Ducatiist
31-10-2015, 20:27
Having followed a couple of Marco's threads regarding very cheap broadcast cartridges (Goldring G800 and the recent Shure thread), I actually purchased a couple of G800's to play with and was mightily impressed with the standard cartridge. I've sent one off to be retipped by the ESCO maestro, to see what improvements can be brought with a much better diamond.
Anyway, I thought I'd share my current favourite cartridge (despite owning some very high end exotica, which are obviously a bit superior) which is a Stanton 500AL.
I managed to pick it up for the princely sum of £18.10. It came with a Technics headshell, headshell wires and a headshell weight.
Initially I fitted it as supplied to my venerable Sony did turntable and dialled in approx 1.5g vtf. The sound was pretty bright and the counter weight was really well back towards the end of the arm! The cart was riding quite low at the rear so I decided to remove the weight to try and get the thing sitting level.
I then did a little research and found out why the headshell had the weight added. The stylus has a blue oblong mark on the front denoting it's a heavier tracking stylus.
I then dialled in 2.5g vtf (which is about the minimum vtf advised) and boy oh boy!
This cheap little cartridge sounds really enjoyable! It's not massively revealing or terribly hifi, but it really is an enjoyable sound. It reminds me of the first turntable I ever bought....a Leak delta (Lenco 75 clone from memory) with a Shure MM cartridge. Every time I play it, it just makes my toes tap and is a really nice sound! I think it sounds substantially better than the standard G800.
When I look at what I paid, the smiles per pound are unparalleled!
If you get chance to pick one of these up, it's well worth a try, especially at the price I paid!
I'm sure there are chaps on here that can give a better informed opinion on these cartridges, but for me, they sound pretty great!
As a disclaimer, the cart is going through a moth phono stage into a Linn classic, playing through an old pair of Pink Triangle Ventricals...my proper kit is in storage at present, but this stuff I'm using sounds really good and trounces cd (even msfl CDs!)
Happy listening, Stu
Anyway, I thought I'd share my current favourite cartridge (despite owning some very high end exotica, which are obviously a bit superior) which is a Stanton 500AL.
I managed to pick it up for the princely sum of £18.10. It came with a Technics headshell, headshell wires and a headshell weight.
Initially I fitted it as supplied to my venerable Sony did turntable and dialled in approx 1.5g vtf. The sound was pretty bright and the counter weight was really well back towards the end of the arm! The cart was riding quite low at the rear so I decided to remove the weight to try and get the thing sitting level.
I then did a little research and found out why the headshell had the weight added. The stylus has a blue oblong mark on the front denoting it's a heavier tracking stylus.
I then dialled in 2.5g vtf (which is about the minimum vtf advised) and boy oh boy!
This cheap little cartridge sounds really enjoyable! It's not massively revealing or terribly hifi, but it really is an enjoyable sound. It reminds me of the first turntable I ever bought....a Leak delta (Lenco 75 clone from memory) with a Shure MM cartridge. Every time I play it, it just makes my toes tap and is a really nice sound! I think it sounds substantially better than the standard G800.
When I look at what I paid, the smiles per pound are unparalleled!
If you get chance to pick one of these up, it's well worth a try, especially at the price I paid!
I'm sure there are chaps on here that can give a better informed opinion on these cartridges, but for me, they sound pretty great!
As a disclaimer, the cart is going through a moth phono stage into a Linn classic, playing through an old pair of Pink Triangle Ventricals...my proper kit is in storage at present, but this stuff I'm using sounds really good and trounces cd (even msfl CDs!)
Happy listening, Stu