I think I'm going to order the Red Ed Elliptical; hard to beat at that price and not much invested if I don't like it. Plus, this is my first foray into vinyl so I'd like to keep it sane until I know a bit more about what I like. Thanks for the advice, I was just about to get the Ortofon Red, but I'm intrigued about the Ed.
On a side note, I'm looking at a Yaqin ms-22b that I can get for $90 pretty much new. The other option I was thinking about is the cambridge 640p on closeout for 129 at needle doc. Any thoughts on these?
I was planning to spend more like 200-300$, but these prices are calling to me.
Evan
On a side note, I'm looking at a Yaqin ms-22b that I can get for $90 pretty much new. The other option I was thinking about is the cambridge 640p on closeout for 129 at needle doc. Any thoughts on these?
I was planning to spend more like 200-300$, but these prices are calling to me.
Evan
Hi,
If nothing else it will give you a reference, which may depend
on luck a little (quality control), or you will be fine. In fact
the main bugbear of real Elektra owners is quality control,
some complain, some are very happy, may be the set up.
The other budget punt is the AT92ECD :
Amazon.com: Audio-Technica AT92E Universal Replacement Magnetic Phono Cartridge: Electronics
But suited to medium to lower mass arms generally.
Again though its near as good as any bonded elliptical up to $100.
I've used it in lower mass arms and TP4's, it great at the cost.
rgds, sreten.
If nothing else it will give you a reference, which may depend
on luck a little (quality control), or you will be fine. In fact
the main bugbear of real Elektra owners is quality control,
some complain, some are very happy, may be the set up.
The other budget punt is the AT92ECD :
Amazon.com: Audio-Technica AT92E Universal Replacement Magnetic Phono Cartridge: Electronics
But suited to medium to lower mass arms generally.
Again though its near as good as any bonded elliptical up to $100.
I've used it in lower mass arms and TP4's, it great at the cost.
rgds, sreten.
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Get the Ed, set it up, get your table tuned, tweaked and working to your satisfaction. That's a fantastic idea to make sure everything works properly.
Listen to lots of records, buy some new ones, buy some used ones, have a great time!
Then get a new cartridge so you know what you will be gaining!
It's pretty much impossible to make a good tube component for $100. So no to Yaqin.
The cambridge is intriguing. Probably very good for the price.
Have you considered DIY?
And what are you using for a preamp/amp/receiver/whatever?
EDIT - I see, you already mentioned, a Peachtree Nova.
Listen to lots of records, buy some new ones, buy some used ones, have a great time!
Then get a new cartridge so you know what you will be gaining!
satx said:
It's pretty much impossible to make a good tube component for $100. So no to Yaqin.
The cambridge is intriguing. Probably very good for the price.
Have you considered DIY?
And what are you using for a preamp/amp/receiver/whatever?
EDIT - I see, you already mentioned, a Peachtree Nova.
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6L6,
My thought exactly. I've over thought audio purchases in the past and not always been completely happy, this way I can enjoy myself and get an idea of what I like for not much money. By the way, thanks for your help on the NOMEX 164's, I'm really happy with them and they were a very nice upgrade.
Evan
My thought exactly. I've over thought audio purchases in the past and not always been completely happy, this way I can enjoy myself and get an idea of what I like for not much money. By the way, thanks for your help on the NOMEX 164's, I'm really happy with them and they were a very nice upgrade.
Evan
Thanks, I have ordered a cartridge and I'm just getting started in vinyl, but I tend to like to try different stuff
, so I'll take a look at them when I'm in the market. Evan
Hi,
True, but its $240 new, probably pretty good for $90. Looks nice too ....
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
rgds, sreten.
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Yeah, I figured for $90, why not try it out. So I bought it plus it was free shipping. Plus, it's been tested and at least the guy said with his equipment there was no hum with 91 db speakers. The Cambridge was a safer bet, but I wanted to play around with some tubes since the only tube item I have is the buffer in the Peachtree and I leave that off most of the time. Anyways, thanks for the input.
Evan
Evan
Thought I'd add an update:
So I got everything and finally got it working; I'm thrilled with the sound, though I was about to just give up and sell everything.
After I got the Yaqin and the Red Ed elliptical cart, I set everything up and began having tons of problems. At first I was only getting hum, but no sound out of the left channel, then intermittent sound. At the same time I was having a nightmare of a time aligning the cartridge, or so I thought. I downloaded the Stupid alignment protractor from Vinyl Engine, but I couldn't get it to print exactly to scale. I was getting tons of skipping and it was driving me nuts. Sometimes it was only skipping on the inside groves, sometimes one record would play through , but a different one wouldn't or even a different side wouldn't and sometimes the outer grooves would also skip. It didn't matter where I put the cart in the headshell and I had to have at least 3g's for it to even sometimes play.
