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Cartridge / headshell confusion on a Thorens

matmat

matmat

Member
Hi everyone,

I have a Thorens TD-165 and am trying to replace the cartridge (AudioTechnica VS-215EP of unknown age).

The tonearm and headshell are the Thorens original, the same I see on most pictures of the same table.

So I bought a Grado Black (standard mount), seeing the two screws on top of the headshell, not thinking there would be any doubt.

Then I realised that the old AudioTechnica is actually a p-mount, attached to a half-inch adapter. It has the four square-shaped extra thin pins, that connect into a clear plastic cube connector, with the four wires on the other side connected to the tonearm.

And of course, the Grado Black, is the regular losange shaped, thicker pins connection, so it doesn't fit in that plastic cube.

Should I return this Grado and get a p-mount?
But then, how do I mount it on the headshell? Would a p-mount Grado Black also have a half-inch adapter?

Or, should I keep this one, and get rid of the plastic cube connector? Get new wires?

Thanks!

-Mat
 
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What you've got in there is a P to 1/2" mount adapter. Remove that, and your Grado should mount up just fine. The Thorens headshell takes a 1/2" mount cartridge. The wires on there should fit up to any standard 1/2" mount cartridge as well.
 
Thank you!

So should I just pull the wires out of that adapter?
They actually go into the adapter, and seem pretty tight in there. From the size of the holes, it doesn't look like they have the same kind of connector that would go around the Grado's pins...
 
Yes, you need the correct screws. And remove the P mount adapter. And many low to low side of medium mass cartridge options will do nicely on your Thorens, which is a superb turntable.
 
Thanks everyone for your help!

I managed to get the wires out of the adapter. It wasn't easy, had to actually push them from the other side of the holes (where the cartridge goes), and it took some time and effort... I didn't break any of them but I had to go pretty hard and I hope I didn't damage them. The connects didn't strike me as very sturdy, they are pretty thin and tend to bend easily.

Then I managed to plug them to the Grado, which also wasn't simple because the wires had to extend a little to fit the pins, and would sometimes slip away...

I do have the right original screws, so re-mounting the cartridge onto the headshell wasn't a problem. I did the alignment thing with a protractor, set the tonearm counterweight, tracking force and anti-skate... and gave it a try.

Now it works, but only on one channel. The other one plays at a very, very low volume, with a loud hum.
I checked the receiver and speakers, switched the RCA's and all, it's not that.
I unplugged and replugged the headshell wires a few times, that didn't work either.


Any idea what the problem might be?
 
miswired most likely. What you have to determine though is whether the headshell wiring is correctly color coded to the pins on the headshell.

An Audiogon response:
I just checked my headshell ( Td 160 w tp16 Headshell )
as described with Cartridge upside down stylus up looking straight at front of cartidge I have :

Lower Right..... Green
Lower Left .... Blue
Upper Right .... Red
Upper Left .... White

Hope that helps..........!

Other resources for the cartridge itself:

http://www.armourhe.co.uk/downloads/grado/technical/phono_cartridge_instruction.pdf

Here's the wiring diagram and usual wiring color convention:

The Grado has "G" , "R" , "L" and "H" How does this
translate into White , red, Green and Blue. I am getting a background hum with my hook up . What is the correct way . Thanks!


The letters stand for:
G = ground
R = right
L = left
H = hot

The electrical connection schematic for my Grado Reference reads as follows:
Blue = left ground
Green = right ground
White = left hot
Red = right hot

I assume the connection scheme is the same for all Grado cartridges. Hope this helps.
 
Thanks!

I double-checked my wiring. It's correct, same as listed above.

I read that thread about a RCA plug dying out, I didn't think of that because both sides were working fine until I changed the cartridge, but maybe it happened in the same time for some reason.

How can I determine whether it's one of the leads or a RCA connector?
Can I switch the cartridge leads left and right to see if the problem moves to the other side? Is that safe?
 
Ok, I did some research and read that switching the headshell leads was the way to go.

So I switched the left and right, and the problem remained on the same channel.

But does that rule out the RCA? How do I know for sure if the weak link is the headshell leads?

Also, if I do need to replace the leads, is there something I should pay attention to?
There are some really cheap ones on Amazon, are they any good?
 
By switching the left and right channel at the cartridge and noticing that the problem stayed on the same side you have ruled out the cartridge as the cause.
If it were faulty the problem would have moved to the other channel .
Everything after the cart. is suspect : headshell wires , headshell connector , armwire , phonocable .

Use a multimeter to Ohm the wiring /check continuity .
Disconnect the cart. and put one probe to the red headshell lead connect the other probe to the center pin of the right rca connector if the meter shows 0 ohm than its ok .
Now connect one probe to the green headshell wire and the other probe to the outer rim of the right rca connector.
Same for white hswire and left center pin and blue and left rim.

Hope this helps , regards F.
 
Thank a lot, F.

Before I buy a multimeter, I would like to make sure there is nothing else I can do to locate the problem. Specially if I have to buy more cables/wires in the end...

I have a feeling it might be the headshell wires, since I had to pull them pretty hard to get them out of that adapter.

I was thinking, what if I switch the headshell wires on both ends (on the tonearm side AND the cartridge side)? If the problem moves to the other channel, then it's the wires... and if it doesn't, then it's between the arm and the RCA's... am I right?
 
sounds right. Also try cleaning the headshell contacts and the contacts in the arm itself. Rubbing alcohol on a Q-tip should probably work if you don't happen to have any DeOxit.
 
Switching the headshell wires at the armside is enough if the problem switches than you know it is the hswires .
Regards F.
 
Ok, did it... and the problem didn't switch.
So it's not the headshell wires.

Now how can I locate the problem between the RCA's and the arm?
 
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