AT440ml tweak
BERNHARD WROTE:
From what i heared, i'd prefer the Audio Technica 440ML. I would buy one or two backup units and then choose one of them to glue the cantilver plug-in firmly into the cartridge body, using eopoxy resiin for that and filling it into any hole and cavity not affecting the cantilever's movements. But, before you start, please ask for details, got a lot of experience with that.
REPLY:
Bernhard,
As I understand it, you suggest gluing the replaceable stylus to the cartridge body. I'm sure it would make a difference, as you've found, but I should first address the cartridge to headshell first. I suspect there may be micromovement in spite of the snug bolts and I've pondered mounting the cartridge first with double-sided foam adhesive tape.
I'm wary of any solution that would make minute adjustments of the cartridge too difficult, as I sometimes make minor cartridge adjustments on certain records. No, my cartridge is not going out of alignment, but as we all know, there are minute differences between different cutters. Usually we can find a setting that works well on most, but occasionally a record won't play as well without a little tweak. For some reason my Simon & Garfunkel Greatest Hits is like this; a tweak to the left and the surface noise vanishes.
I can't disagree with your opinion about Oracle, not having experience with it myself. I just threw out the name as an example of costly gear. I'd love to have the chance to hear real high-end TTs for side-by-side testing, but nowadays I'm only able to hear Rega, Linn, Dual and Thorens (my machinist friend has this) and as each is with different cartridges in different systems, it is hard to judge. Anyway, I understand the Linn is superior to my humble RB300, but I like mine better anyway. Maybe it's the rest of my system I'm preferring though.
Looks this might be turning into our TT thread. Really enjoying this and extending my regards to fellow vinylites. Hope some of you will have some opinions on some of my other postings re: record cleaning and vinyl miracle products (gruv-glide). I'll be posting more on that thread about my microscope and what I'm seeing. Sorry I don't have the means to post pics (not yet).
Regards,
BERNHARD WROTE:
From what i heared, i'd prefer the Audio Technica 440ML. I would buy one or two backup units and then choose one of them to glue the cantilver plug-in firmly into the cartridge body, using eopoxy resiin for that and filling it into any hole and cavity not affecting the cantilever's movements. But, before you start, please ask for details, got a lot of experience with that.
REPLY:
Bernhard,
As I understand it, you suggest gluing the replaceable stylus to the cartridge body. I'm sure it would make a difference, as you've found, but I should first address the cartridge to headshell first. I suspect there may be micromovement in spite of the snug bolts and I've pondered mounting the cartridge first with double-sided foam adhesive tape.
I'm wary of any solution that would make minute adjustments of the cartridge too difficult, as I sometimes make minor cartridge adjustments on certain records. No, my cartridge is not going out of alignment, but as we all know, there are minute differences between different cutters. Usually we can find a setting that works well on most, but occasionally a record won't play as well without a little tweak. For some reason my Simon & Garfunkel Greatest Hits is like this; a tweak to the left and the surface noise vanishes.
I can't disagree with your opinion about Oracle, not having experience with it myself. I just threw out the name as an example of costly gear. I'd love to have the chance to hear real high-end TTs for side-by-side testing, but nowadays I'm only able to hear Rega, Linn, Dual and Thorens (my machinist friend has this) and as each is with different cartridges in different systems, it is hard to judge. Anyway, I understand the Linn is superior to my humble RB300, but I like mine better anyway. Maybe it's the rest of my system I'm preferring though.
Looks this might be turning into our TT thread. Really enjoying this and extending my regards to fellow vinylites. Hope some of you will have some opinions on some of my other postings re: record cleaning and vinyl miracle products (gruv-glide). I'll be posting more on that thread about my microscope and what I'm seeing. Sorry I don't have the means to post pics (not yet).
Regards,
Re: AT440ml tweak
Not necessarily. My buddy (Chris who builds my speaker cabinets -- at least the pretty ones anyway) sold off his Linn/Lingo/Ittok and replaced it with a tweaked Rega 3 (from which we removed the RB300 and replaced with a tweaked RB250) -- he is happy with it.
dave
eila said:
Not necessarily. My buddy (Chris who builds my speaker cabinets -- at least the pretty ones anyway) sold off his Linn/Lingo/Ittok and replaced it with a tweaked Rega 3 (from which we removed the RB300 and replaced with a tweaked RB250) -- he is happy with it.
dave
Re: AT440ml tweak
Many µmovements happen within the cartridge, the glueing of the cantilever plug--in kills most of them.
