Fisher MT-640 Direct Drive Good? / Cartridge Recc?

John,

I'm in the same boat you're in. I decided to step into vinyl and found an old Fisher MT-650. I was wondering if this table is worth fooling with if I bought a decent cartridge, or if I should just step up to a new inexpensive Rega or Music Hall.

Any advice?

Thanks!
Brad

I acquired an MT-640 as a "hallway score." Someone in my building was throwing it out, so the price was right. That was about 4 years ago and the more I use it the more I like it.

I haven't updated the cartridge and/or stylus yet, what it had has been fine so far, but I'll soon get that taken care of and let you know how that went.

I'm not a total enthusiast for top-end sound, my whole objective was to have a "record player." At least for now. The rest of the "system", such as it is, is a Creek moving magnet preamp (OBH-18 I think), and a Tivoli Henry Kloss Model two with the sub-woofer. IMHO, this makes close to an ideal record player. It sounds very good.

I can't hear any wow, flutter, or rumble out of the '640, and so far the mechanism has worked flawlessly. I set the stylus pressure to 1 gram and so far, so good. I haven't really explored how low I can go with it.

I have plans this weekend to take the cartridge shell to a high-end place near me (where I got the pre-amp and Model Two) to get thier input on what to do with the cartridge or stylus.

Hope you're enjoying your '640.

Regards,

Paul

To update what I said. I got a new cartridge, the Grado Labs Prestige Labs Black model ($40). The guy in shop told me that "There's no reason to go better than that for a Fisher turntable.", so I guess I got away cheaply. Anyway, it's fine. Recommended stylus pressure is 1.5 grams.

It's obviously not "high end", but it's just fine for "playhing records." Considering that vinyl is readily available cheaply at antique shops, yard sales, even specialty shops, it's a lot of fun.

A final comment is $$$ put into the preamp is well worth the expense. The Creek was $250...but the sound is excellent.

Paul