[Toonie]

I received my first turntable today...an MMF-5 I purchased on Ebay. Anyway, I went about setting it up and after getting the tonearm balanced realized there isn't a stylus in the cartridge.

I did some searching on-line for a replacement stylus for the 1012gx and it looks like it's around $225 for just the stylus.

Is this accurate? If so, would make more sense to just upgrade the cartridge or should I suck it up and buy a replacement stylus for 1012gx? During my research before buying the tt I read a lot of comments here that the 1012gx is a great value so I'm not sure if it's worth replacing.

I'm brand new to vinyl and turntables so please pardon my ignorance. Anyway, any help and suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I was so excited to get the tt today and want to get it up and running ASAP.

Thanks,

Ken

 

[ssportclay]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toonie /img/forum/go_quote.gif I received my first turntable today...an MMF-5 I purchased on Ebay. Anyway, I went about setting it up and after getting the tonearm balanced realized there isn't a stylus in the cartridge. I did some searching on-line for a replacement stylus for the 1012gx and it looks like it's around $225 for just the stylus. Is this accurate? If so, would make more sense to just upgrade the cartridge or should I suck it up and buy a replacement stylus for 1012gx? During my research before buying the tt I read a lot of comments here that the 1012gx is a great value so I'm not sure if it's worth replacing. I'm brand new to vinyl and turntables so please pardon my ignorance. Anyway, any help and suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I was so excited to get the tt today and want to get it up and running ASAP. Thanks, Ken

Your 1012gx is part of the Goldring 1000 series which include the 1006,1012gx,1022gx,and 1042gx.The cartridge bodies for all of these are exactly the same so the only difference is the stylus you choose to stick into it.If you choose the replacement stylus for the 1042gx you will then own one of the best MM cartridges the world has to offer.The cartridge body doesn't wear out so a new stylus will in effect make the cartridge factory new again.Please send the worthless cartridge body to me if you decide to purchase a new cartridge.

 

[Toonie]

Thanks for the suggestion...good to know. I didn't realize that the cartridges were the same. I also didn't realize how expensive a replacement stylus is. In my case, the stylus for the 1012 is almost as much as the cartridge itself.

Anyway, thanks again, I really appreciate it.

 

[ssportclay]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toonie /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for the suggestion...good to know. I didn't realize that the cartridges were the same. I also didn't realize how expensive a replacement stylus is. In my case, the stylus for the 1012 is almost as much as the cartridge itself. Anyway, thanks again, I really appreciate it.

For all practical purposes,the stylus is the cartridge.BTW,TNT Audio has a very nice review of the 1042gx cartridge.It performs at a high level at a fairly high price.It is still dirt cheap compared to most mid level moving coil cartridges.