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Ariston RD-40 (forte) cartridge suggestions?

T

Twofishh

New Member
Hi All,

I've recently picked up an Ariston Forte, which I believe is the same as the RD 40, and it has the original (I believe) Jelco Profile tonearm on it. Now I'm in the market for a cartridge around the price of $150 (perhaps 200 even). Any suggestions?

Should I buy a brand new cart and have it set up by the shop, or is it reasonable to buy a used cart and set it up myself? I've never shopped for cartridges so any help on this topic would be appreciated!


Daniel
 

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Dan, congrats on the table! I saw it on canuck and was ready to drive to ancaster to buy it, but ultimately resisted. A steal for the price!!

Sent from my SGH-T999V using Tapatalk
 
I have one and had the same arm on it for a while. I have used a Denon DL160 so you could subsitute a DL 110 now. I have also used a Nagaoka MP 11.There is now a Moth/REGA RB 301 clone on it I use MP110 and a MP200.
 
Some of Goldring 10xx may work good, too. Goldring 1012 could be excellent match, but, price exceeds Your budget. Maybe to buy used one, if You can test it first
 
jkilla said:
Dan, congrats on the table! I saw it on canuck and was ready to drive to ancaster to buy it, but ultimately resisted. A steal for the price!!

Sent from my SGH-T999V using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Haha thanks! I think it was a pretty good deal, now I just need to set it up and hear how it sounds with my system (Quad 44 preamp, Quad 405-2 amp, and Paradigm Studio 20 v3 speakers)!

Ol' Ken said:
I have one and had the same arm on it for a while. I have used a Denon DL160 so you could subsitute a DL 110 now. I have also used a Nagaoka MP 11.There is now a Moth/REGA RB 301 clone on it I use MP110 and a MP200.
Click to expand...

The Nagaoka MP 110 seems like a fairly inexpensive cartridge, how would you say it was compared to the Denon?

Bujodrag said:
Some of Goldring 10xx may work good, too. Goldring 1012 could be excellent match, but, price exceeds Your budget. Maybe to buy used one, if You can test it first
Click to expand...

I've heard great things about the goldring carts, but a lot of them are quite pricy. There's a goldring 1010 for sale in the gta (used), how risky is it to buy used? Even testing it with an unfamiliar system might be tricky since I won't be able to tell if it sounds good or not.


I've also heard good things about the Ortofon 2m blue cartridge, which is what the previous owner used on it. Anyone have experience with that cart compared to the ones I mentioned above?
 
Twofishh said:
I've heard great things about the goldring carts, but a lot of them are quite pricy. There's a goldring 1010 for sale in the gta (used), how risky is it to buy used? Even testing it with an unfamiliar system might be tricky since I won't be able to tell if it sounds good or not.
Click to expand...


I had bought used cartridges, but only if I could try them in my system, with my records.
So, if you can not test used cartridge that way and the seller is not your good friend, pass it.
On the other hand, if cartridge works good in unfamiliar system that is not light years ahead of yours and if it is not expensive, then, why not, give it a try.
 
Twofishh said:
Haha thanks! I think it was a pretty good deal, now I just need to set it up and hear how it sounds with my system (Quad 44 preamp, Quad 405-2 amp, and Paradigm Studio 20 v3 speakers)!
Click to expand...

The Ariston ought to feel really at home with that sweet collection of stable mates.
 
The Nagaoka MP 110 seems like a fairly inexpensive cartridge, how would you say it was compared to the Denon?

While it was many years ago I would say the Denon had more sparkle and the Nagaoka MP11/110 has more depth and body.. but again it was many, many years ago
 
I would try an AT 440 MLa for new, or find a used Shure M 91 body and buy the best replacement stylus I could afford. AT for brighter, Shure for warmer.

If you have a table, you should learn to set it up properly. Buy a stylus forge gauge and download or buy a protractor.

I always thought those tables looked cool and like Jelco arms for their bang for the buck value.
 
Br1ck said:
I would try an AT 440 MLa for new, or find a used Shure M 91 body and buy the best replacement stylus I could afford. AT for brighter, Shure for warmer.

If you have a table, you should learn to set it up properly. Buy a stylus forge gauge and download or buy a protractor.

I always thought those tables looked cool and like Jelco arms for their bang for the buck value.
Click to expand...

I've heard that the AT 440 MLa is good, but may be too bright for my system. My Paradigm Studio 20 v3's have a habit of being quite forward, and I think I'd prefer to mellow out the sound a little bit.
What kind of replacement stylus would you recommend for the Shure M91? I've heard great things about Jico SAS, but its pretty much at the top of my price range.
 
jkilla said:
Dan, congrats on the table! I saw it on canuck and was ready to drive to ancaster to buy it, but ultimately resisted. A steal for the price!!

Sent from my SGH-T999V using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Do you think the ACUTEX 412 STR would be a good fit? :scratch2:
 
Balifly said:
Do you think the ACUTEX 412 STR would be a good fit? :scratch2:
Click to expand...

My 415 STR was a bit difficult to get working nicely with my denon's tonearm (which is heavier than the profile tonearm on Daniel's turntable) but the 312 STR available from the same seller worked wonders.

Lovely cart for the price and a good recommendation by balifly
 
jkilla said:
My 415 STR was a bit difficult to get working nicely with my denon's tonearm (which is heavier than the profile tonearm on Daniel's turntable) but the 312 STR available from the same seller worked wonders.

Lovely cart for the price and a good recommendation by balifly
Click to expand...

Any difference between the 412 and 312? Both are about the same price from the fellow on eBay. With shipping and taxes, it'll come out to near $100 CAD. Is this cartridge not made anymore? I'm having trouble finding more than this one seller.
 
Twofishh said:
Any difference between the 412 and 312? Both are about the same price from the fellow on eBay. With shipping and taxes, it'll come out to near $100 CAD. Is this cartridge not made anymore? I'm having trouble finding more than this one seller.
Click to expand...

According to the information gleamed from previous threads.

Both are Shibata.

Acutex M312 III STR has the compliance of 24 x 10 -6 cm/dyne.

Acutex 412 STR has the compliance of 42 x 10 -6 cm/dyne.

The figures are over at VinylEngine library. :music:
 
Balifly said:
According to the information gleamed from previous threads.

Both are Shibata.

Acutex M312 III STR has the compliance of 24 x 10 -6 cm/dyne.

Acutex 412 STR has the compliance of 42 x 10 -6 cm/dyne.

The figures are over at VinylEngine library. :music:
Click to expand...

Oh great thanks! I think that may cause some issues unfortunately, since from what I've read, my tonearm is a medium mass (12g is the only figure I found but I'm not sure if it's accurate) and using an RF calculator, it seems that both those cartridges give too low a frequency.
 
My RD40/MP110 is hooked up to Paradigm Studio 60V2s in a secondary system via a NAD C325BEE and a Channel Islands phono preamp. I know that the Paradigms don't like bright and the MP110 seems to work nicely.
 
Ol' Ken said:
My RD40/MP110 is hooked up to Paradigm Studio 60V2s in a secondary system via a NAD C325BEE and a Channel Islands phono preamp. I know that the Paradigms don't like bright and the MP110 seems to work nicely.
Click to expand...

I might try out the MP110 and see how it sounds. Then I can wait a couple months and increase my cartridge budget to get something more high end once I hear how the MP110 fares with my setup. I agree with the Paradigms having trouble with brightness, I've noticed that with my Studio 20 v3s for sure.
 
Twofishh said:
Any difference between the 412 and 312? Both are about the same price from the fellow on eBay. With shipping and taxes, it'll come out to near $100 CAD. Is this cartridge not made anymore? I'm having trouble finding more than this one seller.
Click to expand...

The compliance figures provided have always been a bit confusing for me, as they don't really line up with the recommended tracking weight numbers.

A number of Audiokarma users have reported good performance with the 312 on mid mass arms such as the SL-1x00 series technics and the like.

One thing to note is the the 412 cantilever is a very thick one where as the 312 is a thinner one, their stylus profiles should be about the same, but from personal experience I think the 312 will track better, the plenty thick cantilever doesn't fare quite as well in my system
 
The 312 will work fine. I use mine on a JVC S-shaped tonearm which is medium mass. Boreas is using his on a Technics. The 312 is a gem of a cartridge at a very good price. Low noise and will track almost anything.
 
Just mounted my 415 STR a moment ago, on a JVC mid-mass arm as well. Even with a heavy headshell still sounds simply wonderful :music:
 
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