Hello everybody. Just getting into "audiophiling" in baby steps. This thread is kind of a help thread...what a way to start off here, but hey! Whatyagonnadoo!
I recently attained a Denon DP-30L, a really nice direct drive turntable, I believe from the early 80's at a GREAT deal!
I was detailing/cleaning it up, because it was of course used, not abused, but slightly dusty and dirty. I buffed up the cover...aircanned it, very clean in and out (insides were dustless!), took my time, now its nice!
BUT! BUT! Here's the effed up part. The cartridge, its a tan Grado MF1 cartridge with matching original stylus. It came with a little stylus protective clip which I think Grado stylus' come with, anyway, since I'm new to this stuff and I didn't have any instructions on how to put back the little protective clip, I pressed it up onto the cartridge so I would snap in place for protection as I was going to do some final details.
Then the suddenly the stinking clip snapped in two right down the middle and I ended up pushing the needle up against the body of the cartridge!
It left the stylus/needle misaligned. The pain, you can imagine. I had to sit it off for a while... 
I used tweezers to straighten it out carefully. I slightly dented the cantilever but didn't bent it. The stylus is now slightly crooked from its base/rubber gromet, the cantilever is not bent. When I look at it straight on from the front the cartridge, the stylus leans slightly curved to my right.
Now, I hooked it up and played a Jazz record (Madhouse 6), a spare promo LP copy I had, to test it out. And much to my amazement, the sound was fabulous! There was no audible noise that was out of norm.
Before this I cleaned the needle with stylus cleaner and its nice and clean (bright aluminum) with no defects from what I can see and its still sounds great.
So I'm wondering, its $75 bucks for a new stylus (Grado Silver), okay, kind of pricey understandably, but I really wanted to keep the deal sweet...Will the stylus in this condition ruin records?
Should I adjust the tracking force because of the slight crookedness?
Oh and the cartridge rides a little low, is that normal? In inches I'd say its about 1 to 2/16ths above the record as it plays. With the counter weight adjusted so its not forcing the arm down too much and not too light.
Thanks for your suggestions and help!
I recently attained a Denon DP-30L, a really nice direct drive turntable, I believe from the early 80's at a GREAT deal!
I was detailing/cleaning it up, because it was of course used, not abused, but slightly dusty and dirty. I buffed up the cover...aircanned it, very clean in and out (insides were dustless!), took my time, now its nice!
BUT! BUT! Here's the effed up part. The cartridge, its a tan Grado MF1 cartridge with matching original stylus. It came with a little stylus protective clip which I think Grado stylus' come with, anyway, since I'm new to this stuff and I didn't have any instructions on how to put back the little protective clip, I pressed it up onto the cartridge so I would snap in place for protection as I was going to do some final details.
Then the suddenly the stinking clip snapped in two right down the middle and I ended up pushing the needle up against the body of the cartridge!
It left the stylus/needle misaligned. The pain, you can imagine. I had to sit it off for a while... I used tweezers to straighten it out carefully. I slightly dented the cantilever but didn't bent it. The stylus is now slightly crooked from its base/rubber gromet, the cantilever is not bent. When I look at it straight on from the front the cartridge, the stylus leans slightly curved to my right.
Now, I hooked it up and played a Jazz record (Madhouse 6), a spare promo LP copy I had, to test it out. And much to my amazement, the sound was fabulous! There was no audible noise that was out of norm.
Before this I cleaned the needle with stylus cleaner and its nice and clean (bright aluminum) with no defects from what I can see and its still sounds great.
So I'm wondering, its $75 bucks for a new stylus (Grado Silver), okay, kind of pricey understandably, but I really wanted to keep the deal sweet...Will the stylus in this condition ruin records?
Should I adjust the tracking force because of the slight crookedness?
Oh and the cartridge rides a little low, is that normal? In inches I'd say its about 1 to 2/16ths above the record as it plays. With the counter weight adjusted so its not forcing the arm down too much and not too light.
