The cartridge carrier came in the post right as I was taking my lunch break, so I wasted little time getting a spare Pickering mounted up. Gotta say, this aftermarket one (Best Audio) is very nicely made, but it feels a bit big ‘n bulky compared to the sled on the last 1019 I had (which I suspect was an older aftermarket), and the interconnects are hellaciously tight. Nevertheless, I was able to pop it in, fired and wired it up, popped an acrylic mat on it, and crossed my fingers.
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After some judicious contact cleaning, it sounds great! Pitch is accurate and seems stable, and I’m getting good clean sound out of both channels. Perhaps not the best idea to run it flat on the table here, so we’ll hold off on any critical evaluations until the plinth gets here.