Hi Charlie,
Nice one on the SC35C
If you think it sounds good now, just wait until you hear it with a NOS stylus!
Night and day doesn't quite describe it...
Just a few points... Firstly in terms of alignment, try Stevenson, as I think that could work well with the Jelco, as Jap arms tend to prefer that to Baerwald. Secondly, and trust me I know the score here, you *must* use the SC35C with a heavy (high-mass) headshell, yes heavier than the stock Jelco.
The ideal figure I've found is 17/18g! So look for some of the quality aftermarket items from the likes of Audio Technica:
https://www.divineaudio.co.uk/produc...ard-headshell/ or fit a 'shim', of the appropriate mass, between the cartridge and headshell of the Jelco, to take it up to that weight. otherwise you will NOT hear the full potential that this cartridge is capable of.
In terms of VTF, the optimal setting, to my ears, is 4.5g, with anti-skate set at around 4.1g. Anything less than that will result in audible distortion with 'difficult', highly modulated material and cause it to mis-track. It will 'work' at 3.5g, but sub-optimally. And anything more than 4.5g, up to the max of 5g, tends to rob the sound of 'life'
But at 4.5g, it tracks like a limpet and sails through the most difficult of material with aplomb, plus with kick-ass bass and lifelike dynamics and 'attack', especially with the NOS Shure stylus! Plus, as discussed elsewhere, adding some extra capacitance, via the us of loading plugs, REALLY makes it sing.
Hope that helps
Marco.