Cartridges

[Kermit z]

One of the big appeals to me for vintage gear, is the relative low cost to get involved with it. I have a big addiction with vinyl which is evident in the number of tables I have. I enjoy them all and do see the differences in each. I currecntly own 3 Direct Drive's, 4 belt drive's, and 1 Idler drive table. I have changed the interconnects on my Technics SL-1400 and will be doing the same to my Philips GA312 shortly ( I will post up the pictures of this proceedure when it happens) This is a good mod to help open up the sound since alot of this gear is 30+ years old and could benefit from it. But a big factor in sound is a good cartridge. When I started back on the road of vintage vinyl, I picked up a Grado Black for my 1400. It sounds very warm and I have really enjoyed it for Jazz and Classical music. It does fine in other areas too but excels in these situations most to me. I then picked up a replacement stylus for the cart that came with the 1400, an AT95E. I do like the AT too. brighter than the Grado and better for rock. I do like this cart alot. Later on I picked up a cheap AT92ED off the auction site. It actually sound pretty darn good for its low cost. A better tracker than the Grado and bright like the 95E. I eventually got a Shure M97xE that was on sale at Amazon (They still are). This is another that, once broken in, has become my favorite. It tracks well with its brush down even over mildly warped records. I thought, for the money, I was at about the top of my game. I had looked at the next level up carts and decided to hold off. I was happy. That was until a Denon cart came into my life. I got the DL-160 very cheap off of ebay. I got it on Monday and have declared it to be the best cart I have ever heard. It is still breaking in, but even with 5 hours on it, it stuns me. I played sveral Kansas albums, and am blown away. What a great sounding cart. It makes my SL-1400 seem like a much more expensive table. If anyone is on the fence on upgrading to the Denon DL-160, do it. You will be very happy indeed:)

So, what is your favorite cart? I would love to hear and experiment down the road with something new.

[Kermit z]

Here are some shots of the carts:

First is Shure M97xE, then Grado Black, AT95E, AT92ED

[lha1992]

Well as you know, I'm only a youngling. I'm only 16 and just got into Turntables.

Well, what started me into vintage solid state was me wanting to get my mom's TT up and running, but the actual getting the TT running again didn't happen until this past December. Although I got into vintage solid state in may of 2007.

But anyway, I have a Technics SL-BD35 TOTL belt driven TT. Its a nice TT from 1986 but I know I could get a better TT (but that will be later on when I get some more money). At first the TT still had its original AT VS215EP cart but I knew it needed to be changed.

So I got a AT92E and let me tell you it sounds so good! I really like this cart! I probably have between 80 and a 100 hours on the cart.

[Kermit z]

The AT92E is a very good sounding cart :) Its surprising really for the money. I use it on my Pioneer table where it does great. The SL-BD35 is a nice table too and I'm sure that is a great combo.