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Does Replacing the Headshell and Cartridge Cables Improve Sound?

S

Speedy77

Member
I've got a vintage turntable from the 70's, and It has an original era headhell with original cartridge wires. I replaced the cartridge, but left the wires (two wires even broke and separated from their prongs, but I was able to re-solder them back on). The audio quality is great but to be honest I don't know whether or not it could sound better. Is it a good idea to replace the headshell/wires on this vintage machine?
 
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I replace mine not because of signal, but because stiff wires will carry vibration. I use the soft silk wrapped floppy ones. Any sonic difference I think is found there.
 
Ok sweet! So far I've been looking at the ones on ebay for a cheaper price and availability, but it's hard to tell what's quality when all you get is a picture and a brief description :/
 
Cheap headshell wires are cheap (the $5 jobs on ebay). They at least work better than broken wires :-).

The expensive wires may sound better, whether you notice it may depend on the resolution of your system as a whole.

FYI - on my system I use relatively inexpensive ones, but not the cheapest.
 
In my case, yes, replacing the wires most certainly made a difference. Not sure about headshells, but I had a hum in my system that turned out to be an almost-broken headshell lead. For the cost (sub $20 for a good pair) it's a no brainer.
 
Good headshell (weight/mass as needed) and SOAR wires are both an improvement in sound and usually in tracking as well - and that leads to even more improvement in sound :)
 
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