C J Walker CJ55 Mods
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I'd play it a while and see what you think before considering updates. It is a fine combo from the era of very high compliance cartridges, and though audiophile enthusiasm has largely focused on lower compliance moving coils and the heavier arms that suit them, going in that direction will most likely be startlingly expensive. Meanwhile, there are good aftermarket styli for many very high compliance cartridges, which while expensive by 70s standards, are nothing compared to moving coils, so staying in the vein the setup was meant for might be a good choice.
I'm not a man of fabulous means, and when Deccas and moving coils got out of reach, I went back to the low mass arms and very high compliance cartridges I had lying around, and am perfectly happy with the change. I suppose I may be missing some divine qualities of sound (actually in the case of the Deccas, I know I am), but most of the records I listen to were made to be listened to on moving magnets, and there is a rightness to how they sound together.
I don't think I have any experience of the M95ED, though I had many M91eds (which used to cost $14.95!), and liked them, though I now think I prefer ADC/Sonus or Stanton/Pickerings to Shures. The stylus may be work or the damper stiffened, but otherwise, start with listening to what you already have. If you must change something, the stylus, and then maybe the cartridge, would be the obvious place to start.
I'm not a man of fabulous means, and when Deccas and moving coils got out of reach, I went back to the low mass arms and very high compliance cartridges I had lying around, and am perfectly happy with the change. I suppose I may be missing some divine qualities of sound (actually in the case of the Deccas, I know I am), but most of the records I listen to were made to be listened to on moving magnets, and there is a rightness to how they sound together.
I don't think I have any experience of the M95ED, though I had many M91eds (which used to cost $14.95!), and liked them, though I now think I prefer ADC/Sonus or Stanton/Pickerings to Shures. The stylus may be work or the damper stiffened, but otherwise, start with listening to what you already have. If you must change something, the stylus, and then maybe the cartridge, would be the obvious place to start.
melofelo
Addicted Member
Good turntable from the 3 point suspended minimalist days. I'd check that the suspension works correctly and is well setup, the speed is stable ( replace belt if not) and simply enjoy it. The competition in the early 80s in the UK for turntables beyond the £125 entry level price point was quite fierce. This was a good thing as it forced manufacturers to take a *sound first* approach where it matters most...leave out expensive automation and bells and whistles that had nothing to do with sound reproduction. Even a speed change switch was considered a luxury. Auto stop ? forget it.
The Dual CS-505/3 Rega Planar 2/ Rotel Rp-830 and a few others were considered a *minimum* standard of vinyl replay for anyone looking to extract the most information from a good pressing on a very tight budget.. Beyond that price point was the £200 plateau. That is where the fun really began for the cash strapped music lover wanting to make the most of a modest cartridge upgrade. The heirachy of what made a minimalist turntable sound good :, isolation from vibration first ; a good quality , well finsihed main bearing ; and a half decent tonearm free from bearing chatter, binding or excessive freeplay was considered the logical way to get better sound on a limited budget. The cartridge quality was considered last and its cost was generally agreed to be no more than about 20% of the total turntable package at this level.
'Garbage in..garbage out' being the UK approach , it made sense that any £20 -£40 cartridge of decent spec...would actually need a decent quality £200 turntable to do it justice. Beyond that...it made more sense to upgrade the turntable first before strapping on more expensive cartridges.
The Walker CJ-55 ( and I think later CJ58 ?) would have battled it out with the likes of the Ariston RD80 ( and later RD60), AR-EB-101, Rega Planar 3, Systemdek XII, See Revolver, Thorens TD-160 mkIV, Rotel RP-850, RP-855 and a few others for a customer's hard earned cash.
At this price point , manufacturers tended to stick with either or two belt drive formulas.
Usually it was the simple fixed plinth , belt drive concept ( i.e like the Rega & Rotel, Revolver) and then bolt on the best arm they could manage in that price point. Alternatively, they might attempt a balance between offering more isolation via a semi or fully suspended subchassis and compromise slightly on the tonearm in terms of overall quality. Of that list of turntables above...there wasn't really a clear winner in terms of outright performance..they all performed to a good standard expected from a £200 turntable ( circa mid 1980s prices) so it was more a personal choice which you preferred. Missing from that list is the Technics 1200 which wasn't often taken seriously as a good turntable... mostly because of it's DJ association and Hi-Fi press snobbery but it was in fact right there in the mix , albeit slightly more expensive.
