Best cartridge you've never heard of: the Audio-Technica AT33PTG/II

Any thoughts on the AT33SA on the Rega RP3? Would it be worth the extra cost compared to the AT33PTG/II?

I have an Emotiva XSP-1 Preamp/phono stage, but not sure if I would still require a step-up converter or if it would be sufficient.

 

I just setup an AT33PTG/II in my second armwand for my VPI JMW 12.6. I purchased this cart to replace my long in the tooth Benz ACE M. Installation and setup went smoothly and I ran into one issue checking tracking with my trusty Ortofon test LP. This LP uses a 315Hz tone at increasing levels in both lateral and vertical groove modulation. On this test only the right channel starts to distort slightly at the third level with the left channel remaining clean. The left channel on starts to slightly distort at the final level. I though this might be a bias issue so I added another twist to the arm cable with no improvement. Could this be an alignment issue, even though everything looks perfect? I used the VPI overhang gauge and have tracking force set at 2.0g and VTA parallel. Maybe I should get some hours on this new cart first and then re-check the test?

 

I think you'd run into diminishing returns on the RP3 with a cartridge like that. Although the 303 arm is no slouch, the plinth may not be braced enough and unless you have an external speed controller, you won't get rock solid or even accurate cadence because Rega revs them up to 33.3 or a little faster than default. I used to think this was a myth until I compared 2 needle drops I performed on 2 tables. On a quartz locked, direct drive Yamaha PX3, the recording was longer by a few seconds than the same recording on an RP1.

Just looked on amazon at your preamp. There's a magic switch on the back for the phono stage "MM/MC". If you get a moving coil cartridge, flip that over to MC. Normal moving magnet carts use the MM. Nice pre by the way.

 

Thanks.
I actually did some upgrades to the turntable. Tangospinner base with dual pulley, rega tungsten counterweight, isolating feet, TT-PSU. I think it's more in between a Rega RP3 and rp6 at this stage.

And the preamp is indeed great! .

 

I think Want to try the AT33sa...

If anyone wants an AT33PTG/ii - new and sealed in box, never opened for 400 gbp, please pm me.

 

With the TT-PSU you have a proper speed controller, so that is a nice table now. Should sing nicely with whatever you bolt to the arm.

 

Thanks! Yes, the TT-PSU made a noticeable improvement to the table.

I ordered the AT33SA. Can't wait . In the meantime I'm upgrading some other parts of the system. Just mounted the Michell 3 point VTA (great quality product). I also replaced the counterweight with the Rega Tungsten Heavyweight Counterweight. I actually got this because originally I Thought i'll need a smaller counterweight for a dynavector, but eventually I only need 2mm of VTA for the AT33SA. Still, should provide better stability. And it looks cool .

Tangospinner plinth and dual pulley plus isolating feet are also on their way.

 

Yeah, I have an RP1 with the Groovetracer reference as the subplatter and the RP3 glass platter as my backup table. Once you get a flat subplatter it helps a lot. I didn't care for the hum from Rega's motor though, as the arm swings towards the center of the record it gets more pronounced. Nice setup you've got in progress there.

My only recommendation at this point is to not upgrade everything all at once. Get an album you know inside and out, sonically, and do a little each week so you can see if your upgrades are changing things for the better.

 

What I have always wondered: the microline stylus of the PTG/ii has a 3 micron minor radius. Shibata is 7 micron, as is the profile of the stylus in the ART9. So these stylii should be worse at tracing high frequencies. Are they? At what point does the minor radius become "small enough"?

 

Try increasing antiskating and see if the distortion in the right channel improves. But first, make sure the stylus is clean.

 

My AT33sa has arrived!



I'm trying to reserve final judgement until it has at least 20 hours on it. At the moment it feels a bit flat (or is that what others refer to as "bright"?). I would characterize it as similar to a digital recording. My old elys2 definetly had a more pronounced bass.

However, no doubt about the amazing tracking ability. I was able to track all the distortion test tracks on "HIFI NEWS" test vinyl except the last one which is claimed to be a "torture test" that is rarely passed. My test track for distortion is "Heal the world" on the Dangerous album, it is the last track on its side, and with the elys it just sounded bad, especially the ssss'es sounded completely distorted. Here there was none of that. I also have this song as a 45 single. The elys could not even play that. It just kept skipping. With the 33sa, it played smoothly.

