I'm buying a new cartridge - anything to avoid?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by 93curr, Aug 24, 2005.

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  1. 93curr

    93curr Senior Member Thread Starter

    anyone wanna warn me away from anything particularly nasty?

    I need something to replace my worn-out Ortofon X3. I'm thinking high-output moving coil, somewhere in the $300-400 range. I doubt the selection is all that great within those parameters, but any advice would be welcome. I'm really not much of a vinyl fanatic; CDs have pretty much been the primary audio source for the past twenty years, but I do still have about 800 or so LPs that may never get upgraded (or downgraded, if you're a vinyl fan) that need to get played. wouldn't want them to feel neglected now, would we?
     
  2. JRH

    JRH Forum Resident

    Location:
    Orange County, CA
    Have you seen this..

    http://www.vinyldisc.co.uk/dualcs5000.htm

    "Don't, however, be tempted to use a moving coil in a Dual - the low mass tonearm is a poor mechanical match. Now as then, there's little better in turntable value than a Dual".
     
  3. Nad 214

    Nad 214 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ohio
    Not sure about the mass of the Dual tonearm. At your price point why not try a Denon 110 or 160 seller in Germany check ebay, has both with a BIN. I hear he is a good seller. Plus money saved could go to some great vinyl.
     
  4. Tony Plachy

    Tony Plachy Senior Member

    Location:
    Pleasantville, NY
    93, That Dual will not handle an MC very well. Get yourself a Shure 97E (I think, check with Joe N. on this forum). You will save money and you will love it.
     
  5. 93curr

    93curr Senior Member Thread Starter

    would it perhaps be worth it to replace the old OPS tonearm while I'm at it?
     
  6. Tony Plachy

    Tony Plachy Senior Member

    Location:
    Pleasantville, NY
    93, How old is the TT? If you really want an MC cartridge and now your thinking of a better arm so you can use an MC cartridge maybe a new TT is what you need.
     
  7. 93curr

    93curr Senior Member Thread Starter


    yeah, it's REAL tempting. but I just can't justify buying a whole new table when I'm not buying new vinyl. this is pretty much just to play the records that still haven't come out on CD, most of them ones I bought 20 years ago. I've had the Dual for over 15 years now but (except for having to replace the wires chewed up by one of the cats) it still seems to be working okay.

    I went into Brack Electronics yesterday with cash in my pocket to buy a cart and no one there could help me. the guys there at the time only know about home theatre installation. "the guy who knows about audio" was out at the time, and they said I'd have to come back another day. you know the world's in deep doo-doo when people who work in a hi-fi store (one of the few we have left here) don't actually know anything about hi-fi. unless big screen TVs can be considered hi-fi. :rolleyes:

    which, I guess, kinda makes sense, seeing as how record stores pretty much sell mainly DVDs now.
     
  8. Joe Nino-Hernes

    Joe Nino-Hernes Active Member

    Location:
    Chicago, IL
    Yes, the M97XE is a great value. It sounds 95% as good as a V15VxMR.
     
  9. OcdMan

    OcdMan Senior Member

    Location:
    Maryland
    What is the effective mass of the Dual's tonearm?
     
  10. It does sound good, but it doesn't track well for me the closer it gets to the label...just my two cents worth. I've set up, readjusted, done it all again over and over...and finally gave up and concluded that was the best it could do.
     
  11. 93curr

    93curr Senior Member Thread Starter

    oddly, the M97XE is available from amazon.com for less than $100, but doesn't seem to be offered by amazon.ca at all.
     
  12. John Carsell

    John Carsell Forum Resident

    Location:
    Northwest Illinois
    I hear your frustration loud and clear.

    I had the same thing happen to me last time I went shopping for a new cartridge. Those electronic stores now are so intoxicated with home theatre they can't be bothered to deal with cartridges, therefore I'll look elesewhere.

    Thank God there's still a handful of audio stores that still deal with product for us consumers from "the old school."
     
