[Ihcog]

I'm thinking of a cartridge update to my year old Goldring GR-2. I'm mainly listening to rock music and the maximum price is 400$. Is there any point to use cartridges that expensive with GR-2 at all? I've read that it would be essential to find a cartridge that would be good with the tone arm used, can anyone tell me more about this? Good websites to buy cartridges would be appreciated!

 

[meat01]

Quote:

Good websites to buy cartridges would be appreciated!

Todd the Vinyl Junkie. Just click on his link on the front page.

 

[memepool]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ihcog I'm thinking of a cartridge update to my year old Goldring GR-2. I'm mainly listening to rock music and the maximum price is 400$. Is there any point to use cartridges that expensive with GR-2 at all? I've read that it would be essential to find a cartridge that would be good with the tone arm used, can anyone tell me more about this? Good websites to buy cartridges would be appreciated!

The arm on your deck is a Rega RB250 clone so will be compatible with a wide range of modern cartridges.
The Goldring 1042 would be about the most expensive MM, and one of the best available at 375USD. Althlough the cheaper Goldrings like the 1012 offer an upgrade path to this level simply by changing the stylus.

An entry level high output moving coil like the Sumiko Blue point is also a fine cartridge in your price bracket, will work well with your tonearm, and not require any further step-up transformers.

Where the compromises have been made in your deck is in the plinth which is a basic piece of MDF affording little or no isolation from external vibrations. So the tonearm can only function to the degree allowed by the plinth. If you have made every effort to isolate your deck; for instance

wall mounted shelf unless you're on a concrete floor

marble slab

polypods

then there is little else you can do to improve it's performance bar upgrading the deck itself. But these are not necessarily expensive tweaks.

No reason why not to spend 400USD on a cart for it but I wouldn't go much beyond that.

needledoctor.com has a good range of carts at all price levels from Audio Technica to Koetsu Urushi.

One thing to avoid is maybe Grado's as some people have reported that there is a hum caused by the cartridge being inadequately shielded to work with a deck like yours.

 

[lini]

Shouldn't the stock GR-2 already come with the 1012GX? Then keeping the cartridge body and upgrading the needle to 1022GX or 1042 would seem the natural choice to me...

Greetings from Hannover!

Manfred / lini

 

[ashpool]

I've had really great experiences with Benz Micro carts and rock music. I have a Benz Micro ACE and I'm in love with the way it conveys rock. The ACE is a little out of your budget ($450 w/trade-in), but you could maybe look into Benz Micro's Gold MC or Silver MC cartridges, though I don't have any firsthand experience with either, so I can't tell you how they'll stack up.

All Benz carts are moving coil, so your phono stage will need to be MC-capable.

 

[Ihcog]

The rest of my equipment is Lehmann Black cube -> Meier audio Aria -> SA5000. I've been thinking of changing the Aria to a tube amp but I'm quite happy now as it is. I asked the local dealer about 1042 neelde upgrade and that is possible with 160 € (205 $) here in Finland. Does anyone have info about differences in sound between 1012 and 1042?

 

[mysticaldodo]

I've never heard the 1012 but the 1042 on my Goldring 1.2 sounded slightly bright and brash sounding compared to my stock Elektra and the Elite. My dealer seems to prefer the Eroica with the GR2 if memory serves correct but I've never heard the GR2 personally.

 

[memepool]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mysticaldodo I've never heard the 1012 but the 1042 on my Goldring 1.2 sounded slightly bright and brash sounding compared to my stock Elektra and the Elite. My dealer seems to prefer the Eroica with the GR2 if memory serves correct but I've never heard the GR2 personally.

This just goes to show how bad cartridge matching can result in poor sound. A 1042 will sound harsh on the 1.2 because the 1.2 probably isn't up to tracking a cartridge will this extended frequency range. The "harsh top end" you are hearing is mistracking distortion.

The arm should be fine as it's an OEM Rega RB250, so either it's sited on a surface which is not isolated effectively so vibration is causing high frequency mistracking, or the actual main bearing tolerance is simply not high enough to allow tracking to this standard.

So a cheaper cart like the Elektra with a slightly rolled off top end will sound better than a more expensive cart like the 1042 because the limited tracking ability of the GR 1.2 precludes the usage of such a sensitive transducer.

Similary the Eroica sounds like overkill on a GR2 as it costs as much or more than the deck. This just goes to prove the old Linn adage that the motorboard is most important followed by the arm then the cart, so sticking a really expensive cart on a budget turntable is a waste of money. Better to buy a more expensive turntable and skimp on the arm and cart initially.

This is why vintage decks like the Thorens TD150 are so sought after. The bearings are full-on Swiss 1960's manufacture and modern budget Rega clones simply arn't made to these standards.....