I guess that as the recommended tracking is 1.4 - 2g and mine rubs on the vinyl at that weight that means the suspension is indeed knackered 
consensus here seems to be that it's worth 75 quid for a new stylus assembly (no consensus about whether it is actually replaceable though)
KBK, this isn't the right thread to discuss this, but I'd be interested in your thoughts on the trend for minimal power supply reservoirs? 100kuF sounds good to me...
consensus here seems to be that it's worth 75 quid for a new stylus assembly (no consensus about whether it is actually replaceable though)
KBK, this isn't the right thread to discuss this, but I'd be interested in your thoughts on the trend for minimal power supply reservoirs? 100kuF sounds good to me...
The assembly is replaceable, it has the cantilever,
coils etc and a four point connector to the body.
Your unlikely to get a better cartridge for £75.
A very close / better competitor would be the Denon DL110 (£80).
edit - note - high output MC
As would be the ortofon MC10 Super (£84 exchange).
edit - note - normal output MC
But TBH is the arm ideally suited to MC's ? I think not.
Grado's MM's are great if you like a sound more like analogue
tape than a cd tonal balance ( could do you a very good
deal on a new Black with two spare stylii)
CD like sound my favourite MM's are the Ortofon 5X0 series.
(edit - the 510 is very good value, as is the 530 due to its
better quality and stylus tip life over the 520)
Checkout cartridges at mantra audio, or cheshire audio.
Just make sure you've set the tracking weight correctly,
though to me the feel of 2g is intuitive, getting it wrong
by a factor of 2 is not possible.
But as said, the rake angle is 20 degrees, what
tracking force gives you this, approximately ?
sreten.
coils etc and a four point connector to the body.
Your unlikely to get a better cartridge for £75.
A very close / better competitor would be the Denon DL110 (£80).
edit - note - high output MC
As would be the ortofon MC10 Super (£84 exchange).
edit - note - normal output MC
But TBH is the arm ideally suited to MC's ? I think not.
Grado's MM's are great if you like a sound more like analogue
tape than a cd tonal balance ( could do you a very good
deal on a new Black with two spare stylii)
CD like sound my favourite MM's are the Ortofon 5X0 series.
(edit - the 510 is very good value, as is the 530 due to its
better quality and stylus tip life over the 520)
Checkout cartridges at mantra audio, or cheshire audio.
Just make sure you've set the tracking weight correctly,
though to me the feel of 2g is intuitive, getting it wrong
by a factor of 2 is not possible.
But as said, the rake angle is 20 degrees, what
tracking force gives you this, approximately ?
sreten.
To Sreten
Decisions, decisions!
I'll be getting another mc cartridge, whether or not it's a repalcement stylus for the AT depends on whether I decide to accept the 10 year shelf life. I will as you suggest have a look round Mantra.
Might well be interested in your MM cartridge - mail me offlist at chris@toby-churchill.com
cheers!
Decisions, decisions!
I'll be getting another mc cartridge, whether or not it's a repalcement stylus for the AT depends on whether I decide to accept the 10 year shelf life. I will as you suggest have a look round Mantra.
Might well be interested in your MM cartridge - mail me offlist at chris@toby-churchill.com
cheers!
I'm confused as to minimal PS buffering. Low Z throughout a large frequency range and dynamic or transient LCR characteristics is critical for timing cues, dynamic perspective and frequency extension. Therefore..wideband , high current, and high voltage transient current draw must be STABLE and as identical as possible across as wide a frequency bandwidth as possible to have a given circuit properly trace or amplify a given circuit's input signal.
Lower uf PS buffering fundamentally defeats this purpose. It essentially crushes dynamics and creates false, accentuated imaging cues via distortion characteristics. It's a fools game. don't buy it.
Same deal for bypass caps on PS rails. That is a VERY BIG MISTAKE. Transient distortion does not equal or become 'imaging cues'. What is needed is multiple, low-z paralell run identical caps, so the bandwidth of transient current draw is a wide as possible. Same problem with complexly wound audio cables. grungy crap. Single conductor design has the most even harmonic. it can be multiple conductors but of similar or identical design.
I've been down those roads before in amplifiers, aduio circuits, video circuits, and speaker crossovers. For example, in any of our crossover designs, there are no electrolytics in use. They tend to require bypass and they alway sound bad. We use single caps of film type for all of our correction circuits even. Anything else is deemed intolerable sounding. It makes for expensive crossovers, but if every other part of the speaker design exceeds the quality of that component, then it is time for that component to be removed and replaced with something better.
Audio circuits can't be analysed by lumped parameters and the bandwith of signal condtions in all possible permutations and methods of correct analysis make it too complex a loading situation for the PS to have any odd 'resonant' harmonic distortion components to be capable of rearing their ugly head, becauseof the use of bypass caps. This is because the problems that may be possible...... WILL rear their ugly head....as the conditions for their appearance are always met, due the aforementioned complex wideband loading conditions!
The given signal in question always has a more correct homogenous sound when there are no bypass caps in use. The same goes for any other associated impedance characteristics that may be involved. Of course, this model is not strictly limited to the electrical plane of analysis either.
