DSJR
29-12-2010, 12:46
As you guys know, I've been having loads of fun playing a collection of old and worn 7" singles on a Garrard AT6 (amongst other things) fitted with an old Stanton 500A cartridge (the 500V3 stylus is on a 60mk2 with SL motor awaiting a 50Hz pulley which has just arrived).
The sound of this deck is huge fun, motor vibration/hum dominating the proceedings, but there is great pitch integrity and a very stable and solid sound overall. However, within the limitations of the 1962 vintage arm (this particular AT6 is an early one it appears) and linkages, the 500A sounds a bit dull and although it masks the worst of the groove wear, I wanted to see if I could find something a bit better balanced.
When a local HiFi shop closed down when the proprietor retired, I was given a bits box full of old cartridges in various states of disrepair. The 500A was one of these with a good diamond on it and there were also various Ortofon bodies, OM and 500 series to choose from. A NOS OM3E won't track above 2 grammes so I left that out of the equation, but that left me with a choice - OM pro S (as the BBC uses), OM-DJ or Nightclub E (far too expensive for this experiment), Shure M44-7 (styli aren't bad but they're having a laugh for the complete cartridge, which has been going for nearly 50 years now) or an Ortofon GT stylus to fit the 500 body. It was this I decided on and £22 from Musonic wasn't a bad price either.
I've always liked the 500 series of Ortofons, but suspect they weren't as popular as the OM series, which continue to sell in the DJ field. The 500 bodies are very solid and the styli fit very tightly to them. The coil specs are identical on the GT so I thought it reasonable to fit the GT stylus. The compliance of the stylus assembly is very low and tracks at 4 grammes - perfect for the AT6 and the magnet on the back of the cantilever looks longer than the broken 510 stylus that came off.
So, what does it sound like - bloomin' marvellous IMO. There's more life and sparkle in these cartridges, tracking is great and surface noise and groove distortion well subdued as in the Stanton. "Rock Of All Ages" by Badfinger (an ex-jukebox single) has never sounded better to me (the main system just reproduces the groove damage as well as the music) and the cut's in stereo too....
I hope Neil DSDL gets to add something here, as I believe he's been using a Concorde Pro S with his Techie and quite liked it from memory. There just seems to be a verve and zest with these cartridges that the "better" HiFi versions of these cartridges seem to lack. The long dead Stanton 500EE was a goodie on older pressings too (maybe the Pickering V15 VE is the modern version) and the music seems to jump to life when played with cartridges like this - all Marco's fault with the M3D-N21, which I haven't yet transferred over.
Roll on a Lab 80 or 70mk2. These were the last of the solidly built Garrard auto decks IMO as all the models which came after had sloppy bearings, wobbly controls and tolerances in general could and should have been better, especially when compared to any Dual or PE from the same period.
The sound of this deck is huge fun, motor vibration/hum dominating the proceedings, but there is great pitch integrity and a very stable and solid sound overall. However, within the limitations of the 1962 vintage arm (this particular AT6 is an early one it appears) and linkages, the 500A sounds a bit dull and although it masks the worst of the groove wear, I wanted to see if I could find something a bit better balanced.
When a local HiFi shop closed down when the proprietor retired, I was given a bits box full of old cartridges in various states of disrepair. The 500A was one of these with a good diamond on it and there were also various Ortofon bodies, OM and 500 series to choose from. A NOS OM3E won't track above 2 grammes so I left that out of the equation, but that left me with a choice - OM pro S (as the BBC uses), OM-DJ or Nightclub E (far too expensive for this experiment), Shure M44-7 (styli aren't bad but they're having a laugh for the complete cartridge, which has been going for nearly 50 years now) or an Ortofon GT stylus to fit the 500 body. It was this I decided on and £22 from Musonic wasn't a bad price either.
I've always liked the 500 series of Ortofons, but suspect they weren't as popular as the OM series, which continue to sell in the DJ field. The 500 bodies are very solid and the styli fit very tightly to them. The coil specs are identical on the GT so I thought it reasonable to fit the GT stylus. The compliance of the stylus assembly is very low and tracks at 4 grammes - perfect for the AT6 and the magnet on the back of the cantilever looks longer than the broken 510 stylus that came off.
So, what does it sound like - bloomin' marvellous IMO. There's more life and sparkle in these cartridges, tracking is great and surface noise and groove distortion well subdued as in the Stanton. "Rock Of All Ages" by Badfinger (an ex-jukebox single) has never sounded better to me (the main system just reproduces the groove damage as well as the music) and the cut's in stereo too....
I hope Neil DSDL gets to add something here, as I believe he's been using a Concorde Pro S with his Techie and quite liked it from memory. There just seems to be a verve and zest with these cartridges that the "better" HiFi versions of these cartridges seem to lack. The long dead Stanton 500EE was a goodie on older pressings too (maybe the Pickering V15 VE is the modern version) and the music seems to jump to life when played with cartridges like this - all Marco's fault with the M3D-N21, which I haven't yet transferred over.
Roll on a Lab 80 or 70mk2. These were the last of the solidly built Garrard auto decks IMO as all the models which came after had sloppy bearings, wobbly controls and tolerances in general could and should have been better, especially when compared to any Dual or PE from the same period.