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Just ordered a "Red Ed" cart!

"Red Ed's" on the way.

Just got a confirmation from Trisha that the carts have shipped. Should be here in a few days. I wonder if the cart bodies are the same, just the stylus are different, similar to the way Ortofon & AT did with some of their carts?
 
Check out the $99 Music Hall Tracker - "designed and built by Goldring to Music Hall's specifications" (!!!).
http://www.musicdirect.com/product/73956

mh_tracker.jpg
 
Similar to a single TT design rebadged & sold under several different companies, yes.
 
I'd certainly pay an extra $70 to have the Music Hall name on my cartridge!

By the way, there was something written on the stylus in the OP too but someone erased it in Photoshop.

John
 
I don't know about anybody else but I have real disdain for a company that charges an outrageous price for an item that is clearly the same as another, cheaper product and then reviewers pretend it's a good value.

Clearaudio has been caught at it and that company (I can't remember the name) that sold the DVD player for several times the amount it was worth just because they had their name on it, etc.

This is THE main problem in the audiophile community.

Doug
 
Doug G. said:
I don't know about anybody else but I have real ydisdain for a company that charges an outrageous price for an item that is clearly the same as another, cheaper product and then reviewers pretend it's a good value.

Clearaudio has been caught at it and that company (I can't remember the name) that sold the DVD player for several times the amount it was worth just because they had their name on it, etc.

This is THE main problem in the audiophile community.

Doug
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Doug
You hit the nail on the head with that.
I cant tell you how many times I have seen this crap goin on.
bob
 
gary7 said:
I got mine today. :banana: Will probably check them out over the weekend. By thr way, what VTF are you running with yours?
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I think there was something about that on Ed's website. It's slightly heavy as I recall, like 1.0 to 2.5 g.

John

[EDIT] Check that. It's 1.5 to 3.0.
 
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beatcomber said:
I just realized that the CN5625AL is the cart that came with the Audio Technica/Vacuum VP96 portable that I bought in Japan about 10 years ago! Coincidentally I just ordered a new stylus for it a few minutes ago! The one on my portable is slightly different because it clips into the headshell/tonearm, and doesn't have wings with screw holes.

Audio-Technica-CN-5625-AL.jpg


Audio-Technica-ATN-VP96-stylus-md.jpg


vp96b2.JPG
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I have some experience with that cartridge on several turntables, and for under $30 I was impressed with it.

Doug G. said:
I don't know about anybody else but I have real disdain for a company that charges an outrageous price for an item that is clearly the same as another, cheaper product and then reviewers pretend it's a good value.

Clearaudio has been caught at it and that company (I can't remember the name) that sold the DVD player for several times the amount it was worth just because they had their name on it, etc.

This is THE main problem in the audiophile community.

Doug
Click to expand...

The DVD player you're referring to was a shady deal, because they apparently dropped an Oppo BDP83 into a better chassis, added some tweaks to the chassis and charged several thousand dollars for it. However, I'm pretty sure with Clearaudio those re-badged cartridges are not just re-badged and re-sold at a premium, they change them. I don't think Clearaudio has ever been secretive about it, and it's pretty obvious anyway. Those re-badged cartridges are highly regarded too.
 
Red Ed in the house

Got the elliptical version installed & gave a listen to several lp's the past few days. First thing I noticed was the any pops & ticks was less pronounced than with the AT3100S MC I'd been using. Played a NM Wally copy of Boston's 1st lp. No distortion, just jammin' R&R. Not bad sound overall on many of the lp's I played, all tough the midrange seemed a bit compressed. That may change as it breaks in. I'll install the conical version in a few days to see if there is any difference. I'll keep you posted. :music:
 

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I’m glad you said it first. I didn’t want to face the wrath. Refined- nope. Nor is it moving-coil sound. The midrange is low, heavier on the bass side. Perhaps you will get more luck then I did and the cartridge will sound better with more plays. The midrange does come up with 400pF capacitance but that drops the high to around 16 kHz which really isn’t bad.
 
Having had a chance to listen to it for nearly a week, I can't say I disagree with you guys. It does sound fine for a $14 cart, but it ain't no giant killer.
 
beatcomber said:
2 grams.
Click to expand...
This is also the tracking weight I found to work best in my arm; it's all that's needed for good tracking and anything much heavier than that seemed to diminish its lively, open character.

beatcomber said:
. . . it ain't no giant killer.
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I might have a different take on that than some. For me, a giant killer is a cheap cartridge that lets me enjoy my records. I wore out the stylus on my Goldring Elan because the cartridge satisfied me. Other giant killers for me include the AT70L, Grado Green, anything made by Stanton/Pickering (except the Epoch series), the M97xE, Linn Basik, and I have high hopes for the AT CN5625AL, which I've been using with complete satisfaction for a few months now (many years ago I had tried one and found it lacking, but its possible I had simply gotten a sample that had lain on a shelf too many years or had been improperly stored).

A few cartridges just seem to sap the life and energy out of the system (that is, the playing is less tuneful, less dynamic; it's harder to appreciate how the instrumentalists or orchestral sections are interacting with and complementing each other). Every Shure I had tried before the M97xE fell in this category, as did a couple of Goldring 1000 series cartridges, an ADC XLM Mk II, and an Empire I no longer remember the model of. Also, some cartridges are just tonally unpleasant to me, such as the AT440ML and a Rega Bias (though I find the Bias 2 in a friend's system a satisfying listen).

Some cartridges can go from mediocre to quite good just by supergluing the stylus to the body. Stantons, Pickerings, Shures, and the Elan are some that benefitted from this (though even this didn't help the Shures, except the M97xE, satisfy me). AT and Grado models seem to have a nice, tight stylus assembly fit that doesn't need gluing to let them sound their best.

And of course, every cartridge is limited by the turntable and tonearm it's used with. I'm a big fan of the Rega P3-24, but it's not an LP12/Ittok, and I've heard $50 cartridges in my Linn easily outperform cartridges costing hundreds of dollars when mounted in the Rega. A cheap cartridge you enjoy can be the ultimate giant killer because the savings can be applied to making your turntable better. For example, instead of upgrading the Basik cartridge the came free with my Basik Plus arm, I enjoyed cheap stylus replacements or other low-budget cartridges for a few years and banked the savings til I could buy an Ittok arm. The Ittok made low-cost cartridges perform so much better that I no longer needed a better cartridge. A high quality 'table and arm lets cartridges like the Elan or CN5625AL really shine.
 
I've moved the Red Ed over to my office system at work, mounted to a '70s Technics SL-1200 (non-quartz version), and powered by a '70s Technics SU-8080 amp into either a pair of Realistic Minumus 7 speakers or Sennheiser HD 497 headphones.

In this set-up the Red Ed excels! In the more revealing system at home, I could clearly detect the cart's shortcomings, but in my basic office system it sounds just fine. Stereo separation is adequate, and it sounds crisp and clean and well-balanced, with no obvious mistracking.

In installations where an expensive, revealing cartridge is not needed (ie: garage, office, workshop, etc.), the Red Ed will more than satisfy!
 
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