RogerKulp
Super Member
According to your link,this cartridge is made in Japan.Were the original Crosley cartridges made in China?If so,could this be a (slight) improvement?
Does your Turntable stack records? Do you use this feature?
- Thread starter jeffpaletz
- Start date
vwestlife
Super Member
A better improvement is to replace the stylus. Low-end Crosleys (and the like) come with a sapphire stylus on a plastic cantilever, which can be easily and cheaply swapped out for a diamond stylus on an aluminum cantilever.
If you really want to go crazy you can spend $24.99 on LP Gear's "Cerapreme Blue" elliptical stylus, although on a cheap record player the improvement in audio quality probably won't be noticeable. But it's a nice upgrade for the (somewhat) higher-quality stereo systems that use the CZ800 cartridge.
https://www.lpgear.com/product/LPGCERAPREMEBL.html
beat_truck
Addicted Member
I don't know why we are even still talking about Crosleys and units like them.
Trying to "upgrade" one is like trying to polish a turd.
A TOTAL waste of time and money.
Trying to "upgrade" one is like trying to polish a turd. A TOTAL waste of time and money.
jeffpaletz
AK Subscriber
By modern stacking turntable I'm referring to turntables from the around 1976 to mid 1980s. Those turntables tracked from 1 to 3.5 grams using a counter weight on the back of the arm. The cartridges I use track at 1.5 grams. I don't know of any quality turntables made today that can stack and change records.
By the way, I took out the Bee Gees greatest hits on RSO records today to play. It's a two record set. Record one is labeled sides one and three. Record two is labeled sides 2 and 4. It was labeled this way for use with stacking turntables. The record was copyrighted in 1979.
By the way, I took out the Bee Gees greatest hits on RSO records today to play. It's a two record set. Record one is labeled sides one and three. Record two is labeled sides 2 and 4. It was labeled this way for use with stacking turntables. The record was copyrighted in 1979.
Finally got my Garrard Lab 80 changer mechanism working again, and am happily listening to sides 1-3 of this, after which I will get up and flip over to sides 4-6. I typically only like to use the stacker for older 70's multi record sets where record sides are 1&4, 2&5, 3&4. Otherwise, it's usually just single play for me.
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AudioFeline
Super Member
My first stereo turntable was a BSR auto changer (an upgrade from my sister's portable record player, with a very heavy ceramic cart), bought in my mid teens.
At first I was excited by the concept and mechanics of the changer, especially as I had lots of singles at the time. I was always uneasy about it, as I wasn't sure how dropping records on top of each other would look after them, and playing a record with one underneath it. This logic was balanced by thinking that they wouldn't sell something that wouldn't look after records. After some time I came to terms that the second statement was faulty thinking, and I was much more comfortable avoiding the changer. The changing spindle came out and the normal spindle inserted. Several years later I was in a position to upgrade to the type of turntable I had originally wanted to buy but couldn't afford (one with an S-shaped arm that balanced), and have never missed the auto-stacker.
At first I was excited by the concept and mechanics of the changer, especially as I had lots of singles at the time. I was always uneasy about it, as I wasn't sure how dropping records on top of each other would look after them, and playing a record with one underneath it. This logic was balanced by thinking that they wouldn't sell something that wouldn't look after records. After some time I came to terms that the second statement was faulty thinking, and I was much more comfortable avoiding the changer. The changing spindle came out and the normal spindle inserted. Several years later I was in a position to upgrade to the type of turntable I had originally wanted to buy but couldn't afford (one with an S-shaped arm that balanced), and have never missed the auto-stacker.
maxhifi
Addicted Member
Ever notice how the label area, and the lead in groove area are raised above the playing surface of an LP? This is so when you stack them, the playing area isn't touching that of the records above and below. Not every record is made this way, but a majority of them are.
The main wear related issues with changes in my view, are the often elevated tracking force, and the fact that it's hard to have a good record cleaning regime with a changer. I like to give each side I play a quick pass with a carbon fiber brush before it plays, and I have no idea how to do it on a changer.
I don't worry about that. They're clean to begin with, and the carbon brush thing that I use for manual play(which is the majority of the time) is more for me then whatever it does for the records. I do clean the stylus before playing a stack, and I usually only stack 3 at the most. Occasionally doing this yields no negative effect that I've been able to discern over the 4-5 decades that I've been doing it.
maxhifi
Addicted Member
Now that's what I'd call a long term experiment!
Used to stack a lot more back in the day. I wasn't that picky about clean records then(guess I'm still not) but I never noticed any real damage, and I was a collector even as a teen so condition was important. Now I just like to be able to do it on occasion, like last night with a 3 lp set that was set up for the task. It took so long to get the Lab 80 to be able to work as a changer again that it seems a shame not to be able to run it through it's paces every so often.
That said, I understand people concerned about hurting their records so to each their own.
maxhifi
Addicted Member
So long as it isn't a 60s BSR with a worn out sapphire stylus tracking at 8 grams, I don't see any immediate danger. I do have a lot of records in my collection which have been heavily played on Garrards and Duals, and sound absolutely great still.
AudioFeline
Super Member
Australian EMI singles in the early 70's had a raised ribbed permittee around the label so the records would not slip when played stacked.
While the raised label and outer edge may be of some utility in preventing records wear, I doubt if it really matters. Even with perfectly flat records, I can't see what meaningful wear would be caused by stacking since it would be the top surface of the record, which has no part in reproduction. The stylus plays down in the groove, not the flat on top.
I can see that dirty records stacked on top of each other might grind crud into grooves, but if you are playing dirty records, that is the problem, not the stacking thereof.
The wear caused by changers is simply the wear caused by the crudity of the mechanism - if the changer has low enough friction that it can track and trip at low tracking forces and the stylus is in good shape, any wear would be equally caused by a single play of the same quality. I can see that line contact styli might not be at their best given the differing angles that they would be at through the stack, but that's a different issue, and I would be surprised if the differences in angle and tracking force would be much of a wear issue.
I can see that dirty records stacked on top of each other might grind crud into grooves, but if you are playing dirty records, that is the problem, not the stacking thereof.
The wear caused by changers is simply the wear caused by the crudity of the mechanism - if the changer has low enough friction that it can track and trip at low tracking forces and the stylus is in good shape, any wear would be equally caused by a single play of the same quality. I can see that line contact styli might not be at their best given the differing angles that they would be at through the stack, but that's a different issue, and I would be surprised if the differences in angle and tracking force would be much of a wear issue.
On rare occasions with very warped records i've had sliding issues, not sure if that can cause damage or not, but they don't play properly so its not something you'd let go on for 20-odd minutes at a go. If its that bad the speed is very obviously messed up.
Some changers have an SRA adjustment to account for stacking. My Zero-100 has a manual / auto switch that simply bumps the carrier downward slightly. Basically instead of being proper with a single record on, its proper with 3 records on. The idea being since you can stack 6, its on-average correct across the range instead of being way off on the top record.
Some changers have an SRA adjustment to account for stacking. My Zero-100 has a manual / auto switch that simply bumps the carrier downward slightly. Basically instead of being proper with a single record on, its proper with 3 records on. The idea being since you can stack 6, its on-average correct across the range instead of being way off on the top record.
