Cartridge upgrade for thiorens td160 super/rb300

[philv]

Hi,

I currently have -
Thorens td160 super
Rega rb300
Sumiko pearl cartridge
Tisbury domino phonostage
Primaluna prologue 2 el34/kt88
Audionote ank/b

Next year i plan to upgradethe cartridge.

I would have a budget of roughly £200 give or take.
Used off these forums, or possibly new.

Obviously better value is used, so i’m askng for advice now so that i know what to look out for.

I’m not after ultimate detail retrieval.
I’d like it to be just very msical and enjoyable.

The sumiko sounds nce, but thisis my first prooer turntable and i’d like to upgrade without going nuts.
Reccomendatins?

Thanks

[Jac Hawk]

The Ortofon VMS30 Mk2 is a good match for the RB300, obviously you can't get them new any more, but you can pick a very good 2nd hand one up for about £140 and with a similar performance to the 2M Black they really are great value.

[Wakefield Turntables]

Any of the older Shure carts are worth a look and you can still get them for decent money. I run 3, a Shure V15 mk3, a hot rodded M55E, and the SC35C I love them all. Alternatively and if your lucky you might drop on a 2nd hand Ortofon 2M black which is probably about the best current MM out there.

[philv]

Thanks for tne teplies.

Ease of setup is also important.

[Wakefield Turntables]

Thanks for tne teplies.

Ease of setup is also important.

Forget the 2M then! They have a history of being VERY picky. The Shure's are very very easy to set up, five minutes and your done.

[hifi_dave]

The new Audio Technica VM95 range is excellent.

[Jac Hawk]

do Audio Technica do an alternative to the 2M Black Dave

[graham67]

This is a bit of a left field suggestion but I noticed the Domino has an MC setting with 100 ohm loading.

I used to own a TD166 mk VI, with the standard TP-50 arm. It came with the ubiquitous AT-95 and sounded perfectly decent if a little crude at times. I experimented with a couple of different carts before I tried an Audio Technica AT-OC9ML/II from my main system. I was amazed at the jump in performance and just how good it sounded. No harshness just a lovely lyrical sound that reminded me of the slightly honeyed LP-12.

As an aside, it was so good it even made me realise something was not right in my main setup which soon led me to changing the arm on my 401 for something much more capable and energetic.

Now while the AT-OC9ML/II is 350-400new it can be bought much cheaper S/H. I have bought two off hifi forums, a barely used one for £150 which I used for three years and wore out, and recently a low mileage example in near perfect condition for £100.

It is on the higher compliance side so the Rega with an effective mass of 11g should work even better than the 14g of the Thorens arm which was a touch on the heavy side for the OC-9. The AT-OC9ML/II also works fine into a 100ohm loading, which is what I usually used.

[struth]

Could try a denon dl110. Hi output mc. Or the harder to find dl160

[philv]

How would a Technica AT-OC9ML/II compare to a goldring 1042?

Would an sut be needed with the mc cartridge?
I need to keep it easy.

Thoughts on the golri g 1042?


This is a bit of a left field suggestion but I noticed the Domino has an MC setting with 100 ohm loading.

I used to own a TD166 mk VI, with the standard TP-50 arm. It came with the ubiquitous AT-95 and sounded perfectly decent if a little crude at times. I experimented with a couple of different carts before I tried an Audio Technica AT-OC9ML/II from my main system. I was amazed at the jump in performance and just how good it sounded. No harshness just a lovely lyrical sound that reminded me of the slightly honeyed LP-12.

As an aside, it was so good it even made me realise something was not right in my main setup which soon led me to changing the arm on my 401 for something much more capable and energetic.

Now while the AT-OC9ML/II is 350-400new it can be bought much cheaper S/H. I have bought two off hifi forums, a barely used one for £150 which I used for three years and wore out, and recently a low mileage example in near perfect condition for £100.

It is on the higher compliance side so the Rega with an effective mass of 11g should work even better than the 14g of the Thorens arm which was a touch on the heavy side for the OC-9. The AT-OC9ML/II also works fine into a 100ohm loading, which is what I usually used.

[graham67]

I had a 1042 and found it rather flat and restrained at least on my Garrard, jelco arm and moth phono stage. I much preferred the iq2 and reson reca which use the same body but are full of vim and rhythm. I bought both of these S/h for well under your budget.

You dont need a SUT with the oc9 as the domino has an mc input with 100ohm loading which is ideal for the oc9 and 2 of the 4 gain settings arr suitable for low output moving coil carts

Personally I do tend to prefer using a SUT into the mm input (an inexpensive black head or AT-630 is ideal) however its more than happy running direct into an mc phono stage that can be configured to suit.

Obviously I can't comment on the sonic synergy of the oc9 with the domino as I haven't used the Tisbury. But it will produce a healthy signal for your amplifier.

Ps pardon punctuation etc, my phone makes it difficult to correct.

[Lurch]

Another decent sounding MC to consider that comes up SH well within budget is the Goldring Eroica L. I had one as my spare when I was running a Hana SL and it wasn't too much of a performance drop when I tried it out.

[philv]

Thanks for the replies.

Any thoughts on the audionote iq3 on the rb300?
Besides being overbbudget!

[philv]

If i have an rb300, i presumed i have an rega headshell?
Correct me if i obviously don’t know what i’m on about.

With these cartridges above, will they all fit tne rega headshell?
Do most catridges use a standardized mouting pattern/fitting?
So just unbolt the current one and bolt on the new one?

[graham67]

Yes they will all fit the rega arm/headshell however as some carts are taller than others, you may want to buy an aftermarket vta adjuster to ensure the arm and cart are level with the playing surface.

[philv]

I’ve read rhat tne rb300 doesn’t have vtaok thanks.
So seems straight forward to put in a screw tyoe vta adjuster.



Yes they will all fit the rega arm/headshell however as some carts are taller than others, you may want to buy an aftermarket vta adjuster to ensure the arm and cart are level with the playing surface.