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#1
Posted to rec.audio.misc
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Opinions about phono cartridges......
First, I am new to this group so a big HI to all of you!!!
I have an old Technics SL-B2 turntable that is in perfect shape and works perfectly as well. I have had it for many, many years. However, it has been relagated to a box that is kept in my attic or garage for the last 25 years. I still have my record collection going back to 1978 when I purchased my first LP, and I accumulated records at a pretty good clip (perhaps 2 a week) until, I would say, 1988, when EVERYTHING was switched to CD's. Even the EP's that were the last hold-out of recordings not found on CD, but only on vinyl, really disappeared by 1992. By '91-'93, except for an extremelly small niche market of audiophiles (who to THIS DAY will claim that LP's still sound better than CD's given very HIGH quality recordings, EXPERT mastering techniques, and EXCEPTIONAL equipment used in playback). Also, besides Audiophiles, DJ's continue to this day to use vinyl in clubs as mxing one song to the next is MUCH easier than with CD's (though advances in DJ oriented CD mixing gear with controls like BPM synchrnozation has leveled the playing field to a large degree). However, besides those two groups, NOBODY BUYS vinyl anymore. Anyway, I have about 400-500 LP's I was flipping through the other day and felt nostalgic and wanted to hear some of this old stuff. However, my turntable is just missing a headshell and cartride (stylus too, of course). I gave it to someone (the headshell and cartride) about 10 years ago as I thought I would NEVER want to use the turntable again and he needed one, I nearly threw my turntable out after that (well, I was going to give it to the Salvation Army, same diff.)!!!!! I have already ordered the headshell and it should be here tommorrow or the next day. My question is about what would give me the best bang for my buck in terms of cartridges (with stylus, of course). I definately want to buy new as you NEVER know how many hours a used needle may have seen. I am NOT an audiophile NUT when it comes to my home gear (OK, a little bit) and my turntable is certainly not one you would consider "high-end". But it's built like a tank (surprisingly heavy) and after literally decades of collecting dust it fired right up, by using the strobe adjustment I dialed in the PERFECT 33 1/3 and it never wavered (wow and flutter) at all. I have no doubt it's as good (SQ wise) as any other Technics turntable (I know, I know, DJ's all prefer the 1200 series with direct drive, mine's belt driven, as the 1200's can go from 0-60 MPH in like .02 seconds or some damn thing like that which is advantages to DJ's). But again, sound quality wise, they all SOUND the same (given the same cartride) and it becomes more a factor of, again, your cartridege and stylus selection as Technics does not employ more esoteric turntable construction techniques (like thick glass platters, drive-motors COMPLETELY seperated from the spinning table itself, only joined by the belt in an attempt to COMPLETELY erradicate any motor noise that might creep in, and EVEN MORE essoteric and complicated means of isolating ANY vibrations in the environment or the surface the turntable is placed upon. These esoteric turntables might empoly (to name only a few) double decker affairs where the first part of the table is simply a vibrations absorber; different materials employed in constructing some tables such as carbon fiber, fiberglass, REAL glass, and so on and so on......). Anyway, back to my original question. Do any of you out there have a favorite cartridge maker and if so why? I don't want to spend a ridiculous amount of money, I just want my records to sound decent as I plan to transpose them to MP3. I used to buy only Audio Technica cartridges as a kid as I thought they made a very good product at a reasonable price. Is that still the case? Are there others to consider? Like I said, I am DEINATELY looking for a NEW cartridge and stylus (I do a lot of shopping on Ebay), but I am not going to spend $500 on a Grado flagship model. It MUST be under $100, preferably under $50. Thank you in advance for any advice in this matter!!!! MOSFET |
#2
Posted to rec.audio.misc
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Opinions about phono cartridges......
"MOSFET" wrote in message
m... First, I am new to this group so a big HI to all of you!!! I have an old Technics SL-B2 turntable that is in perfect shape and works perfectly as well. I have had it for many, many years. However, it has been relagated to a box that is kept in my attic or garage for the last 25 years. I still have my record collection going back to 1978 when I purchased my first LP, and I accumulated records at a pretty good clip (perhaps 2 a week) until, I would say, 1988, when EVERYTHING was switched to CD's. Even the EP's that were the last hold-out of recordings not found on CD, but only on vinyl, really disappeared by 1992. By '91-'93, except for an extremelly small niche market of audiophiles (who to THIS DAY will claim that LP's still sound better than CD's given very HIGH quality recordings, EXPERT mastering techniques, and EXCEPTIONAL equipment used in playback). Also, besides Audiophiles, DJ's continue to this day to use vinyl in clubs as mxing one song to the next is MUCH easier than with CD's (though advances in DJ oriented CD mixing gear with controls like BPM synchrnozation has leveled the playing field to a large degree). However, besides those two groups, NOBODY BUYS vinyl anymore. Anyway, I have about 400-500 LP's I was flipping through the other day and felt nostalgic and wanted to hear some of this old stuff. However, my turntable is just missing a headshell and cartride (stylus too, of course). I gave it to someone (the headshell and cartride) about 10 years ago as I thought I would NEVER want to use the turntable again and he needed one, I nearly threw my turntable out after that (well, I was going to give it to the Salvation Army, same diff.)!!!!! I have already ordered the headshell and it should be here tommorrow or the next day. My question is about what would give me the best bang for my buck in terms of cartridges (with stylus, of course). I definately want to buy new as you NEVER know how many hours a used needle may have seen. I am NOT an audiophile NUT when it comes to my home gear (OK, a little bit) and my turntable is certainly not one you would consider "high-end". But it's built like a tank (surprisingly heavy) and after literally decades of collecting dust it fired right up, by using the strobe adjustment I dialed in the PERFECT 33 1/3 and it never wavered (wow and flutter) at all. I have no doubt it's as good (SQ wise) as any other Technics turntable (I know, I know, DJ's all prefer the 1200 series with direct drive, mine's belt driven, as the 1200's can go from 0-60 MPH in like .02 seconds or some damn thing like that which is advantages to DJ's). But again, sound quality wise, they all SOUND the same (given the same cartride) and it becomes more a factor of, again, your cartridege and stylus selection as Technics does not employ more esoteric turntable construction techniques (like thick glass platters, drive-motors COMPLETELY seperated from the spinning table itself, only joined by the belt in an attempt to COMPLETELY erradicate any motor noise that might creep in, and EVEN MORE essoteric and complicated means of isolating ANY vibrations in the environment or the surface the turntable is placed upon. These esoteric turntables might empoly (to name only a few) double decker affairs where the first part of the table is simply a vibrations absorber; different materials employed in constructing some tables such as carbon fiber, fiberglass, REAL glass, and so on and so on......). Anyway, back to my original question. Do any of you out there have a favorite cartridge maker and if so why? I don't want to spend a ridiculous amount of money, I just want my records to sound decent as I plan to transpose them to MP3. I used to buy only Audio Technica cartridges as a kid as I thought they made a very good product at a reasonable price. Is that still the case? Are there others to consider? Like I said, I am DEINATELY looking for a NEW cartridge and stylus (I do a lot of shopping on Ebay), but I am not going to spend $500 on a Grado flagship model. It MUST be under $100, preferably under $50. Thank you in advance for any advice in this matter!!!! MOSFET Grado Prestige Black. Tracks at 1.5 gram. Fairly high output. More lively sound than the AT, and low output impedance, making the cable capacitance of the turntable irrelevant. In my view, the best value, but not suitable for old turntables with big AC motors, as it is somewhat susceptible to hum pickup. Fine for your Technics, though. Cost around 60.00 via internet. Mark Z. |
#3
Posted to rec.audio.misc
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Opinions about phono cartridges......
Ο "MOSFET" έγραψε στο μήνυμα m... First, I am new to this group so a big HI to all of you!!! I have an old Technics SL-B2 turntable that is in perfect shape and works perfectly as well. I have had it for many, many years. However, it has been relagated to a box that is kept in my attic or garage for the last 25 years. I still have my record collection going back to 1978 when I purchased my first LP, and I accumulated records at a pretty good clip (perhaps 2 a week) until, I would say, 1988, when EVERYTHING was switched to CD's. Even the EP's that were the last hold-out of recordings not found on CD, but only on vinyl, really disappeared by 1992. By '91-'93, except for an extremelly small niche market of audiophiles (who to THIS DAY will claim that LP's still sound better than CD's given very HIGH quality recordings, EXPERT mastering techniques, and EXCEPTIONAL equipment used in playback). Also, besides Audiophiles, DJ's continue to this day to use vinyl in clubs as mxing one song to the next is MUCH easier than with CD's (though advances in DJ oriented CD mixing gear with controls like BPM synchrnozation has leveled the playing field to a large degree). However, besides those two groups, NOBODY BUYS vinyl anymore. Anyway, I have about 400-500 LP's I was flipping through the other day and felt nostalgic and wanted to hear some of this old stuff. However, my turntable is just missing a headshell and cartride (stylus too, of course). I gave it to someone (the headshell and cartride) about 10 years ago as I thought I would NEVER want to use the turntable again and he needed one, I nearly threw my turntable out after that (well, I was going to give it to the Salvation Army, same diff.)!!!!! I have already ordered the headshell and it should be here tommorrow or the next day. My question is about what would give me the best bang for my buck in terms of cartridges (with stylus, of course). I definately want to buy new as you NEVER know how many hours a used needle may have seen. I am NOT an audiophile NUT when it comes to my home gear (OK, a little bit) and my turntable is certainly not one you would consider "high-end". But it's built like a tank (surprisingly heavy) and after literally decades of collecting dust it fired right up, by using the strobe adjustment I dialed in the PERFECT 33 1/3 and it never wavered (wow and flutter) at all. I have no doubt it's as good (SQ wise) as any other Technics turntable (I know, I know, DJ's all prefer the 1200 series with direct drive, mine's belt driven, as the 1200's can go from 0-60 MPH in like .02 seconds or some damn thing like that which is advantages to DJ's). But again, sound quality wise, they all SOUND the same (given the same cartride) and it becomes more a factor of, again, your cartridege and stylus selection as Technics does not employ more esoteric turntable construction techniques (like thick glass platters, drive-motors COMPLETELY seperated from the spinning table itself, only joined by the belt in an attempt to COMPLETELY erradicate any motor noise that might creep in, and EVEN MORE essoteric and complicated means of isolating ANY vibrations in the environment or the surface the turntable is placed upon. These esoteric turntables might empoly (to name only a few) double decker affairs where the first part of the table is simply a vibrations absorber; different materials employed in constructing some tables such as carbon fiber, fiberglass, REAL glass, and so on and so on......). Anyway, back to my original question. Do any of you out there have a favorite cartridge maker and if so why? I don't want to spend a ridiculous amount of money, I just want my records to sound decent as I plan to transpose them to MP3. I used to buy only Audio Technica cartridges as a kid as I thought they made a very good product at a reasonable price. Is that still the case? Are there others to consider? Like I said, I am DEINATELY looking for a NEW cartridge and stylus (I do a lot of shopping on Ebay), but I am not going to spend $500 on a Grado flagship model. It MUST be under $100, preferably under $50. Thank you in advance for any advice in this matter!!!! Ortofon www.ortofon.com , is my favourite. I like their OM series, my Project Debut III has the Ortofon OMB 5E cartridge, at 17.5 mN. (I bought it new);I have also a Luxman tape deck, to convert records and cassetes to cd. -- Tzortzakakis Dimitris major in electrical engineering mechanized infantry reservist hordad AT otenet DOT gr |
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