New stylus and three new LPs on the way. (1 Viewer)

[Lee Scoggins]

I don't have any experience with a Grado Green but I have heard the more expensive Grados like the Platinum and Sonata and Reference. I use the Sonata. There are a lot of good carts in the $100-150 range but it depends on how much gain your phono stage has. Can you handle a low output cartridge? Then something like a Denon DL-103 may make sense.

 

[Lee Scoggins]

Suggestion: Ortofon 2M Red

Ortofon 2M Red Phono Cartridge: The 2M Red and 2M Blue both have the same engine with slit pole pins.

 

[Brian L]

Phil,

Great job articulating your rational for going back to vinyl.

Every time there is a CD vs. Vinyl thread the same old voices dismiss vinyl due to its well know technical shortcomings, but they fail to recognize or even acknowledge that for many recordings, CD fails to fulfill its potential due to crappy mastering, ergo the best sounding versions of many recordings are vinyl.

It is actually quite sad the some folks are missing out on some great music in its highest fidelity form, but oh well, more used records for us!

In all honesty, if every rock CD sounded as good as Steve Hoffman's "Bad Co.", there would likely have not been as much of a vinyl renaissance. I know I would have been less likely to dive back in a few years ago.

Anyway, I wanted to chime in on your cartridge search and offer up the AT 440mla. Not sure where you are price wise, but this cart is a legendary tracker. Once properly mounted, you will never hear the words "inner groove distortion" again, unless it is on a badly damaged LP.

I run one on my Rega P2, and it is a really solid combo.

And do not underestimate the importance of properly aligning the cart in the head shell. There are lots of free alignment protractors on line.. all it takes is some time and patience.

Brian

 

[Lee Scoggins]

Very true Brian. Also I have found tracking force and azimuth are important. VTA is also very important.

 

[Brian L]

Come in Tony... throw us a bone.

I bet a few of us would gladly take that awful vinyl off your hands, so long as you have not used your records for coasters or spare tires. ;-)

Brian

 

[Mark_TS]

I was hoping RHINO would put out the CD here

Japan has remastered it Warner WPCR 75419
Van Morrison / Astral Weeks

itll do until Gen 1 tapes are found

My dad landed the privilege of remodeling his kitchen back in 1973
His place was magical-out towards the coast in the country
I remember wandering into the basement seeing the boxes of master tapes stacked in piles
He was on tour-his wife was there-(maybe the girl on the front of TUPELO HONEY?)nice old craftsman house -it was a magic place in the fog

 

[Philip Hamm]

My table is T4P so all I have to do is snap the cart in and it's instantly perfect. Also, it's easy to keep a spare cart for the occasional beat up old record.

 

[Philip Hamm]

Well, I ended up getting the Grado Green P-Mount for my old Denon table. It sounds a little better than the old Audio Technica I think, I'm sure as I get used to it I will like it better. Less sibiliance distortion. My ear says it's quieter the meters say it's just as loud. I'm a little concerned about inner grove distortion on this one though. The one big surprise is that surface noise is substantially lower, I mean the difference is dramatic to say the least!!!!! For reference I'm using the level meters I see when doing needle drops in soundforge. The difference in record noise is unbelievable.

 

[Lee Scoggins]

Philip,

Congratulations! Remember it will sound even better as it breaks in.

 

[Philip Hamm]

After further review... The grado doesn't like my turntable at all. Lots of inner groove distortion. Guess I'll keep it in a droor for something else. I recorded the same song at 96/24 with the Grado and my AT311EP, normalized volumes, and the comparison was not kind for the grado. :frowning: Also - the AT311P is real nice sounding cart on my system!

 

[Lee Scoggins]

You should try the $99 Ortofon Red. Grados are great carts; not sure what the issue is on your table-might be setup. Did you check VTF and VTA?

 

[Philip Hamm]

Don't know what VTF and VTA are. I know Grados are good, but this one does not like my table. The cart is p-mount so tracking is as good as the table is capable of.

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

One thing I learned was that a stylus needs to be cleaned really well every so often. More crud builds up on the stylus than it does on the grooves of the LPs.

I got a Microacoustics cartridge with my Thorens years ago, but IIRC you never could purchase a replacement stylus. Went with a Shure V-15 type V from Pacific Stereo when they went out of business.

Am I old or what?

 

[Lee Scoggins]

Here's a photo of the 2M Red Ortofon cartridge.

SH Forums - View Single Post - The "Picture of your Turntable(s)" thread, Pt. 2