RAPTORMAN Posted January 13, 2005 Share Posted January 13, 2005 I am looking for a good cartridge match up for a VPI Scout with a 9 tonearm. Any suggestion?? My budget is between 0.00 to 500.00usd. I'm using a CAT Reference II for a phono stage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryC Posted January 14, 2005 Share Posted January 14, 2005 Is that a CAT Signature Mk II? Just kind'a watch the output spec if you're getting a moving coil -- it needs at least 0.7 or 1.0 mv to clear the noise floor. Higher and MM are fine. I really like the CAT phono stage. Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazman Posted January 14, 2005 Share Posted January 14, 2005 ---------------- On 1/13/2005 9:28:10 PM RAPTORMAN wrote: I am looking for a good cartridge match up for a VPI Scout with a 9 tonearm. Any suggestion?? My budget is between 0.00 to 500.00usd. I'm using a CAT Reference II for a phono stage ---------------- A tad over your budget but worth it, the Clearaudio Virtuosso Wood, within that amount is the Clearaudio Aurum Beta S. There is some buzz about the Sumiko Blackbird, again a bit over your budget, but reported to be worth it. The Dynavector 20X-L is another candidate. Denon offers a couple of LOMC cartridges that will leave enough money left over to fund a step up device is you're interested in going that route. Klipsch out. PS. Trying to find a good edit to allow the Sumiko to display has been futile. Sorry folks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Songer Posted January 14, 2005 Share Posted January 14, 2005 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnalOg Posted January 14, 2005 Share Posted January 14, 2005 The Blackbird & Wood are very well reviewed carts, I'd add the Micro Benz Glider, I have this baby on my Scout with same arm, very happy with the musicality of this cart. No hype in any of the frequeny range, tracks great & exposes the character of each LP I play. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnalOg Posted January 14, 2005 Share Posted January 14, 2005 Good deals can be had on Audiogons classified section, keep an eye out, you can save hundreds on low hour carts there. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAPTORMAN Posted January 14, 2005 Author Share Posted January 14, 2005 ************************************************************Is that a CAT Signature Mk II? Just kind'a watch the output spec if you're getting a moving coil -- it needs at least 0.7 or 1.0 mv to clear the noise floor. Higher and MM are fine. I really like the CAT phono stage. Larry ******************************************************* It's actually a CAT REFERENCE MKII. That would be older than the Signature series. Does CAT have a website???? I do have some questions about the phono stage on this pre. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryC Posted January 14, 2005 Share Posted January 14, 2005 ---------------- On 1/14/2005 12:37:37 PM RAPTORMAN wrote: It's actually a CAT REFERENCE MKII. That would be older than the Signature series. Does CAT have a website???? I do have some questions about the phono stage on this pre. ---------------- Hmm. First of all, CAT does not have a web site, perhaps the last manufacturer not to! Google will bring up quite a bit of information about CAT products, but I have always found Ken Stevens very approachable and suggest you call him if you can't find what you want elsewhere, at (585) 359-2700. Definitely a personality, but a great guy. In looking back at Googled info, I only saw the pre called the SL-1 initially, then the SL-1 Signature, which went through Mk I, II, and III versions. Those were followed by the current SL-1 Ultimate, apparently in a Mk II version by 2004. So, the Reference must have slipped in there for a short period of time. I don't know how much the phono stage and other specs have changed since the Signature series -- in fact, I'd be very interested in hearing what you find out from Ken. The Signature's phono stage has 46 db of gain, pretty healthy if you're not trying to run a 0.3 mv MC cart through it (my Temper has a marginal 0.5 or 0.6 mv output). As I say, I'd be interested in what you find out. Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audio Flynn Posted January 14, 2005 Share Posted January 14, 2005 For just getting back into vinyl recently I think cart performance is reallly like "what is your favorite wine". If you are not too pushed to go to the high end of the $ 500... I would go with Grado Gold as a starter cart for between $ 160 and 180 and then get a VPI record cleaner. The other recommendations here are sound as I have only read reviews of them of course. The Ortofon OM-30 get pretty nice reviews in this price range. The Ortofons I had in the late 70s and early 80s were not unpleasant. A very subjective part of the pursuit. I find subs with music to be a very subjective question to comment on. I am a "no sub" with 2 channel kind of guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laikadog Posted January 14, 2005 Share Posted January 14, 2005 I'll second the Dynavector. Either the 20XH or 20XL. I've got the high-output on my Scout going through a Rogue Stealth and it's got pretty much everything I was looking for. In hindsight I should have been a little more patient and gotten