The Marco-boy main system, as of August 2020

[WESTLOWER]

Reading this thread with great interest
I too have a Shure SC35 cartridge, USA made, original NOS stylus.

I enjoy the cartridge's boogie factor very much, It's a very enjoyable thing for the money.

It's only after swapping out to far more expensive price point cartridges
do I notice it's short comings, and in my system it does have some way to go.
Hence me following the tread as closely as possible to see where I can optimise, maybe i need to tweak!

[Marco]

Get in there Marco, you're defo having fun arnt you

Lol - defo, mate!

The Goldring G-820 has been mentioned before, and the description of its sound intrigued me: https://theartofsound.net/forum/show...hono-Cartridge

That was with its conical stylus, so it'll be interesting hearing what the 'posher' one brings to the party... Also my Nagaoka crystal stabilizer arrived today, which I've been using with the 'Achromat+):











It's got a strobe too, which is quite funny, but there's also a useful little ceramic ball, which when in motion, as the platter is spinning, circles the circumference of a small inner-circle [which you can see if you look closely], to indicate how level it is, and also the turntable:



Goldring fitted to a Sumiko headshell. It's the only one that would fit, as it's a very long, chunky cartridge:



The Nagaoka stabiliser sounds ABSOLUTELY FAB with the 'Achromat+' Arthur sent me (as pictured above), which has a glass section forming the mat's base, for extra damping of vibrational energy. I need to try the Nagaoka crystal stabilizer now with its intended partner, which is the crystal mat, and see what that does!

Yup, lots of toys to play and have fun with... More later

Marco.

[Marco]

Reading this thread with great interest
I too have a Shure SC35 cartridge, USA made, original NOS stylus.

I enjoy the cartridge's boogie factor very much, It's a very enjoyable thing for the money.

It's only after swapping out to far more expensive price point cartridges
do I notice it's short comings, and in my system it does have some way to go.
Hence me following the tread as closely as possible to see where I can optimise, maybe i need to tweak!

Hi Adam,

How's it going, mate? You've been rather quiet lately, so hope you're well!

I know what you mean about far more expensive cartridges [by that I presume you're referring to MCs], but trust me when the Shure is loaded correctly (as has been discussed), and most importantly used in a high-mass arm, it's frankly amazing how good it sounds.

So in terms of tweaks, if you're not using it in a headshell that weighs at least 17g, then you won't be realising its potential, ditto with loading/capacitance tuning, plus some folks don't use the correct VTF, with the NOS stylus, and track it too light at 3g or so, which is wrong. The sweet spot is 4.5g.

That done, it'll show a clean pair of heels to most MMs, and in the particular areas where it excels (bass authority and 'fun factor'), many MCs! Plus it's none too shabby at everything else

I'd defo have another play with yours....

Marco.

[Barry]

Hi Barry,

No I haven't 'dispensed' with it at all. It's in my spares box, fitted with a latest production Shure stylus.

I intend on fitting it with one of the NOS Shure styli [undoubtedly the most important factor in generating the best sound] I recently bought on ebay, and then do a comparison between Evanston and 'Mexico vintage' bodies, in the same headshell...

Ideally you should use the exact same stylus in each body, and try each body under identical conditions. Will be interested to learn of the results: there are similar thoughts expressed by some concerning the brown and the black body Shure M55E.

I suspect you'll be interested in the outcome of that!

Marco.

P.S Well done, btw, for coming up with the correct added capacitance figure for the loading plugs (see my previous post)

Ideally you should use the exact same stylus in each body (not two separate samples of the stylus), and try each body under identical mounting conditions. Will be interested to learn of the results: there are similar thoughts expressed by some concerning the brown and the black body Shure M55E.

[Marco]

Yup, most certainly... I now have four NOS styli, for the SC35C, plus one of the latest (read as last) production ones, plus three 'bodies': two Evanston and one Mexico. I also have two AT-MG10 headshells, fitted with the same cartridge leads and mounting hardware.

Therefore, what I'll do is select one Evanston 'body' and NOS stylus, pop it in one of the above headshells, and fit the 'Mexico' to the other, and listen to the former first, then remove the stylus and fit it to the 'Mexico body' in the other shell, ensuring that all other variables are the same - and report the results!

Marco.

[kininigin]

Nightmare, mate. Wee tip, well two, actually... Firstly, always ensure that you tick the "Remember Me' box when signing onto the forum, as that way your posts won't time out, and secondly, just as an extra precaution, COPY your posts before you hit the 'Reply' button

Nice one on the SPU! Which one did you get?

Marco.

Sorry for the slow response, that thing called life has got in the way. You would think after being on here for 11yrs that i would know how to use it ha. Tips noted.

I went for a SPU #1E with a Phasemation SUT. I'm still evaluating it really although i do like it. I should be recieving the loading plugs today and i've sent Arthur an email about the Houdini as my curiosty got the better of me. Looks like i'll be getting the last one before official launch!

Are you still using your Houdini with the SC35C?

[Marco]

Lol - mate, dat's cool, glad to see you've got a life, that's the main thing!

That SPU should sound s-w-e-e-t...

Yup, still using the SC35C with a Houdini, and when my new Denon (finally) escapes the clutches of customs, I'll be fitting one to that, too!

Tell you something... It'll have to go some to usurp the Shure as it *really* is sounding FAB!

Marco.

[Wakefield Turntables]

I'd have to agree with you with regards the Shure. I'm way behind when it comes to assessment due to having an absolute sod of a time trying to suss out a ground loop hum. I'm still working on it but I have to say that my configuration of the SC35C would need a cart costing north of £1K to beat it. I just need a break with this ground loop hum to get the best out of it.

[kininigin]

Lol - mate, dat's cool, glad to see you've got a life, that's the main thing!

That SPU should sound s-w-e-e-t...

Yup, still using the SC35C with a Houdini, and when my new Denon (finally) escapes the clutches of customs, I'll be fitting one to that, too!

Tell you something... It'll have to go some to usurp the Shure as it *really* is sounding FAB!

Marco.

The SPU does sound sweet and was a bit of an impulse buy which i don't do very often at all.

I've recieved the loading plugs today and had a little play with them and atm i am settling on the green ones which add 150pF. Nice little upgrade! As you say tidys everthing up in a nice way.

I think i need to hear a Denon at some point in my life (and i'm sure i will). The Shure must be sounding very good with the little tweaks that have been done, especially the houdini! Can't wait to recieve mine and see what all the fuss is about

[Marco]

Hi Darren,

Glad you're enjoying the SPU and SUT - any chance of some pics?

Yeah, the loading plugs are great, although I've settled on a slightly different value from you, which is fine as our systems are different. However, if you're using the 'Y' adaptors, fitted with short cables, try these splitters instead, with the loading plugs you've got:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Gold-Plat...72.m2749.l2649

I found that they notably improved matters sonically, especially as they remove the capacitance of the attached cables/wires [stated by the manufacturer as 70pF] and so allow you to utilise the actual electrical value of the resistors that the plugs are fitted with, without 'hearing' the effect of the partnering cables.

Trust me, I think you'll like it and probably arrive at using a different value

Marco.