The good news is... these turntables can still hold their own today...and I'm not 100 % sure there have been any great strides in performance over similarly priced models available today ( price adjusted for 40 years inflation).
So...find a good cartridge that matches the tonearm's effective mass..dial it in to Baerwald (or Stevenson if you prefer) and go from there.
You could try a tonearm swap later on but I wouldn't go too far beyond something like a circa 90s Rega RB-250, RB300 or Linn Basik..and even then...differences might not be night and day.
It's hard to ignore the benefits of a 3 point suspended deck in term of sound...and I'm not sure if any that are still made today...can compete on price per sound ratio with the likes of the CJ-55 Ariston RD80 and RD60 or Systemdek XII or Thorens TD-160 mkIV. Even back then... you were looking at a Heybrook TT/2 or perhaps Manticore Mantra, Logic DM-101, Systemdek IV or one of the more spendy Thorens model to gain any real advantages over what these humble, yet well engineered turntables were capable of.
The Dual CS-505/3 Rega Planar 2/ Rotel Rp-830 and a few others were considered a *minimum* standard of vinyl replay for anyone looking to extract the most information from a good pressing on a very tight budget.. Beyond that price point was the £200 plateau. That is where the fun really began for the cash strapped music lover wanting to make the most of a modest cartridge upgrade. The heirachy of what made a minimalist turntable sound good :, isolation from vibration first ; a good quality , well finsihed main bearing ; and a half decent tonearm free from bearing chatter, binding or excessive freeplay was considered the logical way to get better sound on a limited budget. The cartridge quality was considered last and its cost was generally agreed to be no more than about 20% of the total turntable package at this level.
'Garbage in..garbage out' being the UK approach , it made sense that any £20 -£40 cartridge of decent spec...would actually need a decent quality £200 turntable to do it justice. Beyond that...it made more sense to upgrade the turntable first before strapping on more expensive cartridges.
The Walker CJ-55 ( and I think later CJ58 ?) would have battled it out with the likes of the Ariston RD80 ( and later RD60), AR-EB-101, Rega Planar 3, Systemdek XII, See Revolver, Thorens TD-160 mkIV, Rotel RP-850, RP-855 and a few others for a customer's hard earned cash.
At this price point , manufacturers tended to stick with either or two belt drive formulas.
Usually it was the simple fixed plinth , belt drive concept ( i.e like the Rega & Rotel, Revolver) and then bolt on the best arm they could manage in that price point. Alternatively, they might attempt a balance between offering more isolation via a semi or fully suspended subchassis and compromise slightly on the tonearm in terms of overall quality. Of that list of turntables above...there wasn't really a clear winner in terms of outright performance..they all performed to a good standard expected from a £200 turntable ( circa mid 1980s prices) so it was more a personal choice which you preferred. Missing from that list is the Technics 1200 which wasn't often taken seriously as a good turntable... mostly because of it's DJ association and Hi-Fi press snobbery but it was in fact right there in the mix , albeit slightly more expensive.
The good news is... these turntables can still hold their own today...and I'm not 100 % sure there have been any great strides in performance over similarly priced models available today ( price adjusted for 40 years inflation).
So...find a good cartridge that matches the tonearm's effective mass..dial it in to Baerwald (or Stevenson if you prefer) and go from there.
You could try a tonearm swap later on but I wouldn't go too far beyond something like a circa 90s Rega RB-250, RB300 or Linn Basik..and even then...differences might not be night and day.
It's hard to ignore the benefits of a 3 point suspended deck in term of sound...and I'm not sure if any that are still made today...can compete on price per sound ratio with the likes of the CJ-55 Ariston RD80 and RD60 or Systemdek XII or Thorens TD-160 mkIV. Even back then... you were looking at a Heybrook TT/2 or perhaps Manticore Mantra, Logic DM-101, Systemdek IV or one of the more spendy Thorens model to gain any real advantages over what these humble, yet well engineered turntables were capable of.
