'm probably a little spoiled so finding something of the same/ish flavor is maybe a challenge?

[walpurgis]

lol... oh that's ok. Don't mind a bit of banter. :)

Yeah, I might go for an additional cart, I suppose it's a good thing in case anything happens to this one. I just felt like the cart I used to have was just sat there really quite redundant as I love the sound of the G800 so much so I sold it.

Also having this modded G800 I'm probably a little spoiled so finding something of the same/ish flavor is maybe a challenge?

You could always stick with Goldring and try one of their MCs. My Eroica LX is very musical and vibrant, if not quite the last word in refinement, you'd have to spend an awful lot of money to do better.

[WOStantonCS100]

I would say it highly depends on how deep you're into vinyl.

That fact is not all grooves are created the same. This is a consideration if you've got older shellac LPs or 10 inchers, "hot groove" 12 inch singles, styrene 45s, LPs in varying condition, etc. If you're only going to be playing new releases then I would say one cart will be quite sufficient; but, if you're a "crate digger", ebay buyer, boot sale buyer... you'd be doing yourself a huge favor, in terms of playback sound quality, if you had more options on hand. At the very least, perhaps, in the case of a MM cart, more styli to choose from. For instance, while my preferred nude contact line stylus sounds great on new pressings, my conical sounds better (less noise for obvious reasons) on my early Decca Ella/Satchmo, so on...

[WOStantonCS100]

You could always stick with Goldring and try one of their MCs. My Eroica LX is very musical and vibrant, if not quite the last word in refinement, you'd have to spend an awful lot of money to do better.

Geez, Geoff, a little warning about that avatar would have been nice. I've got little kids in the house. :(

[Markiii]

So a good a place as any to ask

If I were to upgrade my at120e running on the stock techie arm

Without wishing to change the tone of the presentation but just make it better, what would we recommend?

[walpurgis]

So a good a place as any to ask

If I were to upgrade my at120e running on the stock techie arm

Without wishing to change the tone of the presentation but just make it better, what would we recommend?

What's the budget?

Your Audio Technica MM is pretty decent. Good tracking, good detail and enough body in the presentation. If you want a big upgrade the arm is the limiting factor.

[Markiii]

I suppose that's the crux of the matter

I can see other areas that would yield improvement from spending a few hundred on first

but aspirationally what would I be looking (and cost) to achieve a worthwhile improvement in this area?

[doodoos]

I don't see the point in a variety of cartridges for various musical flavours - I could never decide which to use when. I use a MC for most listening plus a MM on another arm for dodgy vinyl. That's all.

[walpurgis]

I suppose that's the crux of the matter

I can see other areas that would yield improvement from spending a few hundred on first

but aspirationally what would I be looking (and cost) to achieve a worthwhile improvement in this area?

I suppose if you upgraded the Technics headshell to something a bit more rigid, you could use an MC cartridge. Not many high output types I've used have impressed me. I didn't like the Sumiko or Ortofons I tried, but I like the Denon DL-160 and the Dynavector 10x5 though. If you want to try a low output type you could do a lot worse than a Denon DL-103R, it's a seriously good cartridge and has no real competition at its price, but you would need a suitable input or step-up device.

[Barry]

I don't see the point in a variety of cartridges for various musical flavours - I could never decide which to use when. I use a MC for most listening plus a MM on another arm for dodgy vinyl. That's all.

I regard it as a 'minor' interest within my 'major' interest that is audio. I'm fascinated with the different "musical flavours", just as I am in using lenses of the same focal length, but from different manufacturers, for their "optical flavours". It's all just an interest I have.

I don't 'chop and change' cartridges that frequently; probably only every 4 - 6 months.

[Rare Bird]

Anyway to answer the OP, your either more intrested in Hi-Fi or just wanna play music. The former is you'll never be happy (Putting aside the excuses Hi-Fi puddings always come with).Believe me it's not an hobbie it's an obsession.

Anyhoots i'm cured my little Droogies..

arijbOzqM-E

These days one cartridge only

[Dingdong]

Now that I've ventured into the world of moving coil I'll keep a spare cartridge. With my old mm I could just order a new stylus when it starts to get worn and keep playing vinyl.

Saying that I seem to have quite a collection of mc's acquired in the last couple of weeks. I'll decide which two to keep and move the rest on.