Wot Carts Yer Got?

[walpurgis]

I regard pickup cartridges as the 'jewellery' of Hi-Fi (some interconnects qualify too), they can be lovely things. Most people who are into vinyl have a few and at times I've had over twenty. Many carts look really exquisite, Look at the dearer Koetsus for instance.

Anyway I'm interested in what other members may own (and why maybe).

I'll kick off with mine:

MMs:

JVC Z1S (getting rare now)
ADC 10E Mk.II
ADC 10E Mk.IV (two of)

MCs:

Goldring Eroica LX (underrated by many)
Ortofon MC25FL (two of)
ZYX R50 Bloom H
Zyx R100
ZYX R100 H2

No Deccas at the moment, but they do crop up here now and then.



Yes I know we did something along these lines a little while ago, but where's the harm? :)

[The Grand Wazoo]

Not that many really:

2 Koetsu Blacks (a retipped original and a more recent one)
the 'lump of fudge' in my avatar
an A&R P77.......somewhere or other.

[Reffc]

Zyx R-50 Bloom (H);
Zyx R100 (H);
Shure V15III;
Shure M75;
Mk1 ADC XLM;
Sonus Blue Gold;
a few old ATs.

Some of the vintage carts are surprisingly good but my favourite and most entertaining listen at the moment is undoubtedly for me either of the Zyx's although it's the 50 I have in the system at present.

[loo]

MM
Adc xlm
Ortofon vms 20 & 30
Townshend Eei
Nagaoka mp 50 super
And a few that I've forgotten about
MC
Vd hul frog & DDT
Ortofon mc10 supreme, spu gm. S15t
Clear audio accurate,
Koetsu, urishi, black goldline
Westex 501e
Goldring erocia
Audiocraft ac03
Coral mc81
Love em all :)
Paul

[walpurgis]

Westex 501e

Well there's a rarity. Used to have one myself about thirty years ago, an orangey red colour if I recall and similar shape to the Osawa OS series MCs, can't remember if it was any good though.

[Wakefield Turntables]

Ortofon Cadenza Black
Rebodied Denon 103
Koetsu Black (Goldline)

[loo]

Well there's a rarity. Used to have one myself about thirty years ago, an orangey red colour if I recall and similar shape to the Osawa OS series MCs, can't remember if it was any good though.

Hi Geoff,
That's the fella, high output ( one of the best IMO ) made by supex for
Hovland and west
Cheers
Paul

[Barry]

18 at the last count:

4 x EMT
3 x Ortofon (SPU + 2 x SL15E)
2 x Denon 103

3 x Decca (Gold + 2 x Blue)
3 x ADC (ADC25 + 2 x ADC 10E mk. IV)
AKG P8ES
B&O SP6
Shure M55E

(The last two are kept out of nostalgia)

[Gordon Steadman]

Your poor French relation calling:

Technics U205
Shure M75ED

As I only have two turntables, two cartridges seems not unreasonable:scratch:

[Jimbo]

Only got one - Ortofon 2M Black:(

[Ali Tait]

Decca Maroon (needs fettling)
Eroica LX.
2x Acutex M312.
Acutex M412

[stevied]

Dynavector XX2 mk2
Dynavector DV17 d3

Thats it!

[jaym481]

Transfiguration Spirit
Benz Ace M
SPU Spirit
Thorens MCH II (EMT)
Sony XL55
Miyajima Spirit (mono)
Decca C4E
Decca Gold - brand new retip from JW
Decca Green (78rpm)
Shure V15 III Jico SAS
Stanton 500 (a bunch with different styli for 78)
Goldring 600
GE VRII (x2)

Plus a bunch that are in various states of repair.

[CageyH]

Not many in comparison to most.

Mostly MM
AT95 SE
MP-150
AT150MLX
2M Black

HOMC
SAE 1000LT

[RobbieGong]

Only got one - Ortofon 2M Black:(

Why frown at least it's a stonker !!! :thumbsup:

[PaulStewart]

Bit low at the moment:-

MC

Koetsu Rosewood Signature

Goldring Eroica LX

Goldring Excel (needs a retip)

Ultimo (Dynavector) 10X high output which is really ancient

MM

Shure M75ED x 2

Shure M44-7

Shure M55E

Goldring G800 X3

A&R P77 Garot

Dual something or the other I forget the number

[jandl100]

Just the one, but it is my all time fave ....