Thanks for your suggestions and help!
Bite the bullet and get a new stylus. The bent/straightened one might sound OK, but not compared to an undamaged one. And that straightened-out cantilever (or the now-deformed suspension) will suddenly fail at the worst possible time, if there is a Murphy in the universe.
You won't be the first one of us to be faced with this; I think anyone who's done analog has killed a stylus or two.
You won't be the first one of us to be faced with this; I think anyone who's done analog has killed a stylus or two.
It all depends on how valuable your records are. I would rather throw it away immediately or mount it on a secondary table to play thrift shop finds.
Don't despair - all of us ruin carts once in a while, usually under the influence, or delegate it to maids and children. You were just lucky to get away so cheaply.
Don't despair - all of us ruin carts once in a while, usually under the influence, or delegate it to maids and children. You were just lucky to get away so cheaply.
Thanks for your reply's, I'm starting to feel better now...I'm not alone....
But, I had a bit of free time this afternoon and decided to mess with it a bit. Very carefully I removed the headshell and then the stylus.
I examined the stylus under a bright lamp and with clean tweazers proceeded to study the thing and make very small adjustments...as best as I can.
After two attempts at straightening the cantilever out, I think I succeeded!
It looks straight, the needle after magnifyingly staring and analyzing it looks right as well. The cantilever was the bent one, what I did was just pinced ever so gently a milimiter or two before the stylus needle and it straightened up. I also looked closely while its playing vinyl and it sits just like before as far as I (the non-expert-just-getting-back-into-vinyl-with-no-spare-75-bucks-music-lover) can tell...
I am guessing these styli and most styli are made of what, aluminum? I always thought they were made of very strong metal or something, like...a needle.
Right now I'm playing Chicago's Greatest Hits and as far as I can tell, it sounds fabulous!
I just have to get that Stylus Tracking Guage and I should be okay.
And yeah, I'll use it for thrift shop finds, maybe on some brand new records, but I don't plan on putting on too many of those all the time. I'll get a new stylus in time.
Thanks for taking your time to read my calamity!
But, I had a bit of free time this afternoon and decided to mess with it a bit. Very carefully I removed the headshell and then the stylus.
I examined the stylus under a bright lamp and with clean tweazers proceeded to study the thing and make very small adjustments...as best as I can.
After two attempts at straightening the cantilever out, I think I succeeded!
It looks straight, the needle after magnifyingly staring and analyzing it looks right as well. The cantilever was the bent one, what I did was just pinced ever so gently a milimiter or two before the stylus needle and it straightened up. I also looked closely while its playing vinyl and it sits just like before as far as I (the non-expert-just-getting-back-into-vinyl-with-no-spare-75-bucks-music-lover) can tell...
I am guessing these styli and most styli are made of what, aluminum? I always thought they were made of very strong metal or something, like...a needle.
Right now I'm playing Chicago's Greatest Hits and as far as I can tell, it sounds fabulous!
I just have to get that Stylus Tracking Guage and I should be okay.
And yeah, I'll use it for thrift shop finds, maybe on some brand new records, but I don't plan on putting on too many of those all the time. I'll get a new stylus in time.
Thanks for taking your time to read my calamity!
The cantilever is usually made of hollow aluminium alloy.
Weight is a crucial issue, thats why steel isn't used.
With a second-hand cartridge its best to assume the stylus is worn out.
As far as I can tell you could fit any of the current grado styli.
But as you say the Silver is the recommended replacement.
A Green or even Black should be fine IMO.
🙂 sreten.
Weight is a crucial issue, thats why steel isn't used.
With a second-hand cartridge its best to assume the stylus is worn out.
As far as I can tell you could fit any of the current grado styli.
But as you say the Silver is the recommended replacement.
A Green or even Black should be fine IMO.
🙂 sreten.
sreten said:
REALLY!?!?!
I could use the Green or even Black?! I went to gradolabs.com and looked up the history of the MF 1 and it said to use Silver which is the $75 dollar one!