the low-output, but I hadn't scored the Rogue yet and was still playing in through a Scott 355 which couldn't handle the low-ouput. As you may have read, the folks at VPI use the Dynavector in house. To me, that was a good recommendation. The presentation is well balanced, which is what I wanted. I think I got mine for about $370 including shipping from juki in Hong Kong. It was a deal that was too good to pass up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAPTORMAN Posted January 15, 2005 Author Share Posted January 15, 2005 ******************************************************************************** Hmm. First of all, CAT does not have a web site, perhaps the last manufacturer not to! Google will bring up quite a bit of information about CAT products, but I have always found Ken Stevens very approachable and suggest you call him if you can't find what you want elsewhere, at (585) 359-2700. Definitely a personality, but a great guy. In looking back at Googled info, I only saw the pre called the SL-1 initially, then the SL-1 Signature, which went through Mk I, II, and III versions. Those were followed by the current SL-1 Ultimate, apparently in a Mk II version by 2004. So, the Reference must have slipped in there for a short period of time. I don't know how much the phono stage and other specs have changed since the Signature series -- in fact, I'd be very interested in hearing what you find out from Ken. The Signature's phono stage has 46 db of gain, pretty healthy if you're not trying to run a 0.3 mv MC cart through it (my Temper has a marginal 0.5 or 0.6 mv output). As I say, I'd be interested in what you find out. Larry ************************************************************************* Thanks for the Tel#. You are right Ken Stevens is a super guy to talk to. We talk for 48 minuttes (according to my cell timer) late Friday afternoon. We discuss the preamp and everything else. Our conversation went from the preamp to the Toronto Blue Jays and the New York Yankees to how much he enjoys driving his Porsche Boxter. We even talk about how he loves the Tim Horton's coffee from Canada. About the preamp it's actually a CAT SL1 REFERENCE MK II. According to him it is the one just before the signature series--manufactured around the late 80's. It has a very good phono stage--he suggested that I should get a cartridge around the 0.4 to 0.8 mv to get the best out of it. He also mentioned that the KHORNS are great speakers and it would sound best with a LOW GAIN AMP not necessarily low watts. He also said that if I ever get a chance, try out the latest preamp that they have the "Ultimate". In any case I learn quite a bit about my preamp from the man himself. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryC Posted January 15, 2005 Share Posted January 15, 2005 ---------------- On 1/15/2005 11:25:14 AM RAPTORMAN wrote: About the preamp it's actually a CAT SL1 REFERENCE MK II. According to him it is the one just before the signature series--manufactured around the late 80's. It has a very good phono stage--he suggested that I should get a cartridge around the 0.4 to 0.8 mv to get the best out of it. He also mentioned that the KHORNS are great speakers and it would sound best with a LOW GAIN AMP not necessarily low watts. He also said that if I ever get a chance, try out the latest preamp that they have the "Ultimate". In any case I learn quite a bit about my preamp from the man himself. Thanks. ---------------- Ken is certainly right about pairing it with a low-gain amp, from on my experience -- with a high-gain amp (e.g., 0.5 v for 100 watts out), you'd definitely hear electronic noise on K-horns from the 26db-gain line stage. Fortunately, my amp's sensitivity could be reduced from 0.5 v. to 2.0 v. in for 100 watts out. I am more surprised that he thought that a 0.4 to 0.8 mv cart output would be best. Maybe the Reference had more phono gain? That low level also might not balance out well with other sources. You may not be planning to go that low anyway, but I'd be prepared to at least try something like that out before buying, if you can. Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnalOg Posted January 15, 2005 Share Posted January 15, 2005 I'm curious to know, what is the gain spec on the phono stage? Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryC Posted January 15, 2005 Share Posted January 15, 2005 I can only speak about the Signature series, not the Reference or Ultimate -- the phono stage has 46 db of gain, the line stage 26 db, I assume totaling 72 db for the pre in phono. That's high compared with some pres, but allows its use with medium-output MCs. Some preamps would need a step-up for such carts. FWIW, the limitations of the CAT's 23-step volume control need to be taken into account, i.e., fitting the output of the cart (and other sources) between high enough to clear the noise floor but not so high as to get down into the big volume jumps between the bottom few clicks of the VC. While the difference between the 0.4 and 0.8 mv. mentioned by Ken is only 6 db, that's maybe 3 or 4 steps out of the 23. Note that some carts specify their outputs at 3.54 cm/sec and some at 5 cm/sec, a difference of 3-db and 1.414- or 0.707-times the voltage spec. Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.