Hoping to up-grade my TT but should I keep the Cart

b brian

b brian

Well-Known Member
I am going to be shopping for a new turntable soon but am torn about what to do with my current cart.
The table I will be selling is a Technics SL-3350 with as yet unknow AT cart. I had posted a picture in another thread, and someone suggested it is one of the Signet carts. I have not removed it from the head to check this.
I really enjoy the sound of the cart on the table and am wondering if I should keep the cart and sell the table. (sale price/return would be effected)
Or sell the cart with the table and hope my next table comes with a similar or better cart.
If the cart is a Signet, how much would I have to spend to get a comparable cart today, and how much will it effect the budget for a new table.

I am currently looking at Thoren TD 160/165/166 or Pioneer PL-41/50 and have seen them in the $150-$250 range. (on a side note, would the AT Signet be a good match for these tables?)

Keep the known cart, or if sold how much will I have to spend to get a comparable cart for my next table.
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Mark where it is now mounted in the headshell, remove the cart and see what is marked on it. Then pick up a new cheap cart to put on TT, sell it. Then knowing what you had install on the table be on the lookout for a new stylus.


Barney
 
This one sure is worth saving. It is a TK3. Which is a darned good cartridge and to my ear one of the best sounding cartridges Audio-Technica ever made.
 
Hi,

Don't sell the cartridge with the turntable.

http://www.edsaunders.com/reded.htm

Offer the turntable with a brand new Red Ed elliptical, it is by all
accounts is a very decent cartridge comparable to $100 models.

$30 is a small price to pay, to keep the Signet, and the Red Ed
elliptical is no slouch, it sounds good, better than many at $100.

rgds, sreten.

To be fair my opinion is based on the Goldring Elecktra.
 
KentTeffeteller said:
This one sure is worth saving. It is a TK3. Which is a darned good cartridge and to my ear one of the best sounding cartridges Audio-Technica ever made.
Click to expand...

I was thinking it was a TK5 or better. The TK3E of mine the stylus is more like the ATN120E in looks.



Barney
 
I've got a TK3E, TK5Ea, and a TK7E and love them all.
There are Audio Technica ATNXXX stylus that fit each one.
Keep the cartridge and upgrade to the appropriate Shibata stylus from the likes of LPGear.

Al. Wise
 
Two things about the cart you have...

1) From what I've seen online, the TK3E looks to be more like stainless and the TK5E looks to be more of a matte aluminum color. You're looks like more like the TK5E.

2) Judging by the search results on Google, it seems that the TK5E is a much more popular cartridge than the TK3E.

I'm willing to bet you have the TK5E. I have the big brother of that cart, the TK7E which is gold in color.
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If you really do enjoy the sound of the Signet (as most do), you definitely should keep it for your next TT. You're probably ranks up there with carts costing somewhere in the $250-300 range I would imagine, mine probably up to the $500 range. However, don't quote me on that... :D
 
Keep that cart. Right now I'm listening to a TK5E with the stylus from an AT52W2 (shibata) and it's excellent. There are various AT styli that will fit when you need a new one.
In the mail yesterday I got a batch of Signet bodies with 'bad' styli. I managed to repair a TK6 stylus (nude tombstone elliptical) and that sounds nice as well.
 
Is it the stylus what moves a cart up the scale?
Will my TK5E perform like a TK7E with a better stylus?

But what if you found a TD160 with a Denon DL-110 MC cart? Would that be an improvement on the AT tk3/5e cart?
 
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