Randy Bey Posted October 1, 2002 Share Posted October 1, 2002 Since I pooched the X3, and the $99 Internet deal on X3s went away, I am left with a conundrum. Is there a comparible cartridge out there for $100, give or take 10%? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile homeless Posted October 1, 2002 Share Posted October 1, 2002 Lord.... Randy! You spend enough ducats to open a small restaurant on your amps and speakers etc, and then get a cartridge off a 6th grader's close and play! What am I going to do with you? IF you can find a Sumiko Blue Point on sale, that is a great little cartridge that has no glaring weaknesses and does GREAT on rock and jazz. It's a very tube sounding cartridge with lots of atmosphere and lush midrange. I used to have a $100 source for them but aint givin' that up! heh... Others like the Denon DL-110 for a good deal in that range but are sort of harder to find depending but I saw one for under $100 recently. There are others... Allan Songer has his favorites. See his recent posts. kh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted October 1, 2002 Share Posted October 1, 2002 Go to this link and check out what they have Linkage. The deals are incredible !! I'm not going to bother starting another war over cartridges its just not worth it !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile homeless Posted October 1, 2002 Share Posted October 1, 2002 That's a GREAT place as long as you like Shure and Ortofon! heh... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted October 1, 2002 Share Posted October 1, 2002 Yea we know if mobile hasn't endorsed it then its junk. I'm absolutely positive that Shure is junk !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallette Posted October 1, 2002 Share Posted October 1, 2002 I didn't respond right off as I expected a potential for conflict and pooh poohs. MHO: Almost any Grado, Audio Technica, Shure, Stanton, or what have you cartridge at 100.00 or less will outperform any CD player of less than high end (read $$$) caliber. Of course, the TT has a bit of input as well, but I am assuming you have something that works for you. But that is just my experience. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile homeless Posted October 1, 2002 Share Posted October 1, 2002 Not exactly Craig, but the selection at "Jacks Music Factory" is not exactly spell-binding. But they do have some good deals on Shure....and Ortofon. Like my post said, it's a GREAT place if you like Shure and Ortofon. And both companies have some good cartridges among the lineup. Still, neither Company provides my first choice but that is just personal (Ortofons can get pricey REAL quick). I also agree with Allan that the Goldrings can be good for cheap. But if I can score a Blue Point at $100, I think that is a far more musical and rich sounding cartridge (the usual price is around $150). kh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted October 1, 2002 Share Posted October 1, 2002 Well Mobile if you weren't so stingy and would share your sources maybe we could all try that baby !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile homeless Posted October 1, 2002 Share Posted October 1, 2002 Hell, I dont even know if I can get them for $100 any more! I have to see. When the price gets upwards nearer $200, there is far more competition. I forgot to add, the first recs I am talking about are High Output Moving Coil cartridges so they will work in a decent MM phono stage. Most regular MC need a dedicated stage that has far more gain than the typical MM stage. Since you are dealing with very low level signals, the beasts have to be designed VERY well; separate power supplies usually rule the day and the circuit has to be very quiet. Low priced moving coil stages usually are VERY mediocre. kh ps- What happened to the signature? Now it's no go Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Bey Posted October 1, 2002 Author Share Posted October 1, 2002 Jack's is where they had the X3 for $99, but they're all sold out. Problem is, believe it or not, I don't have $4000 to spend on a cartridge. This is not intended to be the final stop on the analog train; this is a way to extract comparable performance from a trashed out Thorens TD165 that was loaned to me. The Sumikos I saw were about four times what I can spend. Oh well, if I save up for a couple of months I can pop for the $130 X5... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile homeless Posted October 1, 2002 Share Posted October 1, 2002 I think the Ortofon X5-MC is on Audiogon right now for $110 brand new. Some have said is can sound thin, however. But yeah, many like this cartridge. The only problem I see for you is the pretty low output at 2mv. This is getting on the border. The Sumiko Blue Point is 2.5mv and that is ok. kh Ortofon X5-MC http://cgi.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cl.pl?anlgcart&1038026807&class&3&4& Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile homeless Posted October 1, 2002 Share Posted October 1, 2002 How patriotic... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clipped and Shorn Posted October 2, 2002 Share Posted October 2, 2002 For my education, what are the superior qualities of the High Output Moving Coil cartridges versus Magnetic cartridges? Are there other requirements regarding the head of the tone arm for retrofitting the Sumiko or others like it? How do you know if your preamp is set up for these cartridges? Does it need to say MM on the input jack? If you have a preamp with several phono input selections, is it likely that one of them is for MM without it necessarily stated this? Is there any particular cartridge (or stylus) characteristics which will make older, less than pristine vinyl, sound its best, without compromising the sound of the other mint vinyl one might also be playing? Somewhere down the line I will want to install a good cartidge, I want to learn more about the options. C&S I forgot to add, the first recs I am talking about are High Output Moving Coil cartridges so they will work in a decent MM phono stage. Most regular MC need a dedicated stage that has far more gain than the typical MM stage. Since you are dealing with very low level signals, the beasts have to be designed VERY well; separate power supplies usually rule the day and the circuit has to be very quiet. Low priced moving coil stages usually are VERY mediocre. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Bey Posted October 2, 2002 Author Share Posted October 2, 2002 yeah, the X3 was pretty low output too. Had to have the volume up to where hiss was present to get meaningful output. Maybe I should stick with MM for now. There is one last AT331 at Jerrys, which is a p-mount with 1/2" adapter. I'm not picky, so this doesn't really matter to me. I was hoping to get an exact replacement for the X3 (another X3) but I talked with the guy who loaned me the TT and he said "no big deal, the table was old and stored for years" plus "there was obviously something wrong when we listened to it" since the left channel was louder than the right. But I still want to have a TT to play with. Tweak tweak fizz fizz oh what a relief it is... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnysal Posted October 2, 2002 Share Posted October 2, 2002 Randy, you can find a Grado "Prestige Red" for under $100 (perhaps not from jerry raskin but certainly on Ebay) and I think these are the best sounding cheap cartridges I have heard. regards, tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted October 2, 2002 Share Posted October 2, 2002 The grado's do sound nice but tend to hum to much for my taste. I've tried Prestige Black and Red on 3 different turntables and they hummed to some degree on all of them. Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clipped and Shorn Posted October 2, 2002 Share Posted October 2, 2002 Which Sumiko Blue Point cartridge is mh referring to, I think there is more than one model. A google search indicates that these things are generally closer to $300 not $150. Let's get real. Also, which models from Goldring are the desirable ones. I know they have one called Elite for over $500. -C&S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnysal Posted October 2, 2002 Share Posted October 2, 2002 I have heard about the hum problem before (stereophile?) but I have not expereienced any hum from my Grado. Even with the volume turned pretty much all the way up...regards, tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted October 2, 2002 Share Posted October 2, 2002 Sunny, The hum depends also on how sensitive the phono section of your Amp or Preamp is what phono section are you using ? If the phono section isn't real sensitive then a cartridge that hums maybe a non issue for you. Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazman Posted October 2, 2002 Share Posted October 2, 2002 One more time. www.elusivedisc.com, where you'll find a Grado Red for 79.99 and Sumiko Blue Point for 199.99(not mh's great $100). Klipsch out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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