[steelydoubt]

well a few weeks ago i was at the circut city and i was gonna pick up some ram but when i wandered over to the audio/video section i saw a few cartridges and i picked up the the cheapest one on a whim. i got an audio technica at-300p universal cartridge.

i have all of four records but i woud like to pick up some more and i would also like to get a better cartridge but which cart should i get, ill spend up to $100 and my TT takes 1/2 inch mount carts.

also i have noticed that the records i borrowed from my aunt and uncle have some sibilance on the inner grooves and one or two of mine have it too. what causes this and will getting a better cart supress this?

 

[Todd]

Hi steelydoubt,

I like the Grado Cartridges and the Red is $99. The Green is also a good deal for $54.
The noise you are probably hearing is a record that has been damaged by using a bad cartridge (not you new AT cartridge but a previously used cartridge) improperly aligned or with too much tracking weight penny on the arm to keep it from skipping.... I could also be dirt but it sounds more like a damaged record from your description.
There is a ton of used vinyl and some of it is in very good shape and some sounds like the vinyl you already have. I have bought some that sound like new once cleaned and I have bought a few others that had the same groove distortion and have discarded those. With used there is not guarantee but at $1-5 a piece it is worth the crap shoot.

Todd

 

[steelydoubt]

i think ill go for the grado red.

also, theres i thrift store around here that sells all records for 38 cents a piece. i sometimes go there and i usually find some records in good condition. but at 38 cents i can afford to take a gamble.


ill try some cleaning just to see if i can get rid of some of the sibilance.

btw. can anyone tell me what diffrences i can expect with diffrent stylus types (conical, elliptical, spherical, linear contact etc.)