Cheap Audio Technica cartridges 30 years apart

[foxysounds]

In about 1989 I bought a Dual CS505 Mk3 and had the shop fit an Audio Technica AT110E cartridge which at the time cost £21 and had won that year's What Hi-Fi award for the best cartridge under £150. I never heard the turntable with the Ortofon cartridge that came with it and I still have it, unused.

On something of a whim I just bought myself a second hand Rega Planar 3 which has come with an Audio Technica AT3600L cartridge on it. The AT3600L costs a princely £23 today but even with such a budget cartridge on it, and even with the left channel cutting in and out (it needs a resolder job in one of the phono plugs) I have heard details that the CS505 had failed to deliver.

Now, I'm extremely time-poor at the moment (I have 10-month old twins) so my question is this: is it worth my time to move the AT110E (which has recently had a new stylus) onto the RP3 - given that it could be literally weeks before I have time - or should I spend that time, when I get it, listening to records instead?

And yes, I know the answer is "try it and listen for yourself" but see above. :lol:

[Lurch]

Invest the 20 mins swapping carts, you'll atain greater pleasure by getting rid of the I wonder thoughts during the time you do get to listen.

Sent from my I3312 using Tapatalk

[foxysounds]

If I really thought I could change the cartridge in 20 minutes then I might consider it but it's something I've never done before (although I have used a protractor to fine-tune a cartridge alignment once in the dim and distant past). Also, there's the time needed for some critical listening before and afterward. I can't see it all being done in under an hour and most days I have so little time I have to choose between shaving or showering (yes - I know that's too much information but when I said I didn't have time to try it you said "try it" so you asked for it :lol:).

Either way, I'll keep both cartridges so I can do a proper comparison when time allows (I can sell on the CS505 with its original Ortofon cartridge) but for now, if I get the time to change it, should I?

[Jac Hawk]

Invest the 20 mins swapping carts, you'll atain greater pleasure by getting rid of the I wonder thoughts during the time you do get to listen.

Sent from my I3312 using Tapatalk

My sentiment exactly, if you just listen to the music you'll always have that nagging thought at the back of your mind.

Changing moving magnet carts is dead easy as you remove the stylus while you're doing the fiddley bit of screwing it to the headshell which obviously on a Rega if you have a Rega tonearm is fixed, but dont let that put you off, other things you'll need is the right sized tools for the nuts and bolts, an alignment protractor and a set of cartridge scales and a quick tip i've found useful when setting up cartridges on Rega arms is to get the point of the stylus directly below the end of the headshell, from there i've found every cartridge i've set up on a Rega arm only needed the slightest tweak to get it lined up just right.

Good luck!!