Hmmm, so I can use the more affordable ones? Whats the difference?
The Black one is within my current budget at only about $30! Just to play old records that as a teen I might have abused and some new sealed eBay purchases, nothing really high in value or rarity or "audiophile"-ness.
Thanks for your input Sreten!
http://shopping.netsuite.com/s.nl/c.ACCT106601/sc.2/category.374/it.A/id.244/.f
The black stylus is $20 from here.
At the bottom it states that the 78C & 78E styli fit all prestige
bodies, so I surmise all the Prestige styli are interchangeable.
🙂 sreten.
The black stylus is $20 from here.
At the bottom it states that the 78C & 78E styli fit all prestige
bodies, so I surmise all the Prestige styli are interchangeable.
🙂 sreten.
Want to learn painfully ?
Hi Modernaire,
You just did what most of us would like to do under the circumstances. Mainly avoid any additional expense.
The problem with Aluminum is that if you bend it and then straighten it ( or so it seems ) it will weaken the metal. In fact it cracks on the surface. Just try it with with some aluminum tubing. Your cantilever cannot be in OK condition.
If it does fail it will collapse on your record while playing and Murphy says it will be your best album on which this will happen. AND it will also say that you will not be able to get a replacement album easily. Is that enough ?
Now get cracking and replace that stylus. You get what you pay for and the more expensive stylus is not expensive for nothing. Just decide how much you want to spend. If you really want it to sound as good or better than what you have now , buy the Silver. Just confirm with someone who knows if there is a substantial ( audible ) difference between the different stylii available for your cartridge.
Have fun.
Hi Modernaire,
You just did what most of us would like to do under the circumstances. Mainly avoid any additional expense.
The problem with Aluminum is that if you bend it and then straighten it ( or so it seems ) it will weaken the metal. In fact it cracks on the surface. Just try it with with some aluminum tubing. Your cantilever cannot be in OK condition.
If it does fail it will collapse on your record while playing and Murphy says it will be your best album on which this will happen. AND it will also say that you will not be able to get a replacement album easily. Is that enough ?
Now get cracking and replace that stylus. You get what you pay for and the more expensive stylus is not expensive for nothing. Just decide how much you want to spend. If you really want it to sound as good or better than what you have now , buy the Silver. Just confirm with someone who knows if there is a substantial ( audible ) difference between the different stylii available for your cartridge.
Have fun.
Well JMO but i'd expect a nude mounted diamond tip for $75.
All the prestige series use a bush mounted tip, fine at $20,
but IMO pushing the limit at anything over $40 for a stylus.
I think the Black in america is fantastic value, but the rest
of the series IMO are poorer value the more you pay.
I can't see any differences in the Red/Blue and Gold/Silver styli.
🙂 sreten.
All the prestige series use a bush mounted tip, fine at $20,
but IMO pushing the limit at anything over $40 for a stylus.
I think the Black in america is fantastic value, but the rest
of the series IMO are poorer value the more you pay.
I can't see any differences in the Red/Blue and Gold/Silver styli.
🙂 sreten.
sreten said:
Steten, whats the difference in a nude mounted diamond tip and a bush mounted tip? What is that?
I contacted Grado Labs and they of course suggested the Silver Stylus and when I asked what can I expect performance wise if I used the Black or Green Styli with the MF1 Cartridge they responded with this:
"Would not be as accurate, the soundstage would not be as open and musical."
Huh? 😕
Okay, accurate I can understand maybe...but what the heck is a "soundstage" and what do they mean by "open" and "musical"?
I've read those terms before but can you translate to a person like me, a newbie who's just learning about this stuff, pleeease? 🙂
Oh and a few more questions Streten, you have experience I gather in using the Grado cartridges?
If I can use the Black Stylus with the MF1 Cartridge, then if my wallet allows a little more, then maybe I should get the Green or Blue or even the or if my wallet can allow the Red Stylus then?!
See them here:
http://shopping.netsuite.com/s.nl/c...xah0Pax0Q8QvJpkixo6XHngbynknvrkLOlQzNp65In0__
Thanks Streten and others who have responded!
🙂
Re: Want to learn painfully ?
I'm hearing ya' Ashok! Thats why I've decided to get a new stylus, I think the person who had the turntable before me probably had used the stylus since the early 80's anyway!
But yeah, I just need to be sure that I can get the best value, again this is for old records that I have, a few precious ones and thrift store finds, etc.
One thing I have noticed is that I have been testing my mickey mouse fixed stylus and I do hear harshness in the treble...I hear the S's in the vocals of a singer...like when they don't use a de-esser. BUT! I hadn't used the stylus before the accident, so maybe it was like that, not sure.
Thanks for your input, its well taken!
ashok said:
I'm hearing ya' Ashok! Thats why I've decided to get a new stylus, I think the person who had the turntable before me probably had used the stylus since the early 80's anyway!
But yeah, I just need to be sure that I can get the best value, again this is for old records that I have, a few precious ones and thrift store finds, etc.
One thing I have noticed is that I have been testing my mickey mouse fixed stylus and I do hear harshness in the treble...I hear the S's in the vocals of a singer...like when they don't use a de-esser. BUT! I hadn't used the stylus before the accident, so maybe it was like that, not sure.
Thanks for your input, its well taken!
Some possible answers.
Hi Modernaire,
A quick note on stylii.
1. Nude stylus is better than bush mounted ( cheaper types).
2. Line contact stylii are better than plain elliptical and round tipped stylii. There are many varieties of line contact. Each company has its own 'best' variation.
Line contact can follow the higher frequencies ( supposedly) better than any other type of tip. If you see a drawing somewhere on the Net you can see it makes sense.
This will reproduce all the finer nuances in the music without loss. Thus you get a better sound stage " the image of the musicians between the speakers" and more musicality - because of more accurate retrieval of the recorded sound.
Music also tends to be open sounding ( because of less trash - unwanted harmonics ) that clutter up spaces between sounds.
If you are getting lots of sibilance on "S's" , the stylus must be worn out ( or damaged?) and it is possible that you are getting it because of improper cartridge loading. Check what R and C you need for your cartridge. For example for a Shure V-15 you need a 47K ohm input impedance and 250pF total capacitance . That would include the capacitance of the RCA cable connecting cartridge to the preamp input. But I think the loading will not give you such gross results. Better stop using the current stylus !!!
Don't damage your albums and then find out it was worn out.
Buy the most expensive stylus you can afford. Grado would not make different stylii if they all sounded equally good. The user would soon find out and they would be out of business. They have been around a long time so you can trust them.
Cheers.
Ashok.
Hi Modernaire,
A quick note on stylii.
1. Nude stylus is better than bush mounted ( cheaper types).
2. Line contact stylii are better than plain elliptical and round tipped stylii. There are many varieties of line contact. Each company has its own 'best' variation.
Line contact can follow the higher frequencies ( supposedly) better than any other type of tip. If you see a drawing somewhere on the Net you can see it makes sense.
This will reproduce all the finer nuances in the music without loss. Thus you get a better sound stage " the image of the musicians between the speakers" and more musicality - because of more accurate retrieval of the recorded sound.
Music also tends to be open sounding ( because of less trash - unwanted harmonics ) that clutter up spaces between sounds.
If you are getting lots of sibilance on "S's" , the stylus must be worn out ( or damaged?) and it is possible that you are getting it because of improper cartridge loading. Check what R and C you need for your cartridge. For example for a Shure V-15 you need a 47K ohm input impedance and 250pF total capacitance . That would include the capacitance of the RCA cable connecting cartridge to the preamp input. But I think the loading will not give you such gross results. Better stop using the current stylus !!!
Don't damage your albums and then find out it was worn out.
Buy the most expensive stylus you can afford. Grado would not make different stylii if they all sounded equally good. The user would soon find out and they would be out of business. They have been around a long time so you can trust them.
Cheers.
Ashok.
OK :
Cheaper styli use a small diamond set into a brass bush.
The bush is typically also a rivet and is typically riveted
to the end of the cantilever, but there are other ways.
A nude tip is one piece of grain oriented diamond that is
usually glued through a hole in the cantilever. Nude tips
are far more expensive and have much lower tip mass.
The bushed Grado styli could vary in tip profile and
grain orientation of the diamond in the bush.
I'm afraid I disagree with Ashok somewhat here. IMO there
is no point throwing money at a cartridge if the arm isn't
up to the job. The better cartridges do sound better, but
nothing like as much as they would in a very good arm.
I can say exactly the same thing with far more confidence
about the effect of upgrading the tonearm on a turntable.
If its a standard S-shaped detachable headshell Japanese
arm IMO the Black will be fine. The more expensive cartridges
won't sound much better, though probably somewhat brighter
than the Black.
IMO an arm transplant is needed for $100 cartridges.
🙂 sreten.
Cheaper styli use a small diamond set into a brass bush.
The bush is typically also a rivet and is typically riveted
to the end of the cantilever, but there are other ways.
A nude tip is one piece of grain oriented diamond that is
usually glued through a hole in the cantilever. Nude tips
are far more expensive and have much lower tip mass.
The bushed Grado styli could vary in tip profile and
grain orientation of the diamond in the bush.
I'm afraid I disagree with Ashok somewhat here. IMO there
is no point throwing money at a cartridge if the arm isn't
up to the job. The better cartridges do sound better, but
nothing like as much as they would in a very good arm.
I can say exactly the same thing with far more confidence
about the effect of upgrading the tonearm on a turntable.
If its a standard S-shaped detachable headshell Japanese
arm IMO the Black will be fine. The more expensive cartridges
won't sound much better, though probably somewhat brighter
than the Black.
IMO an arm transplant is needed for $100 cartridges.
🙂 sreten.
That was a quick reply.
Hi Modernaire,
Listening to music is like looking at a large picture. You can just look at it and go away and never be able to tell everything that was on it. Or you can look ( hear ) very carefully and find LOTS of fine details that increases everytime you look at it. After many many 'sessions' you will have seen so many details that if you 'heard' that number on another system you would be able to pick out the differences immediately. You wouldn't need to make a close observation. ' SNAP' just like that !
If you can now hear individual instruments clearly and focus on them and see them as an image between the speakers, your listening is getting more critical and your equipment might have to keep getting better to keep you satisfied.
Yes that is your "sound stage".
R and C. That stands for the input impedance (R) of the phono preamp which is generally 47 kilo ohms for moving magnet (MM) cartridges and the C is for the capacitance at the input of the phono preamp and is in the range of 100 to 400 pico Farads. But don't bother about all that now.
The $20 cartridge will sound good. However the $75 cartridge will probably be better when you get to hear it. Possibly the low level details might improve and what I call texture of the sound will also possibly improve. The sound of cymbals and other HF sounds might sound "cleaner" and not as brash. BUT you need to hear it to find out what's better about it. The $20 stylus will also be good and you should pick what you can. When you can afford it , you can buy the $75 stylus and the $20 one will become a spare.
IF there is a good possibility of buying the $75 stylus ,say by next year , I would settle for the $20/- stylus now.
I just saw Sreten's reply. I think there is no real conflict regarding tone arms. Yes a better tone arm will bring out the best in the cartridge. But you already have a retricted budget and putting a new arm in is probably out of the question. Also remember that the sound of the turntable/arm does not just depend on how much it costs. Very well designed turntables are expensive but some very well designed units are inexpensive. You can't compare a Toyota Corolla with a BMW. But that does not make the Toyota bad !
Denon was a pro company for a long time and their products generally were up market for a long time. I would expect all their turntables to be above average. I lived in Japan for a while . Denon was far more expensive ( and well regarded ) than the rest of the products.
Check out the Vinyl Forums . You might pick up a lot of useful pointers. You are now at the tip of the iceberg. Have you ANY idea how big the iceberg is ?? Don't look. Start making 'moolas' real fast. It's going to get really expensive if you get hooked.
Cheers.
Ashok.
Hi Modernaire,
Listening to music is like looking at a large picture. You can just look at it and go away and never be able to tell everything that was on it. Or you can look ( hear ) very carefully and find LOTS of fine details that increases everytime you look at it. After many many 'sessions' you will have seen so many details that if you 'heard' that number on another system you would be able to pick out the differences immediately. You wouldn't need to make a close observation. ' SNAP' just like that !
If you can now hear individual instruments clearly and focus on them and see them as an image between the speakers, your listening is getting more critical and your equipment might have to keep getting better to keep you satisfied.
Yes that is your "sound stage".
R and C. That stands for the input impedance (R) of the phono preamp which is generally 47 kilo ohms for moving magnet (MM) cartridges and the C is for the capacitance at the input of the phono preamp and is in the range of 100 to 400 pico Farads. But don't bother about all that now.
The $20 cartridge will sound good. However the $75 cartridge will probably be better when you get to hear it. Possibly the low level details might improve and what I call texture of the sound will also possibly improve. The sound of cymbals and other HF sounds might sound "cleaner" and not as brash. BUT you need to hear it to find out what's better about it. The $20 stylus will also be good and you should pick what you can. When you can afford it , you can buy the $75 stylus and the $20 one will become a spare.
IF there is a good possibility of buying the $75 stylus ,say by next year , I would settle for the $20/- stylus now.
I just saw Sreten's reply. I think there is no real conflict regarding tone arms. Yes a better tone arm will bring out the best in the cartridge. But you already have a retricted budget and putting a new arm in is probably out of the question. Also remember that the sound of the turntable/arm does not just depend on how much it costs. Very well designed turntables are expensive but some very well designed units are inexpensive. You can't compare a Toyota Corolla with a BMW. But that does not make the Toyota bad !
Denon was a pro company for a long time and their products generally were up market for a long time. I would expect all their turntables to be above average. I lived in Japan for a while . Denon was far more expensive ( and well regarded ) than the rest of the products.
Check out the Vinyl Forums . You might pick up a lot of useful pointers. You are now at the tip of the iceberg. Have you ANY idea how big the iceberg is ?? Don't look. Start making 'moolas' real fast. It's going to get really expensive if you get hooked.
Cheers.
Ashok.
I'll just add I rebuilt a a fairly serious turntable
fitted with a Linn LVX+ fixed headshell tonearm.
A very good turntable.
The Black sounded excellent in this, especially with older records.
It was a little dull, and didn't really have the treble detail to do
very good LP recordings justice, but other than that it sounded
surprisingly faultless, with really nice bass.
IMO better cartridges basically give you a better top octave or so.
The rest of the range is dominated by the arm and turntable IMO.
I'm with Ashok in that I'm all for getting better sound. I just don't
know how good the Denon arm is. Posting a picture may help.
But me, I'd be looking at say $100 for a Grace G707 or similar,
then a nice MM cartridge at around the same price with a really
good tip.
🙂 sreten.
fitted with a Linn LVX+ fixed headshell tonearm.
A very good turntable.
The Black sounded excellent in this, especially with older records.
It was a little dull, and didn't really have the treble detail to do
very good LP recordings justice, but other than that it sounded
surprisingly faultless, with really nice bass.
IMO better cartridges basically give you a better top octave or so.
The rest of the range is dominated by the arm and turntable IMO.
I'm with Ashok in that I'm all for getting better sound. I just don't
know how good the Denon arm is. Posting a picture may help.
But me, I'd be looking at say $100 for a Grace G707 or similar,
then a nice MM cartridge at around the same price with a really
good tip.
🙂 sreten.
