This Grado!
Cartridge - sweet spot on the cost/sound curve?
I think my Sumiko Blue point 2 is going. Right channel is lower sound level than right using my turntable, totally even using digital. Table is Project RPM 5 carbon that I bought as a store demo with the blue point 2 so no telling how many hrs on it.
The rest of the system is a PS audio GCPH phono pre, deHaviland Ultraverve 3, McCormack DNA 1, Martin Logan SL3s with new panels.
I loved the warmth and focus of the blue point but am a bit back by how much they cost $500. Don’t laugh I know carts can cost thousands but I got a kid in college!
Any recommendations for something at or under that price point that is better?
- ...
- 20 posts total
I used a BPS for years before switching to an Audio Technica VM740ML and I have become an AT convert as a result. super affordable, with an easily replacable (and upgradable) stylus. https://www.audio-technica.com/en-us/vm740ml
|
Time to play Sherlock Holmes, make notes Imbalance: Assuming you are right, I would prove it is the cartridge, i.e. rule out other potential problems before I bought a new cartridge: Your phono: you have two sets of interconnects, and a variety of tubes in 2 devices and a specific preamp input that are all different than your digital source. 1. move the digital to the input you are using for your phono pre: still imbalanced, then it’s that input, not .... good, it’s somewhere in the phono chain, where exactly? 2. switch phono l and r, weak moves to the other side, tells you ...... 3. 4. Cartridge re-builders say the MAJORITY of cartridges they receive have had inaccurate anti-skate for years, uneven wear leads to uneven sound: the replacement needs to be right. Who will install/calibrate your new cartridge? I also like AT MM cartridges with excellent sound and imaging specs (wide channel separation/tight channel balance) replaceable MicroLine stylus which have the largest contact surface, thus longest life and minimize wear on your grooves. They track at 2.0g, I prefer lighter, and I prefer stiffer cantilever, I risk used vintage cartridges to get beryllium which is no longer used, recently bought two used AT, AT150e and AT160 bodies with ATN160ML stylus which track at 1.25g, each in your budget, but buying used cartridges is not for most people I know.
|
- 20 posts total