What's a good cartridge for a JVC QL-Y5F turntable?

Fishead

Fishead

Gone fishin' Steada just wishin'
Subscriber
Friend of mine just acquired this JVC turntable, and from my understanding it is a pretty nice one, but it needs a cartridge. I did a little research and found that it came standard with a JVC cartridge (MD-1025EB) that was rather low compliance, 10x10-6 cm/dyne, so am assuming a recommendation in a similar range of compliance would be good. What have folks here used with this table and what would you recommend?
 
Register to hide this ad
Indeed a nice table. I have the similar QL-A7.

I enjoy mine with a Pickering XSV3000 cart, but I have no idea if that's a good choice, it simply sounds great.
 
Thanks, Tim. I think I saw somewhere that the Nagaoka MP-110 also plays nicely on this table and might be appealing price-wise too.
 
Fishead said:
(...) 10x10-6 cm/dyne (...)
Click to expand...

Probably Japan-style- i.e., at 100 Hz, Andreas. I'd guesstimate, that the MD-1025/DT-Z1EB was more like ~ 16 µm/mN @ 10 Hz. But the servo arm of the QL-Y5F should be good for quite a wide range anyway. Which budget range would your friend have in mind for the cartridge?

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini
 
Hi Manfred, here's what the specs show from JVC and the compliance is indeed at 10 Hz rather than at 100Hz.

1724605250717.png

In any case, good question about how much my friend is willing/able to spend and "it ain't a lot." I'm thinking less than about $200. Sorry, I should have included that out front. I've heard so many good things about the AT95 carts that it was one I thought of and for not much $$$.....compliance should be OK too, no?
 
Fishead said:
Friend of mine just acquired this JVC turntable, and from my understanding it is a pretty nice one, but it needs a cartridge. I did a little research and found that it came standard with a JVC cartridge (MD-1025EB) that was rather low compliance, 10x10-6 cm/dyne, so am assuming a recommendation in a similar range of compliance would be good. What have folks here used with this table and what would you recommend?
Click to expand...
Replacement needle?

https://www.lpgear.com/product/JVCSDTZ1S.html
 
Afraid that won't work as the cartridge is long gone.....he just has the turntable with no cartridge included so he's going to have to start from scratch. Thank you, that certainly would have been a good alternative.
 
Fishead said:
Hi Manfred, here's what the specs show from JVC and the compliance is indeed at 10 Hz rather than at 100Hz.
Click to expand...

Uhm, Andreas, where would you spot the 10 Hz there? My bets rather are on 100 Hz, which they often enough wouln't mention - but if you have a look into the Japanese manual for the Z-1/DT-Z1, it's actually mentioned there.

And yup, if he wants to spend less than 200 bucks, an AT-VM95ML wouldn't seem a bad idea.

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini
 
Whenever in doubt about cartridge compliance (particularly in cases of 10hz vs 100hz ratings), the tracking force range will help you get a better idea of what will pair well with a tonearm.

1.5 - 2g as the optimum tracking range means it will play nicely with basically any modern, medium compliance cart (MM or MC). You would just want to avoid any extremes on cart compliance - though swapping a lighter or heavier headshell can shift the ideal range a bit.

I've had good results with Nagaoka MP, Ortofon 2M and similar tracking force HOMC carts on other Japanese DD tables w/similar mass tonearms.
 
Fishead said:
Afraid that won't work as the cartridge is long gone.....he just has the turntable with no cartridge included so he's going to have to start from scratch. Thank you, that certainly would have been a good alternative.
Click to expand...
What is his price range?

Maybe an AT-VM95ML or a Nagaoka MP-110? I presume MM. :idea:
 
Mr. Boochie, yes......that is what I have been thinking.

Manfred, look at the spec sheet under "Cartridge Section" and the 7th line down shows "Compliance." That is where I spotted it.
 
Fishead said:
Manfred, look at the spec sheet under "Cartridge Section" and the 7th line down shows "Compliance." That is where I spotted it.
Click to expand...

Sorry, but no Hz reference there, Andreas - just one of the usual units for the compliance, i.e. "(value) x 10^-6 cm/dyne". Which translates to "(value) x 0.000001 cm/dyne", with 1 dyne being 0.00001 N, so that we effectively get "(value) x 0.01 µm / 0.01 mN" or simply "(value) µm/mN". So 10 x 10^-6 cm/dyne is just the same as 10 µm/mN.

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini
 
I see what you mean, Manfred. When I looked at that, I thought the second 10 in the equation referred to measured at 10hz rather than 100hz. Learned something again......
 
lini said:
And yup, if he wants to spend less than 200 bucks, an AT-VM95ML wouldn't seem a bad idea.
Click to expand...
I will pass that along, probably what I would go with....
KentTeffeteller said:
Why not a Nagaoka MP-110? A nice option for the JVC's tonearm.
Click to expand...
Sounds like these two carts, the AT and Nagaoka get some love here.....both identical price.
Blue Shadow said:
Buy the best cartridge your system and wallet can afford the turntable deserves it.
Click to expand...
Yes, apparently very well thought of turntable. Thank you.
 
Lucky you! I don't have much to add that hasn't already been said, but I really love the QL Y5F. Mine came with a Grado F3+ cart that sounded great, my AT 14sa sounded great as well, as did my AT VM 530EN, and now the Grado Opus 3 I've got on it sounds better yet. These TT's are not picky about cartridges. I've found setup can be tricky, you want to really spend some time getting the zero balance perfect in order for the electronic damping to work properly and to it's potential. They also seem to favor lighter cart/headshell combos, my Opus 3 on the stock headshell seemed to take the counterweight close to it's limit, I replaced with a lighter headshell. The VTA adjustment is somewhat limited as well, tall, bulky cartidges may have you at the upper limit of adjustment or ride a little "tail down".
 
Isn’t this an active damped electronic tonearm? I’d think you could a range of compliances and be immune to resonance. Am I missing something?
Fishead said:
Friend of mine just acquired this JVC turntable, and from my understanding it is a pretty nice one, but it needs a cartridge. I did a little research and found that it came standard with a JVC cartridge (MD-1025EB) that was rather low compliance, 10x10-6 cm/dyne, so am assuming a recommendation in a similar range of compliance would be good. What have folks here used with this table and what would you recommend?
Click to expand...
 
What's your friend's budget (the Atlas λ Lambda is a wonderful cartridge if your friend wants to spend $13,195 ;-) )?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom