[tooch]

I know this topic has probably been done to death, and I have searched around but I just end up confusing myself more!

Just picked up an SL1200 from a friend, and have temporarily borrowed an Ortofon OM10 out of my old deck which is getting sold. Even with this cheap cartridge, I'm quite happy with the sound! It's a little sibilant at times on vocals, so this is something I want to avoid.

Currently have my eye on the Audio Technica AT120E at Cartridge AT120E $ increase coming SOON! - AT120E.
I am open to other suggestions around this price range if there is something significantly better. I don't want anything which is overly analytical sounding, I want a nice fun involving sound but with reasonable detail. If it helps any, I have a Cambridge 540p as the phono stage, feeding into a NAD C320BEE.

Thanks everyone

 

[ssportclay]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tooch /img/forum/go_quote.gif I know this topic has probably been done to death, and I have searched around but I just end up confusing myself more! Just picked up an SL1200 from a friend, and have temporarily borrowed an Ortofon OM10 out of my old deck which is getting sold. Even with this cheap cartridge, I'm quite happy with the sound! It's a little sibilant at times on vocals, so this is something I want to avoid. Currently have my eye on the Audio Technica AT120E at Cartridge AT120E $ increase coming SOON! - AT120E. I am open to other suggestions around this price range if there is something significantly better. I don't want anything which is overly analytical sounding, I want a nice fun involving sound but with reasonable detail. If it helps any, I have a Cambridge 540p as the phono stage, feeding into a NAD C320BEE. Thanks everyone

I ran an AT120E on my Technics when new a few years ago. I thought it sounded fine at the time. About 6 months later I installed an Origin Live Silver tonearm while retaining the same cartridge and all of the glare went away. The AT120E is a great cartridge but may not be the best choice for the stock tonearm. You may want to consider the Denon DL110 or better yet install a Rega 250 tonearm on your table and be done with it.

 

[tooch]

Oh yes, the DL110 was my other thought. I was just hoping I could get away with it a bit cheaper

After doing lots more reading though, I think the DL110 will be a wise choice for me. I have a lot of used vinyl which is kind of noisy, apparently the DL110 does well with these kinds of vinyl

 

[searchenabler]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tooch /img/forum/go_quote.gif Oh yes, the DL110 was my other thought. I was just hoping I could get away with it a bit cheaper After doing lots more reading though, I think the DL110 will be a wise choice for me. I have a lot of used vinyl which is kind of noisy, apparently the DL110 does well with these kinds of vinyl

Yes, indeed. In addition, I am not sure you can really get a much better cartridge than the DL110 at ANY price, if your intention is superb tracking, very low distortion and a ruler flat frequency response. However, do note that many people state that before coming to any conclusion about the overall sound that the suspension needs to break in for about 20 hours. I am not sure if this is a valid claim, but none the less, it is a popular claim.

-Chris

 

[tooch]

Excellent, thanks for the info

I just bit the bullet and bought one on ebay, $129USD including free worldwide postage from Germany to Australia, sounds like a decent deal to me.

Now I'll be watching the postman at work every day until this arrives!

 

[tubes]

Agreed, the Denon DL-110 is hard to beat. I found the 1200 to have a thinner character, the AT cartridge also leans in this direction, too much of the same, the 110 adds some body with nice detail. I actually prefered my 110 to the 103R which was grainy even when loaded with cinemag transformers. I've also heard about but never tried a better headshell on the 1200 is a nice improvement.

Phill

 

[tooch]

Thank you all so much for the recommendation!
Received my DL-110 today and I LOVE it! And that's only after about 15 minutes of listening (everyone at home going to bed

), so it's not even broken in yet!

Radiohead-No Surprises (180gm Ok Computer) sounds sublime, I already heard bits I hadn't heard before!

Got some very exciting listening coming up in the next few days, got a few very cool vinyls coming in the post