Cartridge/Phono-Pre Break-in?

Hi Stringreen,

It's been well documented on this and other forums for years that *some* Shure gauges were/are actually manufactured from magnetically sensitive steel. Think about what that means for accuracy when used in proximity to the powerful magnets in a phono cartridge. Even the non-magnetic Shure balances are pretty low in resolution.

If there were nothing better at a reasonable price that might be acceptable, especially for entry level rigs. But that's just not true any more (though it used to be).

Note that I said a good digital VTF scale can be had for "WELL UNDER" $100. You can get one here for $69 or on ebay for half that. Is $35 really a problem when we're trying to optimize cartridges costing 10 or even 100 times that?

I agree, BTW, that no scale will help us FIND the optimal VTF. Only our ears can do that, and each cartridge is indeed unique in this respect. No argument at all. A scale can only get you in the right ballpark. If it's a good scale it will do that reliably and repeatably. If it's a Shure, nobody knows...

Jmudrick,
I have an Audio-Technica 150MLX, and it is a pretty high compliance cartridge. As such, it should be used with a low mass tonearm. Low mass is not the same thing as adjusting the tracking force lighter. As I recall, it sounded very good out of the box, but improved a bit after 10-20 hours were on it. I am using mine with an Infinity Black Widow which is a very low mass tonearm, and I like it a lot.

If Shure made them from steel, there would be a problem. I have 2 Shure scales. One I've never used...just got it as a "bonus" when I got the 10.5i arm a couple of months ago. I checked that one with a magnet and my old one that I got about 1956 or so, and they both don't respond to the pull of a magnet. The new one looks like aluminum.. the old one looks like steel, but as I said it isn't magnetically sensitive.

Knumbskull calling. Rlwainwright was on the right track. It was the most obvious thing -- I had the damn thing plugged into the MC rather than the MM jack of the 640p. Duh. Should have been the first thing I checked. Well thanks everyone for your suggestions. Sounds fine now. I did order a Shure gauge and will see if there's any discrepancy of siginficance from the manual setup (initially at 1.25).

Jmurick..When you get your Sure scale, I found it very accurate if you position it on your turntable platter so that the front (right side when looking at the mirror) 2 feet are hanging off of the edge of the platter, then follow the normal directions.