I think I got the alignment perfect, however for some reason it feels like the left channel is very so slightly higher volume.

 

Just a quick update: following some very good advise, I reduced the VTA from around 2.8-3mm to 2mm only. The difference was amazing! The sound moved from being flat and digital to warm and vinyl. This is an amazing cartridge!

If you have a Rega RP3, set the VTA to 2mm. I set my VTF to 1.95. Still tinkering between 100 ohms and 470 ohms.

 

I myself have a 33ptgII with now a good 70 hours and while it's a big improvement over my old Dynavector 20x2 for almost everything, I find it a tad bright (not tedious bright mind you) and leaner (for sure compared to the 20x2) in the midrange. But the openess and the soundstage is amazing.
I run it through a Dynavector p75 pre phono in enhanced mode, maybe if I play a bit with the loading I could tame down the high just a hair.. I don't know.. we'll see

 

Good to hear that your SA is working out for you. Is on my short list as well. Have you tried reducing VTF towards the lower side of range, towards 1.8 g?

 

I don't know what "enhanced mode" does to the signal, so maybe try it without.

jeff

 

You might want to also try lowering the VTA.

 

Another sucker here for an AT 33SA cart. Just ordered mine, should be here in about a week. Pretty pumped, think she'll be a keeper cart! Currently running AT OC9III.

 

Definitely agree. With bass a tad shy and upper octaves a little bright, this is likely your next best move.

 

Got mine installed and running yesterday. Even after hardly any hours of play time I can already hear the difference between it and the Shure M44G. I'm hearing subtelties I've never heard before on records.

 

The PTG or SA?

 

Mine's a PTG/II.

 

Been running in an AT33PTG ii for the last few weeks. Previous cart was an AT150sa and before that AT150MLX.
The PTG has a very balanced, controlled and neutral presentation. I would describe it as a "studio" sound, very flat. I sort of miss the sparkle and excitement of the 150 series but that's a trade-off for it being less edgy with certain LPs. It tracks even better than the aforementioned with even less surface noise, although the stylus seems like a bit of a dust magnet for some reason. Or maybe I just didn't notice it as much before. The stylus is even thinner than the 150 series so experience and care is paramount when handling it. Requires a 3x loupe minimum for alignment (I use the Mint Tractor) as it's nearly invisible to the naked eye. Impressive cart, cleaned up my sound and add a professional and refined touch to my LPs, although for heavier music it's a little bit shy but I'm willing to accept that in return for less graininess and IGD. It did not cure it entirely though. the ends of Blizzard of Ozz and Diary Of A Madman still make me grimace.

 

There's only one cure for IGD, linear turntables. See avatar.

 

Has anyone had trouble with this cart working with a VPI Scout Aries before? I'm thoroughly baffled. I got a new AT33PTG/II in on Tuesday and spent two nights trying to get it to sound even passable. I could not. Probably spent 7-8 hours going over both cartridge mounting and preamp settings, but nothing resolved it. I was getting tin can sound with very distorted highs and terrible dynamics. I properly used the VPI alignment jig to set overhang, I tried VTF from 2.0-2.33, and then tried about every twist on the arm base to adjust the arm height. None of it worked.

Because this is a line stylus, is it possible that the terrible old counterweight (no lock mechanism) doesn't allow for good enough refinement of azimuth? I used the straw test with visibly accurate results, but who knows. My existing cartridge, a Zu DL-103 requires a heavier counterweight which will not work with the much lighter AT33PTG. That's the only difference between the two cartridge setups. When I switched the DL-103 back in I had everything sounding great within 5 minutes even though I hadn't set it up in 18 months. A far cry from 8 hours and still terrible sound with the AT-33. Resonance calculator suggests there's no reason why the cart wouldn't work with the JMW9 tonearm.

Oh, and my Musical Surroundings Phonomena II had no bearing on things either, with 125 and 250 ohm loading set. Sounded great with the DL-103 when I put it back on.

 

Are you sure you have enough VTF ? Are you using a digital scale? If it's not the VTF, I think you have a damaged stylus or a defective cartridge. No minor setup problem would account for such terrible sound. (I'm assuming the Zu and the AT33 have similar output so it's not something happening at the phone stage.)