Cartridge advice

[Tarzan]

Afternoon all, need some cartridge advice, l have a Lyra Helikon that needs re-tipping (£300 ish- this is going to Expert Stylus Co) before l do this are there any carts around the £300 mark that will in terms of performance that will get near the Helikon, have heard good things about Ortofon 2M Black, AT33PTG,T/T is SL1200, soon to be seriously re-wired stock arm and damped, Sumiko headshell, Isoenoe feet and the cart will be feeding TE Groove and/or CA 640P, thanks for any help, the Helikon is really the only MC l have had experience with- but it sounds superb!:)

[Jason P]

I'm running an AT33PTG with a similar setup, and it sounds very good indeed. Seems to match the Techie arm well enough. Very lively sound and excellent dynamics, soundstage and detail - maybe not the last word in bass though. Not bass light, but without the 'slam' of a 103 for instance.

Jason

[hifi_dave]

I can't think of any cartridge for £300 ish which sounds as good as a Helikon.

If you are getting it repaired by ESCO, I would recommend that you get them to replace like with like if they can because any changes to stylus profile, cantilever or mounting will sound different to what you have now.

[DSJR]

I'm running an AT33PTG with a similar setup, and it sounds very good indeed. Seems to match the Techie arm well enough. Very lively sound and excellent dynamics, soundstage and detail - maybe not the last word in bass though. Not bass light, but without the 'slam' of a 103 for instance.

Jason

I was going to say that one as well, with a partial disagreement on the bass "quality" or "amount" :) The 33PTG may well prefer a slightly massier tonearm to bolster the bass a little more - the suspension should have enough damping to prevent wobble on warps..

How much is an "exchange" Helikon?

P.s. I think the PTG's gone now, so you may have to look around for the alternative 33EV(?)

[hifi_dave]

The Helikon is long gone, so there is no p/x. The old Helikon can be used as a p/x against any other of the current Lyra's though.