Well, then the left channel went out for good. I traced backwards from the preamp and the tubes to the rca's and finally figured out that the left channel of the Red Ed was shorted and no longer functional. This was very frustrating as I bought a 40 year old turntable and a used preamp and the only new item in the chain is the defective piece. I contacted them and they immediately sent out a new cart and let me keep the old one; kudos to them for the service even if the QC may be a bit questionable.
So, new cart installed and still probably not aligned correctly and still having a terrible time with the skipping. Almost nothing would play. Well, after finally reading past the section in the manual about routine adjustments, I see mention of the cuing arm being adjustable. Sure enough, the arm that sits under the tonearm was just a bit too high and was not allowing enough pressure from the stylus on the record. I had listened to it before I bought it, so I'm not sure how it got out of adjustment. Now, after adjusting, it never skips and I can run it at 1.5g's with no problem.
This took a couple of weeks of screwing with it and I was about to give up; when it's this frustrating, music becomes pretty un-enjoyable.
Everything sounds very good now, though I still haven't been able to print the properly scaled protractor and I'm getting some sibilance on certain albums and I think this may be the culprit. Any help with this would be appreciated!
I'm now pleased with the Red Ed's sound and it tracks well, though I have nothing to compare it to.
The Yaqin is very nice and I feel like I got a very good deal. It is well made and sounds lovely and looks nice too. It even surprisingly came with Mullards installed. Pretty good for $90 shipped in my book. I was getting a little hum, especially when the Peachtree was in H/T bypass, but a cheater plug has removed that problem. I also had purchased a set of 5751 tubes to try in place of what I thought would be the stock Chinese 19ax7's and with their 30% reduction in gain any remaining hum has disappeared, plus I think they sound nicer than the Mullards.
Finally, the Marantz 6300 Seems to be a very nice table. It both looks and sound very good, it's 100% functional and I got it for a lot less locally than what they are selling for online.
Sorry for such a long post, but after all the help I got on here I thought I would let you guys know how it worked out. Also, someone may come along with the same problems as I had and be able to avoid some of the frustration
Evan
So I got everything and finally got it working; I'm thrilled with the sound, though I was about to just give up and sell everything
. After I got the Yaqin and the Red Ed elliptical cart, I set everything up and began having tons of problems. At first I was only getting hum, but no sound out of the left channel, then intermittent sound. At the same time I was having a nightmare of a time aligning the cartridge, or so I thought. I downloaded the Stupid alignment protractor from Vinyl Engine, but I couldn't get it to print exactly to scale. I was getting tons of skipping and it was driving me nuts. Sometimes it was only skipping on the inside groves, sometimes one record would play through , but a different one wouldn't or even a different side wouldn't and sometimes the outer grooves would also skip. It didn't matter where I put the cart in the headshell and I had to have at least 3g's for it to even sometimes play.
Well, then the left channel went out for good. I traced backwards from the preamp and the tubes to the rca's and finally figured out that the left channel of the Red Ed was shorted and no longer functional. This was very frustrating as I bought a 40 year old turntable and a used preamp and the only new item in the chain is the defective piece
. I contacted them and they immediately sent out a new cart and let me keep the old one; kudos to them for the service even if the QC may be a bit questionable. So, new cart installed and still probably not aligned correctly and still having a terrible time with the skipping. Almost nothing would play. Well, after finally reading past the section in the manual about routine adjustments, I see mention of the cuing arm being adjustable. Sure enough, the arm that sits under the tonearm was just a bit too high and was not allowing enough pressure from the stylus on the record. I had listened to it before I bought it, so I'm not sure how it got out of adjustment. Now, after adjusting, it never skips and I can run it at 1.5g's with no problem.
This took a couple of weeks of screwing with it and I was about to give up; when it's this frustrating, music becomes pretty un-enjoyable.
Everything sounds very good now, though I still haven't been able to print the properly scaled protractor and I'm getting some sibilance on certain albums and I think this may be the culprit. Any help with this would be appreciated!
I'm now pleased with the Red Ed's sound and it tracks well, though I have nothing to compare it to.
The Yaqin is very nice and I feel like I got a very good deal. It is well made and sounds lovely and looks nice too. It even surprisingly came with Mullards installed. Pretty good for $90 shipped in my book. I was getting a little hum, especially when the Peachtree was in H/T bypass, but a cheater plug has removed that problem. I also had purchased a set of 5751 tubes to try in place of what I thought would be the stock Chinese 19ax7's and with their 30% reduction in gain any remaining hum has disappeared, plus I think they sound nicer than the Mullards.