Keeping the stylus clean.
I forgot to mention that if the stylus has picked up dust or scraped up vinyl it will sound mushy at HF. Lower frequencies will sound OK. This kind of muck on the stylus sometimes cannot be seen with the naked eye.Look at it with a 10x or 15x magnifying glass. A clean stylus will look - well .. clean.
The muck can be removed with a stylus cleaning brush soaked in isopropyl alcohol. Sometimes it might need 'many' strokes to remove the muck. The brush must alwasy be moved from the center of the cartridge towards the stylus. Always in line with the cantilever. Never do it crosswise . It could damage the stylus assembly if not bend the cantilever. Now the bristles on the brush are very flexible and this cannot happen too easily unless you are 'down right careless'.
You'll be surprised how much of a diff this can make. With records in very good condition you should not get much on the stylus. But if you have played a slightly noisy LP , you better clean the stylus after every play.
Cheers.
I forgot to mention that if the stylus has picked up dust or scraped up vinyl it will sound mushy at HF. Lower frequencies will sound OK. This kind of muck on the stylus sometimes cannot be seen with the naked eye.Look at it with a 10x or 15x magnifying glass. A clean stylus will look - well .. clean.
The muck can be removed with a stylus cleaning brush soaked in isopropyl alcohol. Sometimes it might need 'many' strokes to remove the muck. The brush must alwasy be moved from the center of the cartridge towards the stylus. Always in line with the cantilever. Never do it crosswise . It could damage the stylus assembly if not bend the cantilever. Now the bristles on the brush are very flexible and this cannot happen too easily unless you are 'down right careless'.
You'll be surprised how much of a diff this can make. With records in very good condition you should not get much on the stylus. But if you have played a slightly noisy LP , you better clean the stylus after every play.
Cheers.
Thank you all for the replies and info!
ashok said:Hi Modernaire,
Listening to music is like looking at a large picture. You can just look at it and go away and never be able to tell everything that was on it. Or you can look ( hear ) very carefully and find LOTS of fine details that increases everytime you look at it. After many many 'sessions' you will have seen so many details that if you 'heard' that number on another system you would be able to pick out the differences immediately. You wouldn't need to make a close observation. ' SNAP' just like that !
If you can now hear individual instruments clearly and focus on them and see them as an image between the speakers, your listening is getting more critical and your equipment might have to keep getting better to keep you satisfied.
Yes that is your "sound stage".
Thats what I'm hearing now! My ears are getting more critical, yes, thats it! I can sit between my big speakers and can tell where instruments are, more than ever before...very cool, I also discover extra things that I haven't heard before...its like rediscovering the music!
R and C. That stands for the input impedance (R) of the phono preamp which is generally 47 kilo ohms for moving magnet (MM) cartridges and the C is for the capacitance at the input of the phono preamp and is in the range of 100 to 400 pico Farads. But don't bother about all that now.
Yeah, maybe later because right now, I just don unehstan. Heh
The $20 cartridge will sound good. However the $75 cartridge will probably be better when you get to hear it. Possibly the low level details might improve and what I call texture of the sound will also possibly improve. The sound of cymbals and other HF sounds might sound "cleaner" and not as brash. BUT you need to hear it to find out what's better about it. The $20 stylus will also be good and you should pick what you can. When you can afford it , you can buy the $75 stylus and the $20 one will become a spare.
IF there is a good possibility of buying the $75 stylus ,say by next year , I would settle for the $20/- stylus now.
Right, that's what I'm thinking of doing, purchasing the $20 Black STYLUS or $30 Green STYLUS and then later I'm actually going to upgrade to a higher-quality Denon turntable and then buy a whole new CARTRIDGE and SYTLUS...laaater.
Now guys, I just want to make sure that at this time I'm talking about replacing ONLY the STYLUS for now, NOT the cartridge which again is an older Grado MF1.