Lower uf PS buffering fundamentally defeats this purpose. It essentially crushes dynamics and creates false, accentuated imaging cues via distortion characteristics. It's a fools game. don't buy it.
Same deal for bypass caps on PS rails. That is a VERY BIG MISTAKE. Transient distortion does not equal or become 'imaging cues'. What is needed is multiple, low-z paralell run identical caps, so the bandwidth of transient current draw is a wide as possible. Same problem with complexly wound audio cables. grungy crap. Single conductor design has the most even harmonic. it can be multiple conductors but of similar or identical design.
I've been down those roads before in amplifiers, aduio circuits, video circuits, and speaker crossovers. For example, in any of our crossover designs, there are no electrolytics in use. They tend to require bypass and they alway sound bad. We use single caps of film type for all of our correction circuits even. Anything else is deemed intolerable sounding. It makes for expensive crossovers, but if every other part of the speaker design exceeds the quality of that component, then it is time for that component to be removed and replaced with something better.
Audio circuits can't be analysed by lumped parameters and the bandwith of signal condtions in all possible permutations and methods of correct analysis make it too complex a loading situation for the PS to have any odd 'resonant' harmonic distortion components to be capable of rearing their ugly head, becauseof the use of bypass caps. This is because the problems that may be possible...... WILL rear their ugly head....as the conditions for their appearance are always met, due the aforementioned complex wideband loading conditions!
The given signal in question always has a more correct homogenous sound when there are no bypass caps in use. The same goes for any other associated impedance characteristics that may be involved. Of course, this model is not strictly limited to the electrical plane of analysis either.
Re: To Sreten
Anyone interested in the Grado Black with two spare stylii
and in the UK contact me sreten@hotmail.com, and reply
to this post to get me to sift through hotmails garbage.
http://shopping.netsuite.com/s.nl/c.ACCT106601/sc.2/category.374/it.A/id.244/.f
For details. In a Linn LVX it sounded nice, but the extreme
treble didn't gel well and with the rest of the system lacked
some bite. Probably as much to with the arm as the cartridge.
sreten.
bremen nacht said:
Anyone interested in the Grado Black with two spare stylii
and in the UK contact me sreten@hotmail.com, and reply
to this post to get me to sift through hotmails garbage.
http://shopping.netsuite.com/s.nl/c.ACCT106601/sc.2/category.374/it.A/id.244/.f
For details. In a Linn LVX it sounded nice, but the extreme
treble didn't gel well and with the rest of the system lacked
some bite. Probably as much to with the arm as the cartridge.
sreten.VTA
I have the same arm on my Systemdek IIX and it has a VTA adjustment. The locking screw, which is slotted for a flat head screwdriver sits at about 5 o'clock on the arm pillar, while viewing directly from the front of the deck.
With regard to setting up I found that the VTA is just about the last thing you should worry about.
The main idea is to get the cartridge tracking correctly, which needs a simple protractor that you can grab as a download from the web to print out. Do a Google on " turntable arm cartridge setup " or similar key words.
A test LP is the ideal solution, although this costs money it's well worth it.
The difference you will hear between a well set up cartridge and an incorrectly set up one is VERY dramatic ( not this 'audiophile' type " When I tweaked the bias weight by a tenth of a gramme the highs were higher and the lows were lower, Placido Domingo appeared from between the speakers and shook my hand " type of rubbish ) and can make the difference between Maria Callas sounding like she is singing on the stage of an opera house, or singing while driving a tractor over a ploughed field with heavy weights attached to her private parts
I have the same arm on my Systemdek IIX and it has a VTA adjustment. The locking screw, which is slotted for a flat head screwdriver sits at about 5 o'clock on the arm pillar, while viewing directly from the front of the deck.
With regard to setting up I found that the VTA is just about the last thing you should worry about.
The main idea is to get the cartridge tracking correctly, which needs a simple protractor that you can grab as a download from the web to print out. Do a Google on " turntable arm cartridge setup " or similar key words.
A test LP is the ideal solution, although this costs money it's well worth it.
The difference you will hear between a well set up cartridge and an incorrectly set up one is VERY dramatic ( not this 'audiophile' type " When I tweaked the bias weight by a tenth of a gramme the highs were higher and the lows were lower, Placido Domingo appeared from between the speakers and shook my hand " type of rubbish
) and can make the difference between Maria Callas sounding like she is singing on the stage of an opera house, or singing while driving a tractor over a ploughed field with heavy weights attached to her private parts
Hi Bremen
you can download at1100 manual from vinylengine.com. the at1100 series includes at1120 signet tk35e and tk50e arms and is no cheapskate armby any means.
will have more info on at30e by friday I have it somewhere and there were several at moving coil carts with replaceable stylii.
alt give me your email address and I'll email it to you. it is in pdf format. ktigerb@yahoo.com
you can download at1100 manual from vinylengine.com. the at1100 series includes at1120 signet tk35e and tk50e arms and is no cheapskate armby any means.
will have more info on at30e by friday I have it somewhere and there were several at moving coil carts with replaceable stylii.
alt give me your email address and I'll email it to you. it is in pdf format. ktigerb@yahoo.com
Thanks.
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.
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.
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
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
Ashok,
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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