• The move to the new server is done. There are some software and database maintenance updates in process. This has us passing the hat around to help out. We appreciate any donations. Seriously, even a dollar helps. The payment page may be found here - https://www.audiokarma.org/support.html

Your FAVORITE carts?

Mr Boochie said:
index.php


Is this your setup? That tracking angle (SRA) looks super-funky, too. Must be angle of photo? :idea:
Click to expand...

I’ve read that Koetsu like to run parallel to record surface - but you really can’t tell from that picture. Maybe it’s tail-up to get more top end..?
 
Audiofreak71 said:
Mister Pig also ran a Koetsu I believe a Urishi and couldn’t get it to sound to his liking with his setup.

Very bling bling cart that I personally thought sounded pretty darn good if not a bit too relaxed with not enough sparkle on top but that could have been the gear it was mated with who knows.

Here it is in action
View attachment 1937775

Audiofreak71
Click to expand...
I know someone who would like that cart...
Chris
 
MisterDK said:
I’ve read that Koetsu like to run parallel to record surface - but you really can’t tell from that picture. Maybe it’s tail-up to get more top end..?
Click to expand...
I know that Mister Pig goes through his setups with a fine toothed comb so more than likely he has tried it all ways before he settled on one.

Audiofreak71
 
dualhead said:
I think I've never heard anything but praise for folks Dynavector carts.
Click to expand...

I just went down a stylus shape rabbit hole, between a VE thread (https://www.vinylengine.com/turntable_forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=46354) and the Sound Smith videos (
). It would seem that the dynavectors have a stylus shape somewhat similar to the shure micro ridge carts, with the elevated ridge, wearing more evenly than many others.


There's also been a lot of love for AT and Signet carts in this thread. I've avoided them because I find their naming/numbering so confusing. Does anyone have a good resource for decoding the cart names/numbers for vintage AT stuff?
 
Have a Lyra, 3x Ortofon, 2x AT & Dynavector. If you cannot tell by the #'s, I like the Ortofon 'house sound'. My favorite, by a small amount, is the Cadenza Black over the Kontrapunkt-b, followed by the Lyra Kleos, AT33R and Dynavector. The other AT is their least expensive MC mono cart and other Ortofon is their OM30 MM, which I use infrequently as MCs are enough better that there is no reason to listen to MMs. I listened to MMs (20+ years with Shure V15s of various ilks until 'discovering' MCs in 2000 - I've never looked back to MMs since then).
To my ears, the Ortofon offers great detail, flat range from bottom to top and is warm while not being 'lush' (ugh). Has everything. I would say this could be a 'system synergy' thing, but I've used on several rigs (both tube & solid-state) in the past 20yr and the Ortofons always rise to the top. The Kleos might be just a tad more detailed/forward, but the Ortofon just a tad more musical. The Kleos for orchestral music and the Cadenza Black or K-b for everything else. The AT33R was 'Japan only" reference cartridge and it is closer to the Kleos than the Ortofons. The Dynavector XX2 MKII is new and I do not have enough run-time to state a preference other than to say after a dozen albums, or so, it is not better than the rest. But, the jury is still out and as I'm still tweaking.
Obviously, YMMV (and should) on all this.
 
Last edited:
I had some family stuff come up and took a break from AK (and a lot of hobbies) for a while. Pandemics....apparently they can really disrupt life.

Anyway, this thread convinced me to spend some time with a Stanton 680, and I'm floored by that thing. I just got a Jico shibata for it. I've not given the stylus enough time to fully evaluate it. But Stanton/pickering made some awesome carts that I'd never really spent much time on before this thread.

I think I've grown a lot more accepting of the idea of enjoying records, reproduced by cartridges. I think at one point, I was convinced that there was a definitive better or worse cart. I've since come to realize that I could be happy with an elliptical (or better) stylus on most of the big name brand carts. They all sound slightly different and I might marginally prefer one over the other, but there really isn't a 'bad'. In retrospect, this seems really obvious, but it took me a decade or so in the hobby to figure out. I spent a lot of focus on one-upping hardware instead of just listening to music.

I'm a little surprised Sumiko hasn't been mentioned at all here.

I ended up with an early acutex that I need to find a use for. I've also been using some ATs in some builds recently, and I'm very impressed with them, especially their price/performance ratio seems pretty unbeatable.
 
Last edited:
scootsity5 said:
I had some family stuff come up and took a break from AK (and a lot of hobbies) for a while. Pandemics....apparently they can really disrupt life.

Anyway, this thread convinced me to spend some time with a Stanton 680, and I'm floored by that thing. I just got a Jico shibata for it. I've not given the stylus enough time to fully evaluate it. But Stanton/pickering made some awesome carts that I'd never really spent much time on before this thread.

I think I've grown a lot more accepting of the idea of enjoying records, reproduced by cartridges. I think at one point, I was convinced that there was a definitive better or worse cart. I've since come to realize that I could be happy with an elliptical (or better) stylus on most of the big name brand carts. They all sound slightly different and I might marginally prefer one over the other, but there really isn't a 'bad'. In retrospect, this seems really obvious, but it took me a decade or so in the hobby to figure out. I spent a lot of focus on one-upping hardware instead of just listening to music.
Click to expand...
I've been a big fan of budget cartridges ever since hearing, and later buying, a Linn LP12 with Basik Plus arm and Basik cartridge in the mid-1980's. I was amazed at how good that Basik cartridge sounded, and it was just something included for free with the tone arm and looked like an AT95E except that it used a .6 mil conical stylus.
scootsity5 said:
I'm a little surprised Sumiko hasn't been mentioned at all here.
Click to expand...
Post #11 back on page one said, "This week I pulled out a Sumiko Oyster and mounted it up on an extra headshell. Dynamics, resolution, and instrumental timbre were much improved, and I may have found my perfect cartridge match for this AT turntable. Surprisingly satisfying sound from such a cheap combination." That was in July of 2020, and though it's now in a friend's home, I can report that, with styli dutifully replaced every 400 hours, the Sumiko is still making great music mounted to that LP120XUSB.
 
IMG_0315.jpeg
This one, so smooth - came with a Thorens tt that I bought some years ago. It was top of the line back in the 80s - got a clean bill of health from VAS, I also have a NOS stylus put aside as well.
 
I have run the lowly Van Den Hul MC10 (after groovetickler’s work) and it is the best I have heard. I can’t imagine what their hi end carts sound like.

IMG_0814.jpeg
 
I have always like the Acutex STR styli carts, the 312,315 and 320( TOTL ) .

But I use regularly an Encore EC-20 that I retired with a basic Elliptical. I did that retype myself but might send it to Joseph for a nicer tip.

Athanasios
 
I have had a lot more that I disliked than I liked. Back in the 60's I was changing cartridges 3 or 4 times a year. Perferred ortofon sound but they didn't track well. Shures were always hit or miss. Even clibration standard Stantons could be hit or miss. The 681 EE and EEE for instance. Pickering were all a miss. Some Signets were great and some not. But more often nots for Audio Technika. London Cartridges were horrible at the time. I finally settled on Stanton 881s with 981 HZL stylus and then a CS1000 sytlus for a long time. After destroying the cantilever on my last OEM stylus for the 881S a friend sent me a Dynavector to try and I liked it. I have had 10 X4, 10 x 5, 20x 20 X 2, and recently a XX-2 mkII. I hear there is a new XX-2A. Anyway I am pretty much set as my 20 X is now my back-up in case I trash the 20 X 2 or the XX-2. Unfortunately you can't change stlus on those MC cartridges. The one cartridge I missed out on and shouldn't have was the Grace F-9E. Its one of my Stereo component regrets. Another would be an Ampex ATR 104, but thats another subject.
 
jrtrent said:
Post #11 back on page one said, "This week I pulled out a Sumiko Oyster and mounted it up on an extra headshell. Dynamics, resolution, and instrumental timbre were much improved, and I may have found my perfect cartridge match for this AT turntable. Surprisingly satisfying sound from such a cheap combination." That was in July of 2020, and though it's now in a friend's home, I can report that, with styli dutifully replaced every 400 hours, the Sumiko is still making great music mounted to that LP120XUSB.
Click to expand...
Sorry, I missed that one!
And (unquoted) the AT95 is a pretty great little cart.

Right now, I'm running my Stanton 680 on our second system and a Shure V15 II on the bedroom. Both have Jico styli.

I've really dialed in the arm on my Thorens 160 with the Denon DL-160. I think it's only in the past year or so I've really gotten it dialed in. I'm very pleased with it as well.

I really want to check out a sound Smith cartridge sometime, I'm thinking an Otello might be my next cart.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom