Headshell Cartridge Leads / Wires

[eldarvanyar]

Hi,

I am looking to replace the headshell leads on some of my, you guessed it headshells.

There seem to be a lot of different ones available from cheap to expensive.

I have come across some Audio Technica AT6101 for under £10

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181031/feb0da84806aeb3bd8b964b38d8ac15e.jpg

Perfect Crystal OCC quad wire (PCOCC high purity oxygen free conductor)
0.12mm x 22 core strand construction
24K gold plated crimped lead tip

There are other leads available in a lite configuration, silver etc

Any thoughts or advice appreciated

Thanks

Lee

[prestonchipfryer]

Hi,

I am looking to replace the headshell leads on some of my, you guessed it headshells.

There seem to be a lot of different ones available from cheap to expensive.

I have come across some Audio Technica AT6101 for under £10

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181031/feb0da84806aeb3bd8b964b38d8ac15e.jpg

Perfect Crystal OCC quad wire (PCOCC high purity oxygen free conductor)
0.12mm x 22 core strand construction
24K gold plated crimped lead tip

There are other leads available in a lite configuration, silver etc

Any thoughts or advice appreciated

Thanks

Lee


I have used these in the past and found they did a perfectly good job. However they are quite stiff. It might be better to go for something a little more flexible.

[Bigman80]

Hi,

I am looking to replace the headshell leads on some of my, you guessed it headshells.

There seem to be a lot of different ones available from cheap to expensive.

I have come across some Audio Technica AT6101 for under £10

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181031/feb0da84806aeb3bd8b964b38d8ac15e.jpg

Perfect Crystal OCC quad wire (PCOCC high purity oxygen free conductor)
0.12mm x 22 core strand construction
24K gold plated crimped lead tip

There are other leads available in a lite configuration, silver etc

Any thoughts or advice appreciated

Thanks

LeeUsed these myself, only changed for a free upgrade (worth £65) but to be honest, I think these are equally as good.

[Jazid]

At risk of being shot down in flames I would suggest that the connectors are far more important than the 3cm odd of wire between them. A good, tight connection to the head shell and cartridge pins will yield appreciable sonic benefits compared to a loose fitting connector which will degrade the signal. YMMV, IMHO not trying to start an argument here.

Sent from my BLA-L09 using Tapatalk

[Barry]

At risk of being shot down in flames I would suggest that the connectors are far more important than the 3cm odd of wire between them. A good, tight connection to the head shell and cartridge pins will yield appreciable sonic benefits compared to a loose fitting connector which will degrade the signal. YMMV, IMHO not trying to start an argument here.



I agree. Unfortunately there is no standard specification for the diameter of either the cartridge or headshell pins. The ability to either open up, or the close down the ferules is essential to make good connections.

That is far more important than worrying about the construction of the wire: silver, ribbon, cryo-cooled, PCOCC, Litz construction, etc.