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Phono Cartridge help....


Dennie

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Hi everyone,

I am new to The Klipsch forum. I have been a member of the Sound & Vision forum for 5+ years now, but there is not much experience with turntables or 2 channel audio, for that matter. I have been lurking here, on and off for a year or so.

I recently purchased a Beautiful pair of 1979 La Scala's from the original owner. I thought my KEF's sounded nice, but they just don't compare to the La Scalas, they are the most beautiful sounding speakers I have ever owned!

I also bought a Elac Miracord 40 turntable off craigslist and have been enjoying it for a couple of months now. Today while moving some gear around I bumped the turntable and the needle broke! [:'(] Yes, I bumped it pretty hard and now I am needleless! I have read of people using the Shure M97xE cartridge with ELAC turntables, but not specifically the Miracord "40"? Would it work with the "40"?

I am newly into turntables and I don't have a clue what to get. Heck, it took me 15 minutes to figure out how to get this cartridge off. It just pulled straight off the tone arm. [:$] Will the Shure or whatever you can recomend just slip right on? I know nothing about replacing anything on this fine turntable!

I would like to keep it under $100 if possible.

Thanks for any help!

Dennie

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Hi Dennie,

I believe pmsummer uses a Shure M97xe on his Elac 40. The cartridge should be a good mate to that table, you probably only need to replace the stylus. The stylus pulls off the front of the cartridge. Cheapest prices for these are on eBay. If I recall the replacement stylus is almost as much as the cartridge itself, which can be purchased for as low as $65 shipped on eBay. Then you would also receive the entire mounting kit complete with tools. It might be the way to go vs $45 for just the stylus. The kit will show you how to properly set up a cartridge and is great for first timers. Keep the old cartridge as a spare. Do a search on eBay for Shure M97xe and look for an eBay store named ANTOnline who is selling one now for $55+ $7 shipping. Can't beat that price. NeedleDoctor sells the stylus for $75 and the cartridge for $140, so shop before you buy. Hope that helps.

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Oh and keep the stylus guard in the down position when your moving gear around in the future Embarrassed

Thanks Jim! I know.......I know! It even has the little lever that locks it down.......I know......I know! [:'(]

I am heading to E-Bay. Thanks for the info. I guess it is like everything else, there is a leaning curve. I will get the whole cartridge with the tool kit and the "hopefully" easy to follow directions! [:^)]

Dennie

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As HiFi said re the Shure. It is the follow on to the M97ED which was a cost effective alternative to Shure's V-15 types. I used the M97's for 20 years and finally replaced the last one with a 97Xe. IMHO it's very reliable, cost effective and tracks with a low enough weight to avoid "cutting" or deforming the vinyl. I use it with a Technics SL-1200 and have no problems at all.

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As HiFi said re the Shure. It is the follow on to the M97ED which was a cost effective alternative to Shure's V-15 types. I used the M97's for 20 years and finally replaced the last one with a 97Xe. IMHO it's very reliable, cost effective and tracks with a low enough weight to avoid "cutting" or deforming the vinyl. I use it with a Technics SL-1200 and have no problems at all.

Thanks Groomlakearea51,

I read a couple of reviews of the Shure M97xE and they all sounded like it was a Good and Reliable cartridge. My only concern is attaching it to the ELAC tonearm, but this is because I have never done anything like this before. I hope I don't need to solder anything, as I have not soldered since High School. I think I could do it, but hope I don't have to.

I have been into Home Theater for quite a few years now, but this cartridge replacement scares me a little. I am a turntable virgin! [:$] But the sound of vinyl on these beautiful La Scala's speakers is what motivates me! Amazing, just Amazing!

Again, Thanks for your help!

Dennie

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My only concern is attaching it to the ELAC tonearm, but this is because I have never done anything like this before. I hope I don't need to solder anything, as I have not soldered since High School. I think I could do it, but hope I don't have to.

