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How important is the cartridge in the signal chain?

Mangler said:
My opinion only and my order of operation. Turntable fully functioning as it should, turntable setup properly, as long as you have a good stylus after that is the cartridge. Yes Cartridge plays a roll but setup and stylus IMO play the biggest roll.
Click to expand...
I made a turntable stand out of walnut veneer over MDF and heavy gauge adjustable height legs. The MDF was 3/4 inch so, I doubled stacked it and glued it, making the top and shelf the equivalent of an 1 1/2 slab. It’s a heavy solid beast and now sits in place dead level.
I have also leveled the turntable platter while in place on the stand both with and without the rubber mat. All good.
I’ve downloaded a Stevenson protractor diagram to mount and align the new cartridge to the head shell. I’m just waiting for the new cartridge to arrive via UPS.
I don’t have a stylus pressure gauge. I figured I could adjust by trial and error. Is one of these things a handy gizmo or mission critical?
Also, I understand the rule of thumb is to set the bias to the same number as the arm tracking weight. Is this accurate enough? Any thoughts on this?
I’m currently using the factory OEM mat that came with the turntable. It’s as old as the turntable, 70’s vintage but, it’s still pretty supple and serviceable.
Keep or replace with something newer? Any suggestions?
Did I forget anything?
 

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The stylus purchased as a replacement from Amazon verses another cart question.

Look at it this way. Putting tires on a car.

One may not get the full benefits with putting Michelin’s on a hoopty. Yet will gain greatly performance.
 
Old Driver said:
I‘ve been streaming and playing CDs for awhile now and decided to give vinyl a try.
I was lucky enough to run across a rather rare Tannoy Micro Seiki TM 44DD full manual play turntable. After a good cleaning and tune up it works great.
It came with an Ortofon FF-15XE/II. Not wanting to take a chance on the condition of the old stylus, I replaced it with a new one from Amazon.
I’m pleased with the sound but, I’m beginning to hear the little evil voice in my head, “if you upgrade the cartridge to something more modern, more expensive, maybe moving magnet, might REALLY sound better”.
Is newer better? If so, any recommendations that would be in line with my mid-tier turntable?
I’m running the Tannoy Micro Seiki turntable through my McIntosh C37 preamp that has an excellent phono stage built in and can accommodate moving magnet cartridges as well.
Thoughts?
Click to expand...
Tiers aren’t absolute and the very big spread between huge industrial conglomerates and artisanal craft in the audio industry makes it significantly more difficult to be accurate
 
Cartridges tend to have a 'house sound'. If you like what you are hearing with the Ortofon, then you might want to look at the OM-30 or -40 (if you can find) or a 2M Bronze or Black.
That said, I'm a fan of the AT cartridges and have both the AT-VM740ML & 750SH as well as the Ortofon OM-30. All depends on your budget.
 
curtisw99 said:
Just my opinion, but I don't hear differences in cartridges. They're just little speakers outputting an electrical signal instead of inputting.

I DO hear a drastic difference in stylus and cantilever. I just fixed up a Thorens for my uncle and he had the ATVM95 nude eliptical and I can hear a drastic difference between this and the conical on the same cartridge. Neither sounds bad, but they are different

a lot of aftermarket styli on very good cartridges make those cartridges sound like turds
Click to expand...
A stylus doesn’t have a sound. Some might dig deeper to retrieve what a conical can’t but no sound sig. persay
 
Old Driver said:
I made a turntable stand out of walnut veneer over MDF and heavy gauge adjustable height legs. The MDF was 3/4 inch so, I doubled stacked it and glued it, making the top and shelf the equivalent of an 1 1/2 slab. It’s a heavy solid beast and now sits in place dead level.
I have also leveled the turntable platter while in place on the stand both with and without the rubber mat. All good.
I’ve downloaded a Stevenson protractor diagram to mount and align the new cartridge to the head shell. I’m just waiting for the new cartridge to arrive via UPS.
I don’t have a stylus pressure gauge. I figured I could adjust by trial and error. Is one of these things a handy gizmo or mission critical?
Also, I understand the rule of thumb is to set the bias to the same number as the arm tracking weight. Is this accurate enough? Any thoughts on this?
I’m currently using the factory OEM mat that came with the turntable. It’s as old as the turntable, 70’s vintage but, it’s still pretty supple and serviceable.
Keep or replace with something newer? Any suggestions?
Did I forget anything?
Click to expand...
Yes, you NEED a "pressure gauge" aka digital scale to set the tracking force. As for the anti skate they generally need about Half of what the tracking force is, so if your VTF is 2 grams try the anti skate at one. The Stevenson alignment is a bit longer than the Baerwald and works better (IMO) on straight tonearms with an angled head stock (Rega, Pro-Ject, etc.) while my arms with S shaped arms play better with the Baerwald alignment.

Get this little kit from Hudson HiFi and it will make your life easier:
hudsonhifi.com

The DJ's Secret Weapon: 3-Piece Alignment Kit – VTA Block, Stylus Scale, Tonearm Tool in Premium Case for Perfect Turntable Sound

Achieve perfect setup with the Premium 3-Piece Alignment Kit from Hudson Hi-Fi, includes VTA block, stylus scale, and tonearm tool for precision tuning.
hudsonhifi.com hudsonhifi.com
1000005713.jpg
 
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curtisw99 said:
I don't think most would agree with you

If a stylus doesn't have a sound, why do we have different stylus shapes? Why do we have so many different cantilever materials?
Click to expand...
meh.
This appears to be a matter of your frame of reference.
I have found my system sound can change w/stylus, but is this solely because it tracks better & extracts more info?
"the sonic signature remains (the same)"?

Two quotes below, one for each side -
I think you end up in the same place.
If I got to pick a perspective, I will go with #1, from our resident retipper:

"Stylus dont have a sound despite what you read on forums.
Stylus have different different tracking abilities all else being equal.
There is a graph on the Orbray web page showing frequency differences between a line contact ( Shibata I asked) with the inner grooves and outer grooves.
In the outer grooves there is very little difference but at the inner grooves the Shibata does a frequency nose dive at 10kHz.
Changing the stylus profile just improves its ability to track, the sonic signature remains."

"This TNT article below regarding audible profiles of different stylus types may interest you. The second half of the article discusses audible differences between shibata, microline, and special line. TNT stylus audible profiles"
 
mrwood200 said:
meh.
This appears to be a matter of your frame of reference.
I have found my system sound can change w/stylus, but is this solely because it tracks better & extracts more info?
"the sonic signature remains (the same)"?

Two quotes below, one for each side -
I think you end up in the same place.
If I got to pick a perspective, I will go with #1, from our resident retipper:

"Stylus dont have a sound despite what you read on forums.
Stylus have different different tracking abilities all else being equal.
There is a graph on the Orbray web page showing frequency differences between a line contact ( Shibata I asked) with the inner grooves and outer grooves.
In the outer grooves there is very little difference but at the inner grooves the Shibata does a frequency nose dive at 10kHz.
Changing the stylus profile just improves its ability to track, the sonic signature remains."

"This TNT article below regarding audible profiles of different stylus types may interest you. The second half of the article discusses audible differences between shibata, microline, and special line. TNT stylus audible profiles"
Click to expand...
"In the outer grooves there is very little difference but at the inner grooves the Shibata does a frequency nose dive at 10kHz.
Changing the stylus profile just improves its ability to track, the sonic signature remains."

This seems to be an entirely a contradictory statement

Frequecy response=sonic signature.
 
Old Driver said:
I’m pleased with the sound but, I’m beginning to hear the little evil voice in my head, “if you upgrade the cartridge to something more modern, more expensive, maybe moving magnet, might REALLY sound better”.
Click to expand...
A device that converts one form of energy (potential or kinetic) to another can be the key link to fidelity. Mics, cartridges, and speakers come to mind.

;)
 
krautmaster said:
Yes, you NEED a "pressure gauge" aka digital scale to set the tracking force. As for the anti skate they generally need about Half of what the tracking force is, so if your VTF is 2 grams try the anti skate at one. The Stevenson alignment is a bit longer than the Baerwald and works better (IMO) on straight tonearms with an angled head stock (Rega, Pro-Ject, etc.) while my arms with S shaped arms play better with the Baerwald alignment.

Get this little kit from Hudson HiFi and it will make your life easier:
hudsonhifi.com

The DJ's Secret Weapon: 3-Piece Alignment Kit – VTA Block, Stylus Scale, Tonearm Tool in Premium Case for Perfect Turntable Sound

Achieve perfect setup with the Premium 3-Piece Alignment Kit from Hudson Hi-Fi, includes VTA block, stylus scale, and tonearm tool for precision tuning.
hudsonhifi.com hudsonhifi.com
View attachment 3809327On the way, Amazon Prime 2 day delivery!
Click to expand...
 
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