Ortofon MC25FL :)

[prestonchipfryer]

Lyra Dorian
Denon 103r

AT95e
Ortofon Black (2)

[worrasf]

Decca Blue/Deccapod
AKG P8ES Supernova
LP gear AT95HE
and winging it's way to me as I type a Zyx R100

[chris@panteg]

I've heard a zyx R50, very fine cartridge.

AT33EV
AT precept 550ML mm
Technics P22,with a choice of jico sas and LP gear HE stylus.

[Marco]

Decca Maroon (needs fettling)
Eroica LX.
2x Acutex M312.
Acutex M412

What happened to yer 103, Ali?

Pour moi (currently):

Ortofon SPU Royal GM MKII
Denon DL-S1
Audio Technica AT-32E
Grace F-14/BR/MR
Shure SC35C (with original US NOS stylus)
Stanton 500AL (old type).

Marco.

[kininigin]

Current carts are:

Shure SC35C x2

Audio Technica ATP-2

Goldring G800

[baron]

Ben micro wood sl, zyx r100h, rega Elys 2, rega bias, rega carbon.

[belloire]

I only need one-

Audio technica ART1 :-)

[Macca]

Nagaoka MP11
Nagaoka MP50
Stanton 681EEE
Stanton 520 V3 (two of 'em)
Ortofon 540 Mk2
Goldring Eroica MC (LO)

[The Barbarian]

Always use low mass arms hence the below carts

Goldring 'G900IGC'
AKG 'P8E'
Shure 'V15/III'
Shure 'M95HE'
ADC '10E/IV'
Empire '4000D'

[StuN]

Grace F9E Ruby
Rebodied DL103r with Soundsmith retip
Stanton 681EEE
Empire 600LAC

[walpurgis]

Grace F9E Ruby

I'm jealous! :)

[StuN]

It is a really good sounding cartridge. I've had it from new (!) and bring it out on special occasions.......

[Barry]

What happened to yer 103, Ali?

Pour moi (currently):

Ortofon SPU Royal GM MKII
Denon DL-S1
Audio Technica AT-32E
Grace F-14/BR/MR
Shure SC35C (with original US NOS stylus)
Stanton 500AL (old type).

Marco.

When are you going to give that Grace hybid combo a spin Marco?

[Barry]

Always use low mass arms hence the below carts

Goldring 'G900IGC'
AKG 'P8E'
Shure 'V15/III'
Shure 'M95HE'
ADC '10E/IV'
Empire '4000D'

Some fine cartridges there André. :)

[Marco]

When are you going to give that Grace hybid combo a spin Marco?

Soon, dude. Just need to find a headshell for it :)

Marco.

[The Barbarian]

Barry:
My all time fav High Compliance cart is the Pickering 'XLZ-7500S'/Pickering 'PLZ' Pre amp.. I was a fool letting these go..It sounded so good.

http://www.pickeringuk.com/XLZ7500.html

[Marco]

I don't think I've heard a Pickering cartridge I haven't liked. They usually produce a nicely musical sound :)

Marco.

[The Barbarian]

But the 7500 is special..

[Marco]

Don't doubt it, dude :)

Marco.

[Ali Tait]

What happened to yer 103, Ali?

Pour moi (currently):

Ortofon SPU Royal GM MKII
Denon DL-S1
Audio Technica AT-32E
Grace F-14/BR/MR
Shure SC35C (with original US NOS stylus)
Stanton 500AL (old type).

Marco.

Trashed it :-(

[Marco]

Nightmare! Ripe for Dom to fettle, though, I'd have thought? :)

Marco.

[Barry]

I have a broken "nuded" EMT cartridge (my doing! :steam:). Not only has the suspension collapsed, but I have broken one of the fine wires of the coil. It would need a complete re-wind and rebuild - so rather expensive I suspect.

[Ali Tait]

Nightmare! Ripe for Dom to fettle, though, I'd have thought? :)

Marco.

Aye, I was interested when he posted about his own version of the 103, but not heard any more about it. Hoping he's taking one to Owston..

[Marco]

Yeah... Did he ever disclose the price? I really need to make that a prerequisite for anyone advertising things in the trade or classifieds sections. Traders simply posting pics of stuff that's ultimately for sale, with no price attached (however nice it may be), is next to pointless.

Marco.

[Ali Tait]

No, not heard any price as yet.

[vouk]

Just three at the moment:

Bluelectric Virus
VDH MC One special
Benz Silver

[cjm123]

Hi guys,

Another impoverished audio junkie here :violin:, just three (I don't know if I have the courage to say in this exalted company):-

Rega Carbon (x2)
AT95e
ADC XLM MKIII love it love it love it!


and 'er indoors says why do you want three when you can only use one at a time? Errrr I'm working on that!

