Goldring Eroica LX?

Does anyone have one of these and care to comment?

I just got one and mounted it to my Technics SL-1200 with KAB fluid damper and I wanted to compare notes. I think this is probably one of the best deals out there. This cartridge can be found for less than $500 and it's just such a nice sounding MC. Very balanced, and neutral--perhaps a hair on the warm side of neutral, which makes it pleasing rather than cold. Extremely quiet in the groove. The FGII stylus is a real detail digger, but I really like it mounted to an aluminum cantilever--there's none of the brilliance or stridence that one can find with an extended line contact on a boron, beryllium or sapphire cantilever. And there's no loss of speed that I can detect; it's very fast, indeed.

This is a really nice cartridge. Though I haven't listened to it for long, I think it's probably one of the most gentle-on-the-ears cartridges I've heard. Listening fatique, be gone. But it's so detailed and musical that you want to listen forever. I don't understand why this cartridge doesn't get mentioned much when people are looking for $500 MC cartridges. It could be my top recommendation from now on in that category.

 

I want to try out a MC cartridge and am currently using a Goldring 1042 MM so this might be a good transition. Glad youre liking it. If it's anything like new 1042, it will sound better still after you play it a bit

 

I have an excellent condition gently used one listed here on SH Forum - http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/goldring-eroica-lx.714644/

 

Mine actually arrived with a broken cantilever that I reattached. I only paid about $50 for it. It was otherwise brand new unused.

If one that has never been broken sounds even better than this, well, must be incredible. But mine tracks perfectly at 1.5g and this is one of those cartridges that just might be hard to get enough of. I've got a lot of cartridges and this one has a pretty unique combination of excellent detail, sharp transients yet smooth musical presentation, soundstage and imaging, depth, range, plus dead quiet background--minimal ticks and pops, nearly undetectable blank groove noise. It seems like it's basically resonance free--something like the old Ortofon OM Super cartridges that had a clarity and neutrality about them that went beyond just what kind of tip and cantilever they had. There's a clarity there that is rare to find. But also a liveliness that those Ortofons don't really have as they were much more neutral and flat. Chief complaint against them is that they can sound clinical.

To me, the Eroica is addicting. I'd jump on the $295 if I didn't already have one. FGII tip ought to last just about forever.

 

Great score Needlestein!

May I ask what phono preamp you are using with the Goldring? Step up transformer?

 

I used a Goldring Eroica H for a long time. It was the cartridge that came with my Music Hall 7. After a mishap many years into owning it I bought another direct from the UK for $475 delivered. I'd been flabbergasted to find that U.S. dealers wanted $900 for the cart, that's what I'd paid for the entire turntable! This was when I was quite ignorant of setting up a cartridge properly and after several motnhs of play the cantilever bent. I had it re-tipped at The Soundsmith and it came back sounding even better. After some 1200 hours I retired it, but I'm still thinking of doing another cantilever/stylus rebuild at The Soundsmith, the Eroica was one fine cartridge indeed.

 

I use either a Pickering PLZ active gain stage (for their low output moving magnet cartridges) or a homebrew 1:15 SUT made by SUTman on ebay using two McGeown LT-2 microphone transformers. Normally the SUT is hands down better with any active gain stage I have tried, including the Emotiva XPS-1 MC input and a couple other cheapies (so no surprises there). But the Goldring seems to like either the Pickering or the SUT, sounding wide and spacious with either. This time, it's hard for me to tell which is the better option as it has really great synergy with either.

My phono stage is a Bellar Rolls VP-129 upgraded only with a Sovtek 12AX7-LPS Long Plate tube, which made a HUGE difference.

Which cantilever/stylus did you go with from Sound Smith?

That would be a difficult decision to make. I think the Eroica is a really great example of how good a cartridge can sound without having to go the route of a boron, beryllium or sapphire cantilever. That's not to say that an exotic cantilever retip couldn't be an improvement, but I like this one so much the way it is that I'd probably be very happy just staying with the aluminum.

I've got a Benz Micro Silver that was retipped with the lowest level Sound Smith sapphire cantilever and line contact and it is fantastic, though. I, actually incidentally, think that one has the best tip mounting of the three options. But I never heard the Benz before, so I can't compare before and after sound. The temptation to retip the Goldring with an exotic cantilever must be pretty great. I'd have to flip a coin or maybe find another broken one and keep one aluminum and do exotic with the other. I have also heard that Goldring itself can do this work. Have you contacted them? The Fritz Gyger FGII tip alone is worth a couple hundred.

The price disparity on these Goldrings is pretty crazy. The sell on ebay new for between $475 and $795--what is the over $300 difference for? But many, many cartridges have pricing disparities like that on ebay. I always wonder if the high priced ones ever sell.

Before (I was planning to use the FGII to retip my Pickering D7500 stylus, but it wasn't going to work):


After:

 

It was rumoured a long time ago that this cartridge was similar to the Linn
Troika. No mean feat.
Goldring did have business connections with Linn, as Linm ran a cartridge retipping service and Goldring did the work, .in many cases
A complete new coil/ cantilever/ stylus
Assembly was fitted.
I had mine done. £500 it cost in 2000
And boy did it sound good
I do know from numerous reports thst it is a very underrated cartridge .

 

I chose the mid-level option with the ruby cantilever and line contact stylus, it sounded great.

 

Oops. Misspelling up there. My SUT uses McGohan LT-2 transformers.

 

I'll bet!