  13. OldCoder

    OldCoder Well-Known Member In Memoriam

    Location:
    St. Paul, MN, USA
    Try this site

    http://www.needledoctor.com/

    It is a little confusing to navigate since they have *so* much stuff.
    But they are pretty knowledgable, and they'll try to make you happy.

    It should give you several options....
     
  14. Joe, there's no doubt the M97xE is a great bargain, but it doesn't compare to the V15VxMR when it comes to tracking. I had some of the same problems vanmeterannie had when I used the M97xE. The V15VxMR with the microridge stylus basically eliminates inner groove distortion and sibilance. It's amazing how well this cart tracks!
     
  15. McLover

    McLover Senior Member

    Hi,

    With the Dual the following work well: Audio-Technica 440 ML, Stanton 681 EEE-s, Shure M 97-xe, and Ortofon OM series. Your Dual Arm is light and low mass. Avoid cartridges with poor shielding. This is from long experience as a Dual owner.
     
  16. t3hSheepdog

    t3hSheepdog Forum Artist

    Location:
    lazor country
  17. Tony Plachy

    Tony Plachy Senior Member

    Location:
    Pleasantville, NY
    93, Follow Kent's advice if you keep the Dual. If you really want to go MC upgrade the TT. If you decide to upgrade there is nothing better than Benz Micro MC cartridges.
     
  18. Sckott

    Sckott Hand Tighten Only.

    Location:
    South Plymouth, Ma
    Agree. The M97xE is awesome, but the V15VxMR is a notch above.
     
  19. 93curr

    93curr Senior Member Thread Starter

    okay; well, I bought the M97XE. will hook it up tonight. (still can't get past the mental roadblock that going to an MM from an MC is a step backwards, though. hopefully once I've lived with it for awhile I'll get over that.)

    thanks for all the help. :thumbsup:
     
  20. 93curr

    93curr Senior Member Thread Starter

    okay, I installed it, and things are still not right in Mudville. I need more help, apparently.

    first of all, everything's still out of phase. I wasn't sure if the problem was the wiring, the cartridge or the preamp input. I brought the table in for repair and had them install new wiring, so that shouldn't be the problem. unless they instaled the new wiring out of phase. I just installed a new cart, so that can't be it. that only leaves either the wiring from the headshell or the preamp input.

    also, there's one heck of a godawful hum (that was not there before) drowning out any music, giving me a headache and scaring the cats. on the instructions, it says "to prevent ground loops and hum, do not make common connections at these terminals." (i.e. headshell wires to the pins) I'm not quite sure what that means. are they suggesting to just leave the green and blue (ground) wires unattached? how would I stop them from just dangling down and scratching the record? is "common connections" a technical term with which I should be familiar? (when I touch the cart, the hum changes pitch, if that's any kind of clue.)
     
  21. Tony Plachy

    Tony Plachy Senior Member

    Location:
    Pleasantville, NY

    93, You need local help, I cannot diagnose this from NY. Where did you have the TT rewired and where did you get the cartridge? Also there are SHF members in Toronto, reach out to them and see if one can stop by and look at your set-up, Gary the Gort comes to mind. For SURE all for wires have to be attached to the cartridge, no dangling wires.
     
  22. 93curr

    93curr Senior Member Thread Starter

    I think it must be the turntable wiring; I'm fairly certain that the guy who installed the new wires had no idea what he was doing (the repair store went out of business shortly after I had the table "fixed"). removing the cartridge/headshell does nothing to stop the hum, so it's probably not that, and unplugging the RCA jacks from the phono input (but leaving the grounding wire in place) DOES stop the hum. my best guess at this point is that the new wires are neither shielded nor attached correctly. how much Bay Bloor turntable clinic would charge to fix this I do not know.
     
  23. Tony Plachy

    Tony Plachy Senior Member

    Location:
    Pleasantville, NY
    Find out how much, and if it is too much consider a new TT. :sigh:
     
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