:cheers:

Chris

[paskinn]

I certainly don't own them, but I had a good listen to two stone-bodied koetsu cartridges this weekend; one a 'coral' and the other a 'tiger stone'. Both with diamond cantilevers . I don't quite know how you evaluate such devices but they were slightly different in tone, and somewhat impressive (it's hard not be impressed by £11,000 cartridges, if only because of the constant danger of breaking them.: Even the owner, who is not short of a few bob, gets a bit nervous when fitting them.)
Having owned a lot of costly cartridges ( by my lesser standards of 'costly') I still think that the money is better spent on a really first class arm and deck. And a first-rate phono stage. Cartridge last in my ranking, which is odd given their task..... but that's how it seems to pan out to my ears.
Of course, if you can afford 'first rate' everything, problem solved. But who can afford everything? Anyway, having to balance choices is more fun, this hobby shouldn't be too easy.....

[Barry]

I certainly don't own them, but I had a good listen to two stone-bodied koetsu cartridges this weekend; one a 'coral' and the other a 'tiger stone'. Both with diamond cantilevers . I don't quite know how you evaluate such devices but they were slightly different in tone, and somewhat impressive (it's hard not be impressed by £11,000 cartridges, if only because of the constant danger of breaking them.: Even the owner, who is not short of a few bob, gets a bit nervous when fitting them.)
Having owned a lot of costly cartridges ( by my lesser standards of 'costly') I still think that the money is better spent on a really first class arm and deck. And a first-rate phono stage. Cartridge last in my ranking, which is odd given their task..... but that's how it seems to pan out to my ears.
Of course, if you can afford 'first rate' everything, problem solved. But who can afford everything? Anyway, having to balance choices is more fun, this hobby shouldn't be too easy.....

I'm sure Linn would agree with you, though they would put the turntable first!

[Marco]

...and rightly so. It's one of the things that Linn got right! ;)

IMO, the order of T/T hierarchy is thus, if one wishes to achieve the best sonic performance: motor unit ('turntable') > tonearm > cartridge. In essence, therefore, a 'source first' principle works best when building a top-notch turntable.

[This assumes, however, that the cartridge used isn't disproportionately inferior to its partnering ancillaries].

Marco.

[Gordon Steadman]

...and rightly so. It's one of the things that Linn got right! ;)

IMO, the order of T/T hierarchy is thus, if one wishes to achieve the best sonic performance: motor unit ('turntable') > tonearm > cartridge. In essence, therefore, a 'source first' principle works best when building a top-notch turntable.

[This assumes, however, that the cartridge used isn't disproportionately inferior to its partnering ancillaries].

Marco.

Not for me.:ner:

I put arm and cartridge joint first and then the motor unit.

And I've been listening for much longer than you so there:lol: or should that be a :(

[walpurgis]

ADC XLM MKIII love it love it love it! Chris


Yes that's a goodie. Had a couple myself. I now use a 10E Mk.II and 10E Mk.IV (amongst others). They're just as nice.

[Marco]

Not for me.:ner:

I put arm and cartridge joint first and then the motor unit.

And I've been listening for much longer than you so there:lol: or should that be a :(

Well, mon ami, vee shall just 'av to 'agree to disagree', although if you've mainly been listening to (hopelessly compromised) low-to-medium-mass rubber band T/Ts all your life, I can understand! :D ;)

Marco.

[Gordon Steadman]

you've mainly been listening to (hopelessly compromised) low-to-medium-mass rubber band T/Ts all your life,
Marco.

Not even close:lol:

[snapper]

Ortofon 540 MKll
Denon DL-110
Denon DL-160
Denon DL-301 MKll
Audio Technica AT 33PTG
Audio Technica AT OC5 x2
Linn Troika
Linn Akiva
Nagaoka MP11
ADC ZLM Improved

[shane]

2x Acutex M312.

Are these things any good, Ali? I need to find a cheap stand-in until I can afford to get my collapsed Denon 304 rebuilt.

[Ali Tait]

I think they are very good indeed.

Check out the vinyl fora, there's a lot of love around for this cart.

[Marco]

Denon DL-301 MKll


Still hitting the spot, dude? :smoking:

Marco.

[Clive]

London Reference
Transfiguration Spirit
Garrott P-77
AT150MLX
Acutex 415
Shure M75ED
Ortofon 2M Mono
Ortofon 2M 78

Worrying - I had no idea I have this many!

[snapper]

Still hitting the spot, dude? :smoking:

Marco.

