muckshot
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Sep 21, 2005
- Posts
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Curious what people think about the pairing. I've been amassing records over the last few months and would love to finally be able to LISTEN(!) to them, but a while back my NAD PP1 phono stage died on me and I desperately need a new needle. I'm almost positive that I am going to order one of these: TCC TC-760LC to replace my PP1 but my dilemma now is what to do about the cartridge/stylus. (Man, I really love the built-in output level potentiometer on the TC-760LC, my PC soundcard was having a really hard time dealing with hot signals from my old setup and this'll solve that problem without the need for a bunch of line attenuators, nice!).
Currently, I have an Ortofon OMP20 stylus (my turntable is an old entry level Technics SL-D35 DD, T4P/P-Mount) paired with the generic OMP cartridge that can accommodate the OM10/20/30/40. As the title suggests, my real love is for electronic music and as such most of the stuff that gets played is on 45RPM 12-inches, much of it pretty bass driven. That said, I'm not a DJ and the turntable is mostly just a means to get my vinyl-only music into digital format.
I'd like to keep the total for the stylus/cartridge under 100$ and seeing as I already have the Ortofon cartridge and I generally enjoyed the type of sound I was achieving with this setup, the natural choice seems to be a simple stylus replacement... but I'm not sure it's the best choice given the multitude of options (even for P-Mount) and I literally know nothing about this technology... I remember reading way back that Ortofon was highly regarded but not really geared towards the kind of music I listen to. That was confirmed today by the friendly folks over at LPGear who suggested the following:
A better cartridge [than the Ortofon] is the Audio-Technica 301EP @
$49.95 + $7.90 S&H (retail $89.00). It has an
elliptical stylus and offers higher resolution and
more detail.
For very accurate fidelity choose the Audio-Technica
AT311EP @ $64.95 + $7.90 S&H (retail $109.00). It uses
a special elliptical diamond for superb tracing of
record grooves thus resulting in pristine clarity and
accuracy.
Any opinions on these? My only reservation here is that the price of the stylus' are actually really low (the replacement stylus for either one is around 30$). Not that price dictates quality, but I'd rather not low-ball it if I can do significantly better for a bit more cash. Would the OM10 be a real step down seeing as it's 60$ less than its big brother the OM20? Any bass lovers (or haters), vinyl aficionados or anyone else out there with an opinion or some light to shed on the subject?
Currently, I have an Ortofon OMP20 stylus (my turntable is an old entry level Technics SL-D35 DD, T4P/P-Mount) paired with the generic OMP cartridge that can accommodate the OM10/20/30/40. As the title suggests, my real love is for electronic music and as such most of the stuff that gets played is on 45RPM 12-inches, much of it pretty bass driven. That said, I'm not a DJ and the turntable is mostly just a means to get my vinyl-only music into digital format.
I'd like to keep the total for the stylus/cartridge under 100$ and seeing as I already have the Ortofon cartridge and I generally enjoyed the type of sound I was achieving with this setup, the natural choice seems to be a simple stylus replacement... but I'm not sure it's the best choice given the multitude of options (even for P-Mount) and I literally know nothing about this technology... I remember reading way back that Ortofon was highly regarded but not really geared towards the kind of music I listen to. That was confirmed today by the friendly folks over at LPGear who suggested the following:
A better cartridge [than the Ortofon] is the Audio-Technica 301EP @
$49.95 + $7.90 S&H (retail $89.00). It has an
elliptical stylus and offers higher resolution and
more detail.
For very accurate fidelity choose the Audio-Technica
AT311EP @ $64.95 + $7.90 S&H (retail $109.00). It uses
a special elliptical diamond for superb tracing of
record grooves thus resulting in pristine clarity and
accuracy.
Any opinions on these? My only reservation here is that the price of the stylus' are actually really low (the replacement stylus for either one is around 30$). Not that price dictates quality, but I'd rather not low-ball it if I can do significantly better for a bit more cash. Would the OM10 be a real step down seeing as it's 60$ less than its big brother the OM20? Any bass lovers (or haters), vinyl aficionados or anyone else out there with an opinion or some light to shed on the subject?