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Vinyl woes / cartridge upgrade

There are many threads about dealing with the usual clicks and pops.  I have been reading them everywhere since starting into vinyl about a year ago (the most recent post by jay73 being somewhat typical of my experience).  I am trying out some of your very helpful recommendations.  Winter static very bad right now and it is obvious.  Even with a humidifier running 24/7 and careful cleaning, Zerostat, etc. most albums become fatiguing after the first couple of songs.  It seems like the static builds up as the record spins.  :-(

It has definitely been an up/down ride so far.  Once in a while (but not lately!) it just dials in and I get it.  I see what everyone is talking about with the sound.  Even with my modest rig - vintage Dual 1219 TT and Graham Slee Gram amp 2 - I get it.  Of course album condition plays a huge part.  Some good used finds and some that look good but sound bad.  Returned/exchanged 4 of the 10 brand new albums purchased (don't get me started).

So while working on cleaning/static solutions I am also considering upgrades.  I do like the Dual but possibly a new TT in the future.  For now I would like to get a new cartridge.  The current, and most likely original, is a Shure m93e.  Researched many threads and found some possible replacements to be Shure m97xe or v15.  These would be used I presume as Shure is out of the cartridge business.  Audio technica at440mla, Ortofon Red?  I think I prefer new.  Anybody with 1219 experience would like to share an opinion?  

I have about $300 into it so far between purchase and professional tune-up.  I figure I could drop another $100 - $200 to see what a new cartridge can do for me.  Not hi end, I know, but good enough for now.  Not sure that I want to dive deeper with a new TT, RCM, etc.

Thanks
pkatsuleas
yogiboy's avatar
yogiboy
5,654 posts
 
I have the Grado Black 1 that I use as a backup cartridge and it sounds real nice. 75 bucks for that Grado is just a mere bag of shells compared to many of the others in the $100 to $200 budget that you want to spend!
technick
140 posts
 
@millercarbon  
Just wanted to let you know that I thought that your description of the magic of vinyl was so on point. 
@pkatsuleas  
Don't give up on your vinyl journey. You’ll get there, and it sounds like you’re well on your way. I would however recommend a new cartridge rather than a vintage or NOS one. Any of the new Grado prestige series like the Black2, a Nagaoka MP-110, Goldring, and Ortofon are good choices. Making sure that your turntable is set up correctly is a necessity, which millercarbon explained very well. Good luck with everything. 
audioguy85's avatar
audioguy85
2,018 posts
 
You can still get the shure m97xe but you will pay dearly on ebay. I have one brand new sealed in the box but again you will pay...lol. I'm currently using the shure on my vintage Lenco l90, the one in my profile pic. It's a terrific cartridge and shares many qualities with the v15.  Any how I like my pro ject the classic sb with ortofon quintet red moving coil. Sounds nice to me. I hardly ever hear click and pops, but on rare occasion when I do, it does not bother me in the least. Not sure what the big deal is, even the most expensive of rigs will have some issues now and then with a particular record/ tic & pops, its unavoidable, all you can do is keep it at a bare minimum.some phono stages are better at lessening the degree of the noise than others. To be honest, the affordable musical fidelity lx lps is a fantastic little guy at 299.
uberwaltz's avatar
uberwaltz
13,381 posts
 
To be honest, the occasional pops and ticks have never bothered me at all.
As long as not excessive and constant.

If the music has that magic then they just fade into Oblivion for me.

Even the best setup will suffer from it now and then.
It’s part of the parcel.

Common sense will tell you what is too much I would hope......

Anybody looking for absolutely no surface noise ever... Well there’s always digital.......
chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
None of the mentioned cartridges have a proper stylus profile for correct reproduction of vinyl with less distortion and wider frequency response, those entry level Grado and Nagaoka have an Elliptical or even Conical profiles. The life span of such diamonds is very short (300-500 hrs) compared to Audio-Technica MicroLine that can be used for 1200 hrs or even longer.

Choosing an MM/MI cartridge first thing to check is Stylus Profile and Cantilever material. These things along with cartridge compliance responsible for the sound quality, ultralight mass and rigid cantilever with decent (nude) diamond profile like MicroLine is able to track micro details, deep bass, extended highs... it is all about accuracy.

Changing one entry level cartridge to another entry level cartridge make no sense at all (just waste of money), you will stay on the same low level. You already have entry level Shure cartridge, if you want something much better with huge difference in sound you need a better cartridge with better cantilever and better stylus tip. This is what you can find if you can spend about $400, this must be a serious upgrade.






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