According to http://www.gradolabs.com/frameset_cart/stylus_hist.htm the recommended STYLUS replacement is the Silver...but again, Ashok and Streten, the BLACK and even the GREEN should be good right?
...Denon was a pro company for a long time and ...
Check out the Vinyl Forums . You might pick up a lot of useful pointers. You are now at the tip of the iceberg. Have you ANY idea how big the iceberg is ?? Don't look. Start making 'moolas' real fast. It's going to get really expensive if you get hooked.
Which Vinyl Forums do you recommend, you mean the Analog forum here?
I'm getting hooked slowly but shirley!
Cheers.
Ashok.
Re: Keeping the stylus clean.
I did actually clean the stylus with a stylus brush and some $7 cleaner kit, before the stylus tip was kind of dark, with like residue on the tip, then I cleaned it carefully and correctly and much to my amazement, it was a shiny aluminum-ish clean, very nice, then I messed it up...but I'm over that now, especially with your help and information!
I don't have a magnifying glass, but I have excellent near siteness and I don't see any dirt on my messed up stylus! Even after playing a few records after my messing it up.
But just basic alchohol can clean it, no "special" stylus cleaning fluid? I can use the kind I find in stores, or does it have to be 100% pure alcohol? The brush I have, its small and for styli.
ashok said:
I did actually clean the stylus with a stylus brush and some $7 cleaner kit, before the stylus tip was kind of dark, with like residue on the tip, then I cleaned it carefully and correctly and much to my amazement, it was a shiny aluminum-ish clean, very nice, then I messed it up...but I'm over that now, especially with your help and information!
I don't have a magnifying glass, but I have excellent near siteness and I don't see any dirt on my messed up stylus! Even after playing a few records after my messing it up.
But just basic alchohol can clean it, no "special" stylus cleaning fluid? I can use the kind I find in stores, or does it have to be 100% pure alcohol? The brush I have, its small and for styli.
Just making sure...
I just want to make sure that at this time I'm talking about replacing ONLY the STYLUS for now, NOT the cartridge which again is an older Grado MF1.
According to http://www.gradolabs.com/frameset_cart/stylus_hist.htm the recommended STYLUS replacement is the Silver...but again, the BLACK, GREEN, BLUE or RED Styli can be used with my older MF1 Cartridge instead of the expensive SILVER, should be good right?
Here's a picture of the turntable similar to the one I have:
The tone arm is a basic S-shaped, black tonearm with a Denon removable headshell. Nice.
I don't think I want to do a tonearm upgrade, looks and works great and maybe this turntable doesn't need that.
You used the BLACK cartridge with the Linn turntable right? That cartridge, is it using the BLACK stylus? Thats the stylus I'm considering using as a replacement for my ruined one, instead of the SILVER STYLUS.
And I have to say, the information you guys and others have shared is great! I really appreciate you taking the time to share your tips, knowledge and suggestions! I really do! Thank you very much! Its a BIG help and I'm learning a lot! 🙂
sreten said:
I just want to make sure that at this time I'm talking about replacing ONLY the STYLUS for now, NOT the cartridge which again is an older Grado MF1.
According to http://www.gradolabs.com/frameset_cart/stylus_hist.htm the recommended STYLUS replacement is the Silver...but again, the BLACK, GREEN, BLUE or RED Styli can be used with my older MF1 Cartridge instead of the expensive SILVER, should be good right?
Here's a picture of the turntable similar to the one I have:
The tone arm is a basic S-shaped, black tonearm with a Denon removable headshell. Nice.
I don't think I want to do a tonearm upgrade, looks and works great and maybe this turntable doesn't need that.
You used the BLACK cartridge with the Linn turntable right? That cartridge, is it using the BLACK stylus? Thats the stylus I'm considering using as a replacement for my ruined one, instead of the SILVER STYLUS.
And I have to say, the information you guys and others have shared is great! I really appreciate you taking the time to share your tips, knowledge and suggestions! I really do! Thank you very much! Its a BIG help and I'm learning a lot! 🙂
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