Calling HI-FI Buffs - MM Cartridge Question

[threebikesmcginty]

No1 son has got hold of the turntable and yanked the cartridge off, for this he has been duly castigated - well as much as a two year old will be told off which ain't much truth be told.

The now ruined one was a Goldring 1012GX. Is this a good one to replace it with or is there something better for similar money. IIRC it cost me about £90 but that was a few years ago.

 

[Mr Pig]

It's a good cartridge. However the body on the Goldring 1000 series is the same throughout the range, only the stylus changes, so you can upgrade! Assuming that you still have the body (?) you can buy a G1042 stylus which has a much better tip.

The G1042 is a pretty nice MM cart and unless you've got a really good deck etc is a good choice. If you want a moving coil then Denon make some nice budget ones that have a high output so will work into a MM input. If you just want a really cheap cart to get the deck working again then an Audio Techinca AT 95E is only about £30 and soulds fine for the money.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Cheers Mr Pig

It's just the stylus that's broken - I've still got all the bits!!

Will the Audio Technica one slot straight in? Assuming it's the one in the following link, haven't checked prices yet just having a look round.

http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/page/moreinfo.cfm/Product_ID/190

I generally play rock and roll and country so £30 about right for the tat I listen to!

 

[User482]

I doubt a different brand stylus would slot straight in. I needed to replace the stylus on my deck - which was barely cheaper than the whole cartridge! At least I didn't need to re-align it...

 

[Fab Foodie]

I've had several AT95E's and they work a treat, big bold and punchy sound with no rough edges for few bucks. However, to buy another Goldring stylus as Mr Pig suggests is the easy option as it will slot straight in without having to remove the old cartridge body, fit a new one (like the AT95E) and re-align/rebalance etc. Always a bit of a fiddly job IMO. However as User482 states the cost of a new stylus is often close to a whole cartridge anyway!

As the AT95E is still around, I might treat myself to one.

 

[Mr Pig]

Will the Audio Technica one slot straight in?

You'd need to remove the tags/wires from the back of the old cart with tweezers, unbolt the old cart and remove it, fit and align the new cart, reconnect the wires and rebalance the arm. You'll need a protractor that's right for your arm to line it up. Basically the cart sits dead straight in the headshell (The bit on the end of the arm the cart bolts to) and you move it backwards or forwards to the correct overhang for that arm (The distance between the stylus tip and the centre of the platter). To be honest, if you look at where the old stylus tip was and guess it you'll not be far away ;0)

If you do this be aware that the wires are colour coded but the position of the pins on carts is not standardized so the wires may not connect in the same positions as they did on the old cart. You may need to adjust the arm hight too. What deck and arm is it?

The Goldring is a good bit better than the AT. You might well notice the drop in quality, depends on the rest of the kit. If you buy any 1000 series Goldring stylus it'll just plug into the front of your old cart and you're away.

I needed to replace the stylus on my deck - which was barely cheaper than the whole cartridge!

It's often not worth it. For quite a few years now I've been using Denon DL103 moving coil carts as they sound miles better than the MM carts at that price and don't cost any more to replace that a decent MM stylus. You'd actually have to spend quite a lot to see a significant improvement of the Denon, they're great value.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Gonna have to be another Goldring - that looks waaaaay too complicated for me. Found a D06 stylus for £60, so might order that - it's the model down from the one I have now (D12 I guess) but I doubt if I'll notice the difference when it starts hacking through a musty old platter of mine!

Thanks for your time!

 

[Mr Pig]

that looks waaaaay too complicated for me.

It's not really. If you want to buy the AT 95E then go for it and I'll happily talk you through fitting it. As long as you're not ham-fisted it's easy enough.