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Recommendations Dual 1209 Cartridge

post #1 of 5
2/5/10 at 2:26pm
Thread Starter 
Alright, got my 1209 workin' fine however for the sake of experience (and I have no cart or headshell) I want to put a nice cartridge on the table. I also want to rewire the tonearm with either Cardas or Discovery cable (suggestions between those 2 would be great too). However for the cartridge my budget is between $100-200, will go slightly higher if it's a well worth it upgrade. The music I listen to is very broad but I do listen to a lot of Hip-Hop so a cart with great bass response would be great. This will be hooked up to my D2Ks 90% of the time. I was considering the Shelter 201 since that seems to get good review on this site.
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post #2 of 5
2/6/10 at 11:40am
Quote:
Originally Posted by theHof View Post
Alright, got my 1209 workin' fine however for the sake of experience (and I have no cart or headshell) I want to put a nice cartridge on the table. I also want to rewire the tonearm with either Cardas or Discovery cable (suggestions between those 2 would be great too). However for the cartridge my budget is between $100-200, will go slightly higher if it's a well worth it upgrade. The music I listen to is very broad but I do listen to a lot of Hip-Hop so a cart with great bass response would be great. This will be hooked up to my D2Ks 90% of the time. I was considering the Shelter 201 since that seems to get good review on this site.
The classic retro match if you want to know what this deck sounded like at the time was a Shure M-75 which came with a variety of different compliance tip options back then so you could fit it with a basic conical or simple eliptical to an arm like on your Dual but also to the lower mass arms with a V15 stylus.

http://www.shure.com/stellent/groups...o_M75-6_ug.pdf

This was really the begining of Shure's research into these matters which did much to shape the way tonearms and carts would be designed in the '70s.

I have tried a Shure M-75 on my stock Lenco L75 arm which would be similar in mass to your Dual I think and with a basic G tip it sounds good. You can pick up these carts for a song on ebay and Jico in Japan have a full range of stylii. It sounds very smooth and sweet and is really lovely with old Jazz or more laidback styles of Hip Hop.

For something more modern I'd look at the Denon DL110/160 or 103 if you have a phono pre-amp capable of dealing with a low ouptut MC. The DL-103 in particular is great for 808 / 909 driven rhythms as it has really excellent bouncy bass.

If your musical taste is more abstract in a colder vein then an Audio Technica AT440MLA or Sumiko BPS or Shelter would be more you cup of tea giving a lot of insightful treble as well.

You could even get several headshells and have a range of carts for different musics Dual Turntable Parts

Also you have to remember that the cart's balance can be affected a lot by the phono stage you use.
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post #3 of 5
2/6/10 at 5:12pm
Thread Starter 
what would be a good pre-amp <$200 that would power a Denon 103? I don't have a phono pre right now but will be getting one along with the rest of what I need for the table. So right now would be a good time to make sure I can match up equipment
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post #4 of 5
2/7/10 at 11:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by theHof View Post
what would be a good pre-amp <$200 that would power a Denon 103? I don't have a phono pre right now but will be getting one along with the rest of what I need for the table. So right now would be a good time to make sure I can match up equipment
I'd go for a Cambridge 640P.
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post #5 of 5
2/7/10 at 11:43am
I would second the Cambridge Audio, it allows the use of both MM and MC phono cartridges, so you could experiment with either next round.

A look through the boards at Audioasylum (vinyl section) and AudioKarma will give you loads and loads to read about various cartridges. Just find a cartridge name, and search it on these sites.

I personally keep wavering between the Dynavector 10x5 and the Denon 103R, but both are about twice your budget. I would think the dynavector would do your bass better, you migh investigate the dynavector units in your price range.
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