Jelco 750d and Grado Master Statement??? help

[aaronz28]

so, i scored a used grado master statement which is a high compliance cart (20cu) and i asked Grado for a tone arm recommendation and they suggested I get the Jelco 750d..

the jelco 750 has an effective mass of 20g - which seems heavy - for a high compliance cart..

i have it setup perfectly on my MMF table and it sounds great - but i can honestly say that it doesn't sound a whole lot better (if at all) than my Grado Platinum does mounted on a very light Thorens td-135 (factory arm designed for very high compliant carts)

can someone help me?

the jelco does have oil dampening, which i'm using,but i hate to be wasting an expensive cartridge on a heavy tonearm...

i'm learning the ins and outs of this stuff - but i just want to be sure that i've got all my facts straight.

thanks

Aaron

 

[MWalt]

That high compliance Grado is a great match for the Thorens arm, thus the good synergy. A high compliance cart is a terrible match for the Jelco 750. Get a cart with a compliance of around 10(10x6) and you will be in business. An inexpensive example might be a Denon DL-110. A more expensive match might be an Audio Technica AT33EV. There are many nice carts out there that will bring out the best in that Jelco.

 

[dlaloum]

Yep... oil damping controls (damps) the resonance - but it is still there, and it is in the wrong place...

Also damping needs to be applied with a light hand - you need some, but less is more is often a good mantra.

Too much damping will constrain the natural movement of arm/stylus resulting in some degree of needle scrubbing.

The "perfect" setup is one where the cartridge and arm are perfectly matched, and then light damping is applied...

As you have noted the cartridge on the Jelco sounds good... but your gut feeling that you may be able to get more out of it sounds right to me...