Audio Technica AT30E

[ashok]

Hi Keith,
Could you send me the info on the AT30 / 30E also.
I have the AT30 with a spare 30E stylus.
amadhavan (at) eth.net

Thanks in advance.
Cheers,
Ashok.

[ktigerb]

No problem Ashok

will do as soon as I dig up brochure , I have 2 with plenty info and specs. will scan the necessary and mail you.

[ashok]

Thanks Keith.
I will wait for the pdf.
In the meantime I am building a 6DJ8 MC pre amp and a LM394 MC preamp. It will be interesting to see how these compare. The details of the At30's will come in useful here.
My LM394's are over 12 years old. I hoarded them when a parts supplier suddenly put them up for sale. These things generally do not appear in our component market.
Cheers,
Ashok.

[ktigerb]

Sounds goo Ashok
Am busy with Franks MC Hammer and phono stage at the moment , have done a discreet one which is very impressive but needs some tweaking and then I will compare as well.
I'm expecting magic from the hammer though , will have to build it as a stand alone phono amp which is fine.

cheers

[analog_sa]

Ashok,

In the meantime I am building a 6DJ8 MC pre amp and a LM394 MC preamp. It will be interesting to see how these compare.

I won't be holding my breath. Did this comparison about 20 years ago - ECC88 with NiCd 30v supply, TCC polyprops and Tantalum plate resistors against LM394 as dif amp with a single BC following and NFB, alcaline batteries as the LM394 was running at around 250uA.

LM394 - no objectionable noise even with a 100uV cart but obvious SS sound; if anything, worse sounding then Motorola power transistors in the same position
ECC88 - useable with carts over 300uV; timbre, depth, space. Very microphonic and soon develops noise (even E88CC Philips)

The LM394 seems to contain multiple parallel devices - another reason to dislike?

While you're at it why don't you give an INA103 a try? I got encouraging results once but never pursued it seriously. Seems like replacing the output opamp with something better may significantly improve it.

[sreten]

Originally posted by analog_sa

The LM394 seems to contain multiple parallel devices - another reason to dislike?

AFAIK the LM394 is exactly that. A diff pair made up
of 50 or so paralleled IC type transistors per side.

sreten.

[Whell]

I know this is an old, but in case anyone is still listening:

The AT30E and the AT30HE are both listed in the Audio Technica 1982 catalog. The AT30E and AT30HE are both MC cartridges, with the HE being the high output version. You can download the catalog at vinylengine.com (after a free registration) and view the specs for both cartridges in the catalog.

The AT30E and AT31E styli are interchangeable, and might be an upgrade path worth considering if your AT30E needs a new stylus. The AT30E and AT31E styli are both elliptical, but the AT31E stylus measures such as 0.2 x 0.7 mil versus the AT30E's 0.3 x 0.7 mil.

The styli for these cartridges are replaceable, which is not typical for MC cartridges, and are still available at various places around the net. LPGear.com stocks both, and generally has pretty favorable pricing. Note that when you replace the stylus on these cartridges, you're also replacing the whole coil assembly, so the styli can be a bit pricey on these.

[analogsurviver]

Originally Posted by KBK

The rubber ring that supports the canteliver in ALL AudioTechnica cartridges is subject to aging, where the glue holds it in place to the catridge body. They all fail at about the 10-12 year point in lifespan.

Old AT catridges are worthless due to this situation. It is just one of the things that one has to worry about.. but also has to know before using or buying a AT cartridge.

For example, I have 7 or so BRAND NEW Signet AT40ML cartridges sitting in a box. Brand new... and totally useless. At about $350.00 each.

Hi! I stumbled upon your post while searching for the internal impedance (resistance and inductance ) for the AT30E moving coil cartridge with replkaceable stylus.

Never heard of elastomer ageing problem with AT, have a Signet 50ML stylus rettiped twice plus several AT MMs at least 20 yrs old all doing fine. Wish I could say the same for the Technics EPC P205ED3 - their suspension REALLY is gone, bar one sample that still soldiers on.

Care to elaborate on that - perhps you could get some cheapo NEW AT styli and transplant those precious 40ML cantilevers/styli with fresh elastomer? Not a noob job, but definitely possible.

It might be you were short in luck on that particular batch of styli, too.

[QUADMASTER]

KBK-do you live in a harsh environment? I have many at stylus that are completely fine and are 30+ years old?

[soundssupreme]

I have never heard of the suspension degrading on any AT cartridge, and I have had quite a lot over the years, new and very old, but not saying it cannot happen.
I once had an AKG P7E, and in my younger days used to take the cartridge out (in an SME type headshell on a Rega R200 tonearm), and turned it upside down to clean it with stylus cleaner. One day, the cartridge skated across the record, and I realised I had disintegrated the rubber because cleaning the stylus upside down caused the stylus cleaning fluid to go down the cantilever and onto the suspension. I never did it again !!

Anyway, if you are new to setting up a turntable there are youtube videos with this information. I myself have recently uploaded one, in pictorial style (not a video producing genius myself).

Here is the link to it, but if this is not allowed by the moderators, the please accept my apologies and remove it.

How To Set Up a Hi-Fi Turntable (Record Player) For Beginners - YouTube

Anyway, I hope you get your problems sorted out. The systemdek is a great turntable, and AT made some of the best tonearms of that era. They were certainly made to exemplary standard of accuracy and finish.