I also hope you don't have to, and you probably should get a pro to do it if it comes to that.

The tonearm wires that emerge from the front of the tonearm should already have little hollow clips soldered on the ends (the things hanging down at the left in the pic below.

Bluenote Borromeo Tonearm [large view]

The clips slide onto the pins at the back of the cartridge. Please forgive me if I unfairly assume you are a neophyte at this, but here is a pic of a cart with the bare pins at the back:

Koetsu ONYX Platinum Cartridge [click for more]

I don't know if you were thinking this, but you wouldn't want to solder anything directly onto the cart pins since you probably would burn up its innards. Here you see the wires emerge from the tonearm and their attached clips already slid onto the cart pins. Like Jim says, be careful with those clips and don't pull them off, or you'll have a soldering challenge: Cartridge Wiring Photo

There is a complicated process of mounting and aligning the cartridge in the tonearm, discussed step-by-step here: A Beginner's Guide to Cartridge Setup.

I hope this helps.

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You should be free of any soldering Dennie. The small pins on the back of the cartridge have small terminations that pull off. Be careful here, as you can pull the termination off the wire... and then you'll need to solder. It is easier than it sounds.

Ahhhhh! Now I see! Thanks Jim, I just checked out the old cartridge and they DO pull off! Thank Goodness! LOL

Well, She is on her way. She is a beauty!

51S866W2PVL._SL500_AA280_.jpg

I will let you know when She gets here! I guess I should order a Tracking Force gauge and a tonearm alignment tool. Is there anything else I should have?

Again, Thanks Jim, I feel just like a newbie again! [*-)]

Dennie

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I think the Shure comes with an overhang gauge and maybe even an alignment tool? Tracking force you can set without spending money for a gauge if you wish. Once the cartridge is mounted to the headshell and on the tonearm, unscrew the counterweight till the entire arm, headshell and cartridge are perfectly balanced, or parallel with the table (remember, have the stylus guard down during this LOL). The stylus will be floating an inch or so above the platter at this point. Now, set the counterweights scale to zero at the mark that is top dead center on the arm. Screw the counterweight and the scale (which spins independent of the weight) together towards the cartridge until you reach between 1.8 and 2.0 grams. That's it. If there is a VTA adjustment, usually a small dial near the base of the tonearm with adjustments from 0-4. Set the VTA to whatever the tracking force is set to, i.e. if you set the tracking force to 2.0 grams, then set the VTA at 2.

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Hi Larry,

That helps a lot! Yes, I am completely new to this and any and all help is Greatly Appreciated! That link is exactly what I need! (unless Jim is coming over to walk me through it? LOL)

Here is a picture of my needle-less cartridge. I did figure out how to pull the wire off. I will wait for the Shure cartridge to do each wire one at a time.MiraCordCartridge012.jpg

Sorry about the focus!

I had better get to reading and ordering the other tools I will need!

Thank Larry! This is starting to seem like something I can do! [8-)] I think! LOL

You guys are the greatest!

Dennie

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I think the Shure comes with an overhang gauge and maybe even an alignment tool? Tracking force you can set without spending money for a gauge if you wish. Once the cartridge is mounted to the headshell and on the tonearm, unscrew the counterweight till the entire arm, headshell and cartridge are perfectly balanced, or parallel with the table (remember, have the stylus guard down during this LOL). The stylus will be floating an inch or so above the platter at this point. Now, set the counterweights scale to zero at the mark that is top dead center on the arm. Screw the counterweight and the scale (which spins independent of the weight) together towards the cartridge until you reach between 1.8 and 2.0 grams. That's it. If there is a VTA adjustment, usually a small dial near the base of the tonearm with adjustments from 0-4. Set the VTA to whatever the tracking force is set to, i.e. if you set the tracking force to 2.0 grams, then set the VTA at 2.

Thanks Jim,

I think I will wait for it to get here before ordering anything else and just see what it comes with.

Dennie

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