Yeah, sounding good.

[Yomanze]

Reson Reca, and that's it. I would like to try some Grace, Garrott and Decca carts though.

[f1eng]

Empire 888 kept for nostalgic reasons, the first top quality cartridge I owned, bought in 1970 with the proceeds of my summer holiday job between 1st and 2nd year at Uni.
B&O MMC4
Stanton 6800
Decca Super Gold
Ortofon MC 30
Ortofon Jubilee
Ortofon A90

[pure sound]

Fidelity Research FR1 Mk2
Mission 773 LC
Technics EPS310MC
General Electric VR II
Goldring 1042
Audionote Io Ltd
Goldring Eroica H
Mayware MC 2V
Shure M3D
Shure M78


Maybe some other oldies I can't remember.

[walpurgis]

Fidelity Research FR1 Mk2
Mission 773 LC
Technics EPS310MC
General Electric VR II
Goldring 1042
Audionote Io Ltd
Goldring Eroica H
Mayware MC 2V
Shure M3D
Shure M78


Maybe some other oldies I can't remember.


Some nice ones there Guy. Aren't the Mission and Fidelity research closely related? I seem to recall something about that.

[The Barbarian]

Fidelity Research FR1 Mk2
Mission 773 LC
Technics EPS310MC
General Electric VR II
Goldring 1042
Audionote Io Ltd
Goldring Eroica H
Mayware MC 2V
Shure M3D
Shure M78


Maybe some other oldies I can't remember.

Guy:

Have you not got yourself a Mayware 'MC-7V/T24' yet?

[Kember]

A moderately respectable haul:

Yamamoto YC-03S (my favourite)
Ortofon Cadenza Blue
Ortofon 2M Black
Zu Audio DL 103
Denon DL103
Len Gregory Musicmaker II
Glanz MFG 11T
Entré MC-1

I think I probably still have some others knocking about including a Shure V15, Goldring 1042 and a K9

Peter

[pure sound]

I thought the Mission 773 was to do with Supex but a bit of digging suggests Dynavector.

Not sure what the history of the FR1 is. I still want to try one of the FR7 family at home having heard Brian's at the last Scalford.

No, I haven't seen either an MC7 or the Mayware transformer for sale anywhere.

[Ali Tait]

I've got a T24..

[walpurgis]

I've got a T24..
Any good Ali? Not tried one.

[Ali Tait]

Yes it's good. Not tried it in a while as I've been enjoying a Denon head amp, which is also very good. Not to mention my Firebottle two box phono stage, which is very good indeed. So I've a few combinations I can play with.

I've been letting the MC side of the phono stage run in before making any serious comparisons. Don't get much time, too busy at work :-(

[Kember]

A moderately respectable haul:

Yamamoto YC-03S (my favourite)
Ortofon Cadenza Blue
Ortofon 2M Black
Zu Audio DL 103
Denon DL103
Len Gregory Musicmaker II
Glanz MFG 11T
Entré MC-1

I think I probably still have some others knocking about including a Shure V15, Goldring 1042 and a K9

Peter

I forgot the estimable SAE 1000LT HOMC Cart sold to me by twotone!

[The Barbarian]

I thought the Mission 773 was to do with Supex but a bit of digging suggests Dynavector.



Does Dynavector apply to the old Logic 'Claro' cartridges?

[pure sound]

I don't know. Actually I'd forgotten that Logic even offered a cartridge, I shall keep an eye out for it.

[The Barbarian]

I don't know. Actually I'd forgotten that Logic even offered a cartridge, I shall keep an eye out for it.

Hi Guy
One there fitted to a Syrinx 'PU-3'.. The 'Claro Black is the one to have..

g5-gM7eN8NU

[BTH K10A]

EMT TSD15
EMT TSD15
EMT TSD15 SFL
EMT TND25
EMT OFD65
Thorens MC1
Denon DL-103
Denon DL-102
Fairchild 225a
Shure M33
Shure M44E
Shure M75ED
Shure M75ED
Shure M75D
GE RPX
Decca MkII
Decca MkIII
Leak 78
Leak LP
Ortofon SL15E
Ortofon S15TE
Ortofon OM30
Technics206C
Yamaha MC1S

[walpurgis]

Just the odd one or two then Andy?

That's an interesting collection.

[petrat]

Ortofon SPU Spirit
Koetsu Black Goldline
Audio Note Io 1

[Tarzan]

Ortofon SPU Spirit
Koetsu Black Goldline
Audio Note Io 1


:eek: