Grado Red 2 Phono cartridge.Great improvement over my 2 months old Sumiko Pearl?

Hello: I got a Sumiko Pearl cartridge 2 months ago. From the very first moment its sound wasn't my cup of tea but one can be sure until a cart is well broken in. Now my Sumiko Pearl has been on my TT for a couple of months and 'though its sound has improved I still don't quite like it. I know it's a cheap cart, for the price it sounds right and has a nice level of detail, but I find it sounding dull, kind of lifeless. It's been properlyset up using a Rega Protactor (my TT is a Goldring GR1 which is rebadged Rega Planar 1) and checked with another protactor I downloaded and it measures right with both.
I've read great reviews from Grado cartridges even from the cheap ones. As I'm on a tight budget I've thought about getting a Grado Red 2 which has great reviews. Also, being on a budget the fact that replacement stylus are cheap is another plus for me.
What do you think? Is it worthwhile the change or I should better wait and get a better and more expensive cart?
Please, don't advice me to get a Denon DL-110 as I got one in June and it died on Christmas, it developed an unbeareble distorsion on the left channel, so I'm not taking a chance with another one.
I've also seen some inexpensive Audio Technica carts on the 200-250 $ range but I find the replacement stylus too expensive. I'm curious about their V Shaped construction with dual magnets, is it really an improvement or just marketing hype?
Thanks in advance for your answers.

 

Nobody?

 

I prefer AT carts, even with their "bright" character. Nothing worse than a dull sounding cart (imo). Have owned a few AT440 carts. Worth every penny.

 

A more detailed cart would seem to be what you’re looking for if you are using an EAR clone tube Phono stage. Not sure any of the Grados would add anything, maybe an Ortofon 2M Blue.

 

You may consider replacing the stock stylus with a Jico Stylus - 1. It will transform that cartridge. Search around the web for testimonials.

 

It really is all a matter of taste. I have had loads of expensive carts and never been all that happy until i got my SumikoPearl. It was a pig to istall but after a lot of patience it is something i have no intention of changing. I love it. Sorry i cant be more helpful but if you dont like it,only you will discover the right alternative. Good luck.

 

Thank you all for your replies.
I went to Jico Stylus website, searched for Sumiko Pearl and it found nothing.

 

Yes, give the Grado a try. You could start with $75 Black2, also. Be prepared for a bit of hum.

 

The AT cart design isn't necessarily superior to other companies' MM designs. It's just different. I do like AT carts but not everyone does. Many people get them and find them too bright, and this is almost always because they have too much capacitance in their system. Without knowing all the details about your system or how much capacitance you have going, hard to say if it's a good suggestion for you or not.

IIRC Grados will hum on that Rega/Goldring. Stay away.

 

Thank you for your input. Why does Grado cartridges hum on Rega TTs?

 

I just sent them an email asking about the the SAS Stylus 1 (I need one). The product page for that stylus is currently empty. This stylus was not developed specifically for the Pearl, it's for a cartridge that Jico sold (MM1). The stylus just happens to fit the Pearl perfectly. I am using one in an old A&R P77. I absolutely love the combination.

 

Grado cartridges have an old-school unshielded design from 1950 that virtually no other cartridge maker (at least in the mainstream) uses anymore. They will hum on a lot of tables, particularly anything that has an unshielded motor. They even hum on some direct drive motors.

 

Thank you for your answer. Current grado cartridges like the Red 2 are supposed to be newly designed cartridges, and in addition to that the motor on my Goldring GR-1 TT is right at the other side of where the arm and cartridge are 'though they get closer as they move to the inner part of the record.
When it doesn't hum, does the Grado Red 2 sound great?

 

Does this mean that it may have been discontinued? I guess this Jilco stylus is just plug and play with the Sumiko Pearl as it was the original stylus replacement.

 

There is nothing terribly new about the new Grado line. They tweaked the carts slightly but the basic design is the same, still with the same upsides and downsides. Never heard a Grado Red, and I wouldn't recommend any cart that hums on your model of turntable. Pick something else. Lots of brands to choose from. No reason to have Grado fever.

 

Jico makes the SAS styli to order. They don't crank them out like crazy. If it's "discontinued" that only means it's not on the menu right now. It doesn't necessarily mean they wouldn't make one in the future if they wanted to. Whether they want to or not is a different story.

 

Do you know how much is the Jico SAS stylus? Does it change the sound of the Sumiko Pearl up to the point that one can say the improvement is huge?

 

Should be around $200, could be more. The price changes depending on their diamond supplier and other factors.

I recently got a Jico Shibata for one of my carts, sounds like an entirely different cart now.

Bear in mind the SAS is a higher grade stylus than the Shibata.

I would probably skip both types if your records are dirty or in rough shape. If you have a lot of of well preserved or new vinyl, and you have a record cleaning machine, you're good to go.

 

Wow, isn't it a bit expensive for 120$ cartridge? The stylus costs more than the cart, this should better make a huge improvement over the factory installed stylus.

 

Yeah, they are not cheap. With most carts, the stylus is where most of the money goes. I just put a $150 Jico on an $80 cart. Worth it? IMHO, yes.

 

Have you tried shimming the cart or arm to adjust VTA?

 

Nope, I don't know how to do that. Are you talking about lifting the arm?

 

I paid $25 for my A&R P77 (essentially the same as your cartridge). I prefer the P77/SAS combo to both my Shelter 501 II and Dynavector 17D3.

 

Yes, putting a spacer under the arm. You can get the spacers from Rega or other companies. If you have a local Rega dealer, they should know how much you need to lift the arm for optimal setup of that cartridge. Once you do that, you won't be able to close the dustcover unless you buy an upgrade/aftermarket counterweight.

The reason people do this is because the default height of Rega arms is for Rega carts. Any other cart is going to be taller and would probably benefit from raising the arm.

 

Thank you for your reply. I've seen those spacers for Rega arms on Ebay, some of them don't even need to remove the whole arm just loose the screws that fit the arm a little bit, but I don't know what to buy, what size to fit the Sumiko Pearl. I've seen those Rega spacers by links posted by some forum members here but I don't know how to search for them on Ebay, maybe "Rega arm spacers" will do. In addition to that, if I want to install the spacers myself I'd need the ones that don't need to remove the whole arm, I have a dissability, my shoulders are a total mess that limit my arms movement and my neck suffers or severe osteoarthritis, all because of stress that caused me an unfortunate and stupid accident. The non remove the arm, I can put them on myself,the others, I don't think so.