Finally, the Marantz 6300 Seems to be a very nice table. It both looks and sound very good, it's 100% functional and I got it for a lot less locally than what they are selling for online.
Sorry for such a long post, but after all the help I got on here I thought I would let you guys know how it worked out. Also, someone may come along with the same problems as I had and be able to avoid some of the frustration
Evan
My experience with the Red Ed was not very positive on a diy table that I have long since given away. (Right channel died within minutes of first use, and it was pretty mediocre for the moments it did work.) Having had a taste of vinyl glory I'd recommend you go out and get an inexpensive Nagaoka, Music Hall, or Ortofon. (Not a DJ Ortophon though) Have a look at Needle Doctor's offerings.
Budget Phono Cartridges (no affiliation)
I guess I should ask what your vintage table is.. I have two Thorens TD-124 with modern Ortofon SPUs on them. (Schick and SME arms)
Budget Phono Cartridges (no affiliation)
I guess I should ask what your vintage table is.. I have two Thorens TD-124 with modern Ortofon SPUs on them. (Schick and SME arms)
The table is a Marantz 6300. I like the sound, but I need to get a good protractor to get it aligned right. It has a bit of sibilance sometimes and a bit of fuzziness to the sound, not always super clear. Not sure if it's the cart or alignment or what. In all honesty I don't see how it's much better, if at all, than good digital tracks. It's warm sounding, which is nice, but my system is pretty warm and smooth anyways. The digital stuff seems to have more energy, but retains the smooth sound. I may have to try a different cart, but I don't think I'll want to spend a lot on the vinyl gear; I'm just not seeing how it's worth it.
What budget cart from those brands do you recommend? I'd be willing to give it a go to see what they could do. I definitely want to get the one I have aligned right before I do anything though.
Evan
What budget cart from those brands do you recommend? I'd be willing to give it a go to see what they could do. I definitely want to get the one I have aligned right before I do anything though.
Evan
It strikes me that an Ortofon 2M Red would just fall within your budget range and should be a pretty big improvement. (Should be a good match for a low/low-medium mass arm)
http://www.needledoctor.com/Ortofon-2M-Red-Phono-Cartridge?sc=2&category=378 (No affiliation, but they are the Ortofon approved online vendor in the U.S.)
http://www.needledoctor.com/Ortofon-2M-Red-Phono-Cartridge?sc=2&category=378 (No affiliation, but they are the Ortofon approved online vendor in the U.S.)
Thanks, I was actually considering the Ortofon and it was recommended to me by Brian at Needle Doctor. I went with the Red Ed elliptical because it was cheap and it was my first foray into vinyl. Once I get everything set up correctly I'll probably take a shot on the Ortofon; a lot of people seem to be happy with it.
By the way isn't the tonearm on the Marantz a mid to mid-hi mass arm?
Evan
By the way isn't the tonearm on the Marantz a mid to mid-hi mass arm?
Evan
Thanks for the suggestion of the at95vl Sreten. I am enjoying much more than the shure 97e I had. It is bright but I was able to use my existing speakers. The bass seems light until it needs to be. I have a slight channel imbalance but do not blame the cartridge. I am using a bugle 2 w/ a cheap stepped attenuator built in into a straight power amp.
I don't care how the stylus attaches to the body but will get used to it.
very detailed, open, and transparent. enough gain and very little sibilance. just the way I like it.
I don't care how the stylus attaches to the body but will get used to it.
very detailed, open, and transparent. enough gain and very little sibilance. just the way I like it.
cartridge help (again....)
All:
almost everyone overlooks one of the obvious (to me) cartridges in the sub USD $100 price range: the Ortofon OM5 and OM10 cartridges. Way better than they should be. When set up correctly they have a fantastic sound. Not a "70's" throw back, but quite good and light on their feet. Any suggesting a Grado will know what I mean. (consider the Grado cartridges in the sub- $100 range too).
These recommends are assuming that your am and these carts would mate well...
All:
almost everyone overlooks one of the obvious (to me) cartridges in the sub USD $100 price range: the Ortofon OM5 and OM10 cartridges. Way better than they should be. When set up correctly they have a fantastic sound. Not a "70's" throw back, but quite good and light on their feet. Any suggesting a Grado will know what I mean. (consider the Grado cartridges in the sub- $100 range too).
These recommends are assuming that your am and these carts would mate well...
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