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melofelo
Addicted Member
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Melofelo and I appear to be in close to compelete agreement in our suggestions for what to do, but I'd be even less enthusiastic than he about an arm swap. If you stick with high compliance cartridges, the SME is about as good as it gets, and even with moderate compliance ones, it is a good arm, especially if you use mass plates - you'll get better bass. (and you can increase the effective mass
Especially with the damping feature, the Series III is more adaptable than might be expected. I used one for years with a Denon 103S (which is significantly more compliant than the standard model) and was a model of clarity and good tracking, but a little wan in the bass - this was before I knew of mass plates, and I was in the grip of the low mass doctrine. So you might be very pleased with a new cartridge if you set the arm up to suit it.
When the Rega arm came out, I was on fire to get one, and when I finally did, I was bitterly disappointed - it didn't sound that great to me, it was difficult to mount cartridges in, I hated the antiskating, and I didn't enjoy the ergonomics. While the Series III is a pain to set up and align, once set, it is a delight to use. Not so, the Rega - at least for me. But you could feel differently -tonearms are interactive, and people respond differently to them, and those responses matter - no matter how highly regarded an arm is, if you don't like using it, get something else.
But if you are getting something else, be ready to spend a lot of money, even for lateral moves.
As I said, I can't speak to the M95ed, but there are a lot of top model used cartridges out there that will suit the Series III. The classic choice is probably the Shure V 15 type IV - the arm was designed, at least in part, with it in mind. But the ADC XLM and ZLM, the Sonus Blue(s), the Stanton 681eee and 881, and their analogues, the Pickering 625s and XVS series and others are out there, sometimes on turntables and unnoticed by sellers, and most have good styli available from Japan.
Be aware that ADC had different bodies with different inductances (and gold or silver metal bodies don't distinguish them). If you have acute high frequency hearing, you may be able to tell the difference between inductances. So though you can put almost any stylus on almost any body, they may not sound as intended. (And if the little magnet above the stylus/cantilever is missing - you may get no sound, since all the originals were moving irons.
Especially with the damping feature, the Series III is more adaptable than might be expected. I used one for years with a Denon 103S (which is significantly more compliant than the standard model) and was a model of clarity and good tracking, but a little wan in the bass - this was before I knew of mass plates, and I was in the grip of the low mass doctrine. So you might be very pleased with a new cartridge if you set the arm up to suit it.
When the Rega arm came out, I was on fire to get one, and when I finally did, I was bitterly disappointed - it didn't sound that great to me, it was difficult to mount cartridges in, I hated the antiskating, and I didn't enjoy the ergonomics. While the Series III is a pain to set up and align, once set, it is a delight to use. Not so, the Rega - at least for me. But you could feel differently -tonearms are interactive, and people respond differently to them, and those responses matter - no matter how highly regarded an arm is, if you don't like using it, get something else.
But if you are getting something else, be ready to spend a lot of money, even for lateral moves.
As I said, I can't speak to the M95ed, but there are a lot of top model used cartridges out there that will suit the Series III. The classic choice is probably the Shure V 15 type IV - the arm was designed, at least in part, with it in mind. But the ADC XLM and ZLM, the Sonus Blue(s), the Stanton 681eee and 881, and their analogues, the Pickering 625s and XVS series and others are out there, sometimes on turntables and unnoticed by sellers, and most have good styli available from Japan.
Be aware that ADC had different bodies with different inductances (and gold or silver metal bodies don't distinguish them). If you have acute high frequency hearing, you may be able to tell the difference between inductances. So though you can put almost any stylus on almost any body, they may not sound as intended. (And if the little magnet above the stylus/cantilever is missing - you may get no sound, since all the originals were moving irons.
melofelo
Addicted Member
Totally agree on the merits of the Sme tonearm with Nat. Another sleeper cartridge is the Akai PC-100 "rebadge" of the Acutex tripole cartridges. Finding decent stylus can be a bit of a search but with an optimum tracking force of around 1.7gm , even using the "correct" generic replacement stylus still floating around on eBay( and you have to look closely at the cantilever assembly to ensure it's the correct version ) these are an interesting alternative to the current crop of budget cartridges doing the rounds. Expect no more than a pseudo elliptical stylus at best on the generic Nos stylus...but they do stereo separation so well that you can forgive them easily once you get a taste of the tri-pole sound.