Use the bolts, rely on them. Never let them rattle, and never overtighten them. I developed a supersimple torque limiter for my screw driver: its handle is conical and made from plasitc, not rubber. I wrap the handle into white paper and fix this paper tube with adhesive tape. I then trun the screw, holding the handle firmly and with force and i increase torque until the paper slips on the handle. So i considerably tighten the screw without ever overtightening it, even with alu or brass screws.
I suggest mentally treating the cartridge separated from the tonearm's headshell.
Glue the cantilver plug-in into the cartridge body and afterwards you have a top-notch, higly musical, singing MC cartridge with MM output and probably with not much of the MC-typical detail resolution and tone colour saturation, but with way more of it than before having the thing glued.
And then you mount the cartridge into you headshell as you would do with another MC cartridge, MC cartridges never have removable styli.
This is one of the things separating the men from the boys
So do i, but mostly VTA. If my cartridge is singing, i leave the other parameters unchanged as only VTA is changing with the record.
OK, maybe antiskating, too, due to friction, but i tend to have my AS slightly undercompensated, so i stay in the green area with that.
Hint: you probaly found my AS adjusting advice on the net, remember, adjust by ear and never ever overcompensate AS!
Unfortunately it is a pain to adjust and usually does get misadjusted quite soon.
From non-technical reasons, i do feel so bad hearing the name Linn. I almost might get tempted to volunteer details, but, no, i don't, let's maintain this friendly place friendly.
it is a TT thread for long now
I too own a µscope to inspect my cartridge's styli; it is a Russian stereo binocular with magnifications from 4 to 100. At 100, focal depth already starts to become a problem. Dunno how Shure managed to have an instrument with magnification 400 and keep it practicable and usable. I would like to get a camera adapter for it, maybe i have to design it myself but digital pixes of cartridge modifications on the net, this would be really something. Any ideas?
Anyway, i probably will get a digital camera soon, i consider a Nikon Coolpix 950, resolution should do, the macro option is gorgeous.
AVOID using double-sided foam adhesive tape. You do not want those µmovents the foamy tape is allowing. And you do not want to have to remove the utterly sticky stuff after you learned about its sonics.
Many µmovements happen within the cartridge, the glueing of the cantilever plug--in kills most of them.
Use the bolts, rely on them. Never let them rattle, and never overtighten them. I developed a supersimple torque limiter for my screw driver: its handle is conical and made from plasitc, not rubber. I wrap the handle into white paper and fix this paper tube with adhesive tape. I then trun the screw, holding the handle firmly and with force and i increase torque until the paper slips on the handle. So i considerably tighten the screw without ever overtightening it, even with alu or brass screws.
I suggest mentally treating the cartridge separated from the tonearm's headshell.
Glue the cantilver plug-in into the cartridge body and afterwards you have a top-notch, higly musical, singing MC cartridge with MM output and probably with not much of the MC-typical detail resolution and tone colour saturation, but with way more of it than before having the thing glued.
And then you mount the cartridge into you headshell as you would do with another MC cartridge, MC cartridges never have removable styli.
This is one of the things separating the men from the boys
So do i, but mostly VTA. If my cartridge is singing, i leave the other parameters unchanged as only VTA is changing with the record.
OK, maybe antiskating, too, due to friction, but i tend to have my AS slightly undercompensated, so i stay in the green area with that.
Hint: you probaly found my AS adjusting advice on the net, remember, adjust by ear and never ever overcompensate AS!
A well-adjusted Linn sings and is pure fun (although the low end always is something between non-existent and artificial). I may feel qualified to say so, cannot count the Linns i set up and adjusted during university and working as a TT technician.
Unfortunately it is a pain to adjust and usually does get misadjusted quite soon.
From non-technical reasons, i do feel so bad hearing the name Linn. I almost might get tempted to volunteer details, but, no, i don't, let's maintain this friendly place friendly.
it is a TT thread for long now
I too own a µscope to inspect my cartridge's styli; it is a Russian stereo binocular with magnifications from 4 to 100. At 100, focal depth already starts to become a problem. Dunno how Shure managed to have an instrument with magnification 400 and keep it practicable and usable. I would like to get a camera adapter for it, maybe i have to design it myself
but digital pixes of cartridge modifications on the net, this would be really something. Any ideas?Anyway, i probably will get a digital camera soon, i consider a Nikon Coolpix 950, resolution should do, the macro option is gorgeous.
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