Good Cartridge for Pioneer PL-10

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Hey,

Panomaniac just gave me a pretty cherry looking Pioneer PL-10, with some unknown cartridge in it.  Now, I know that this is not the ne plus ultra of 'tables, but I'm breadboarding up a phonostage for it, and I'd like to know what its cartridge requirements might be.  I recall that different types of arm, etc. match well with different cartridge types, but that's as far as I've gotten.

Any recommendations?  Pointers to online toots about this?  Noob-type snickers?

Aloha,

Poinz
 
http://www.vinylengine.com/library/pioneer/pl-10.shtml

Hi,

The PL10 is a very basic turntable and similar to the PL12D.

Budget cartridges are about system matching as much as intrinsic
quality. A basic Grado might suit, but low damping (the wiggle)
and tendency to hum (not when I've installed them) means
you have to be somewhat careful. Audio Technica's are hard to
beat on a budget, e.g. the $35 AT71E, suits the arm mass well :
http://www.garage-a-records.com/proddetail.php?prod=AT71ELC

:)/sreten.
 
Hi,

There are basically two types of Japanese S-shaped arms.

A) Alloy armtube and an attempt at low mass headshell = medium mass.
B) Brass chromed armtube and bog standard headshell = higher mass.

THe PL10 I think is the latter and suits lower compliance cartridges.

:)/sreten.
 
planet10 said:


I'd call those low mass & medium mass...

The cheap ugly, straight arm tube ones with the headshell held on
by a grub screw are on the same order of mass as a mayware F4.

dave

Hi,

Your terminology is somewhat out of step with common parlance.

Medium effective mass is around 12g, eg. Rega RB300 or Linn LVX.
Its also the ~ effective mass of many type (A) SME headshell arms.

Low mass in many books is a F4 or similar ~ 8g or lower, and is
usually applicable to those TP4 cartridge type straight tonearms.

:)/sreten.
 
Hi,

I think your being somewhat pointless.

The cheaper chromed brass type arms can be from
around 16g effective mass to around 20g effective mass.
Many cheaper headshells are around 10g by themselves.

e.g. the AT71E is lowish compliance and suits the PL10 arm's highish mass.

:)/sreten.
 
Poindexter said:

What about the Grados (red, blue, green) for this situation?
 Are they of the correct compliance?

Mahalo,

Poinz

Hi,

On paper they are heading towards the highest compliance you
get away with, and paper compliance values are hard to trust.

I'm not saying they will not work, I am saying they will be somewhat
more "wobbly" than something more ideally suited. A wobbly rack on
a suspended floor e.g. would likely have some "footfall" issues.

A rigid rack on a solid floor or solid wall mounted rigid shelf
will have far less issues with the arm / cartridge matching.

IMO something like LPgears range of cartridges matches your arm
"better" but also sound very different to the current Grado's, you
could you do some research into the sound that mights suit you.

http://www.lpgear.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=LG&Category_Code=LPGCART

:)/sreten.
 
Hi,

Modern Grado's are on the warm and rosy side of neutral and can
be a little dull (depending on the system) whilst AT's are generally
on the livelier and brighter side of neutral. Loading (capacitance)
affects AT's and most other MM's but does not affect Grado's.

:)/sreten.
 
I would suggest a Nagaoka MP-110 as an in between Grado/AT option.I am using one on my father's old Kenwood 1033 turntable,one that seems very similar to a Pioneer PL-12 with very good results.I don't know how its price compares to Grado/AT options,but it is a very nice sounding low cost cartridge.By "in between" I mean in terms of compliance and I suspect balance.Overall the MP-110 has a fairly neutral balance.I haven't heard a Grado but I would describe the balance of the AT as slightly on the bright/aggressive side to my tastes.As a final comment,the MP-110 has very good tracking too.
 
frugal-phile™
Joined 2001
Paid Member
Panicos K said:
I haven't heard a Grado but I would describe the balance of the AT as slightly on the bright/aggressive side to my tastes.As a final comment,the MP-110 has very good tracking too.

That was always my take on the AT... we pulled a huge number of $50-100 ATs out of TTs and upgraded them to $30 Grados. Later we also sold a lot of Nagaokas.

dave
 
One other, to throw cheap cartridges out there, is the Shure M97xE -- $55.85 with free shipping from Amazon. I just put one on my early 70's not so ne plus ultra Linn LP12 and am thrilled.

It replaced a too expensive Clear Audio thing that broke. They are separated by years, so a direct comparison is impossible, but I can say that I never really got into listening to the CA, and I am definitely enjoying the Shure. A new and better phono stage has something do to with it, but it does have a lovely warm sound.
 
sreten,it is true that a MP-110 is more expensive than AT71E,but being cheaper does not necessarily mean that the AT is better value.I believe more expensive cartridges than AT71E can be of equal,even better value,depending on the sound quality they offer for the price.$80-100 is not too much for a turntable like the PL10/12 IMO.Also,if Grado leans on the warm side of neutral as said,I think this could be very welcome for a turntable like this.The Shure is also another nice one and has a nude tip too!!!
 
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