Need new turntable cartridge: Opinions?

briank said:
Speaking of insanity, my "A" rig is a Michell Gyro SE with an Origin Live Silver 2 tonearm and the cart is a Benz-Micro H2 Woodbody. .
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nice ........ that's another 'table I would love to have.
Kuzma Stabi is a nice fairly inexpensive 'table I've considered ...... nothing like that Michell of your but gets great reviews.
Really, turntables are both musical reproducers and works of art.
And they all sound different ..... I love my VPI but sometimes I like to use an old belt drive Dual I have fixed up.
I kinda wish I didn't gig so much ....... 40 years of every night has kinda gotten me out of the habit of actually sitting down and listening these days.
:(
 
Lt. Bob said:
nice ........ that's another 'table I would love to have.
Kuzma Stabi is a nice fairly inexpensive 'table I've considered ...... nothing like that Michell of your but gets great reviews.
Really, turntables are both musical reproducers and works of art.
And they all sound different ..... I love my VPI but sometimes I like to use an old belt drive Dual I have fixed up.
I kinda wish I didn't gig so much ....... 40 years of every night has kinda gotten me out of the habit of actually sitting down and listening these days.
:(
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The Kuzma Stabis are really cool looking turntables. I haven't heard one in person but I have a couple audiophile friends with good ears who love 'em.

What VPI do you have? Years back, when I was getting my rig together, I was about to pull the trigger on an HW-19 mkIII when the Gyro SE popped up for a good deal, so I bought it instead. I love my Michell, but VPIs are superb TTs as well. I've spent some time listening to the HW Jrs, couple mkIIIs, a mkIV, TNT and briefly a scout. Very good stuff!

I know what you mean about trying to stay in the habit of listening, it's hard to wanna sit down for a side of vinyl or two after a day in the studio too!




Pardon the hijack, lo.fi.love! We're just keeping your thread warm until your M97xE comes in :D ;)
 
I don't have any big money stuff ...... I just can't afford it ..... I have always been a musican full-time so I have to use budget gear relatively speaking but I chose it all pretty carefully.

I have a HW 19 with the Audioquest 6 arm.
A Sumiko Blue Point Special ( an older one) and I have an old Audio Alchemy phono pre that I like quite a bit.
I don't know if you remember them. This is a Vac-in-the-Box with the optional larger power supply.
I also have a Bellari tubed pre I use sometimes and a Yamaha Pre amp that has 3 phone pre's on it, all with a lot of choices for loading and capacitance.
I kinda go back and forth with the different pre's ..... they all sound different and that's kinda fun to me ..... hearing things a different way.

I also have a Pro-Ject 'table and a Dual and for my living room 'table I have a Denon with a MicroBenz MC-20.
 
That's a good collection of gear! VPI, Pro-Ject, Dual, AA, Sumiko, all good stuff. I have the Audioquest PT6 on my FrankenMerrill and I think it's a very good arm indeed.

What do you think of the Benz MC-20? I own the H2 and have heard Gliders, but not the MC-20s.
 
briank said:
That's a good collection of gear! VPI, Pro-Ject, Dual, AA, Sumiko, all good stuff. I have the Audioquest PT6 on my FrankenMerrill and I think it's a very good arm indeed.

What do you think of the Benz MC-20? I own the H2 and have heard Gliders, but not the MC-20s.
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It's a forgiving cartridge ..... kinda glosses over everything in a musical way. It's not as detailed as my Sumiko but it's prettier sounding. It's perfect for my living room stereo where I might listen to anything and I want it to sound good so I'm not distacted with wanting to adjust stuff.
 
diggy_dude said:
These guys have convinced me to try the M97xE also. I'm going to order one now.
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I just saw today that the Audio Technica AT95E which is around that same price, got a Class D rating in Stereophile's Recomended Components. That's seriously impressive, for a 60 dollar cartridge to get in there at all.
I may have to try one of those.
 
Lt. Bob said:
I just saw today that the Audio Technica AT95E which is around that same price, got a Class D rating in Stereophile's Recomended Components. That's seriously impressive, for a 60 dollar cartridge to get in there at all.
I may have to try one of those.
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My Technics has two hot-swappable head shells. I suspect I'll be experimenting with any number of cartridges as funds permit. I'm curious to hear what the LTD 500 will sound like with a new stylus, as I've heard good things about it.

lo.fi.love said:
I'm really, really happy with mine. It just gets out of the way and lets me listen to music, with incredible sound quality. That's all I want :)
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Oooh, that sounds promising. I can't wait to get mine!
 
So I'd like to take this opportunity to shift this discussion from 'need new turntable cartridge' to 'need new turntable'.

I am in desperate need of a new turntable and have little to no money. I'm talkin' about getting something under $200...ideally.

OPINIONS?
 
paintedtape said:
So I'd like to take this opportunity to shift this discussion from 'need new turntable cartridge' to 'need new turntable'.

I am in desperate need of a new turntable and have little to no money. I'm talkin' about getting something under $200...ideally.

OPINIONS?
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I have some ideas for you, but start a new thread.

On a side note, "decent" and "under $200" is a very tall order. You don't want anything plastic and you don't want anything p-mount, both of which are what you're liable to see under 200 without some luck and savvy...but...let's move it to a fresh thread. When you get there, let us know what your intentions are with the turntable (home playback I presume?) and what sort of system you'll be using it with :)
 
This might not be cool, but it seems like the 'right crowd'

I have a Garrard 401 for sale at the minute.
Has a minor cosmetic blemish (overpolished) so it's at a good price.

I haven't really pushed it on these boards cos i didn't think there was a turntable following on here.
Shows what i know.
 
There's nothing wrong with plastic. If your entire system isn't a hi-fi snob's wet dream, there's no compelling reason to buy a turntable that is. That would be pearls before swine, as it were.

Definitely avoid P-mount cartridges and stick to standard 1/2" mount. It will vastly expand your options for finding a good cartridge at a reasonable price.
 
diggy_dude said:
There's nothing wrong with plastic. .
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oh man ...... yeah there is ..... unless it's a solid block like acrylic 'tables, But those hollow plastic plinths (if you can even really call them a plinth ) are resonant and absolutely inpart a 'hollow' boxy sound and they are WAY more susceptible to feeding back in the lows or skipping from footfalls.
He can get something nice and solid for 200 bucks though.
 
Lt. Bob said:
But those hollow plastic plinths (if you can even really call them a plinth ) are resonant and absolutely inpart a 'hollow' boxy sound and they are WAY more susceptible to feeding back in the lows or skipping from footfalls.
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I know what you're talking about. It doesn't make that much difference with a middle-of-the-road amp and speakers though.
 
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