Beginners Guide to Cartridges & Stylus

[losalnos]

Hi All,

Total novice here so please forgive my ignorance. A few months ago my old trusty record play I've had since I was was a kid packed in. I don't have a huge record collection (and perhaps more importantly my finances are limited) so didn't want to spend hundreds of pounds and picked up a second hand Ariston Q deck. It's about 25 years old so whilst still seems a decent turntable for my needs, the cartridge and stylus are also still original and I wondered if it would be good for both the audio performance (and possibly the good health of my records) if I updated the Cartridge and/or the Stylus?

Thing is, I don't really know where to begin. For a start, I don't really know the difference between the two; what each actually does, and I certainly don't know what I should be looking for should I want to replace them - do they come as 1 thing or 2?!

I'm also hugely concious that I have bought (what I hope is a decent, but nonetheless) budget turntable, so I'm aware there's no point spending several hundred pounds on replacements, so any pointers or recommendations would be great. In terms of the music I listen to (I assume different models have different characteristics), it's general rock and pop, and some acoustic singer-songwriter, so just a solid balanced sound would be great - not looking for any megabass or anything.

Anyway, apologies for the ignorance and thanks in advance for any help you all can give.

 

[spiny norman]

I wondered if it would be good for both the audio performance (and possibly the good health of my records) if I updated the Cartridge and/or the Stylus?

What's the cartridge fitted at the moment? If it's a decent one, and the stylus can be changed (not all can), it would probably benefit from a new stylus, as you don't know how much use/abuse it's had in the past.

If it's a cheap cartridge, or on on which the stylus can't be swapped, it might be worthwhile considerinh a new one. Who knows, if you spend a few quid on a new cartridge the dealer might even take a look and make sure the turntable is set up properly for a nominal charge, unless you're confident doing this yourself.

 

[Al ears]

I wondered if it would be good for both the audio performance (and possibly the good health of my records) if I updated the Cartridge and/or the Stylus?

What's the cartridge fitted at the moment? If it's a decent one, and the stylus can be changed (not all can), it would probably benefit from a new stylus, as you don't know how much use/abuse it's had in the past.

If it's a cheap cartridge, or on on which the stylus can't be swapped, it might be worthwhile considerinh a new one. Who knows, if you spend a few quid on a new cartridge the dealer might even take a look and make sure the turntable is set up properly for a nominal charge, unless you're confident doing this yourself.

Quite right, we would need to know what is fitted at the moment. Dealers are invaluable here if you do not know what you're doing.

Just for simplicity, the stylus is the actual needle that contacts the record, the cantilever connects this stylus to the cartridge, which is the main body of the package.

In most moving magnet designs the stylus assembly is removable and can certainly bought as a separate entity. This is far cheaper than replacing the whole cartridge of course. This would be the way to go if we can determine exactly what cartridge you have and whether or not stylii are still made for it.

 

[losalnos]

Thanks very much guys. It's an Ortofon OM5E. Looks like this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000A0C0U8/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_2?pf_rd_p=569136327&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B002EWNP9U&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=0DRPG6DEYG88KA6CG1SE

 

[spiny norman]

Thanks very much guys. It's an Ortofon OM5E. Looks like this:

Well, you could replace the stylus on that one for about £45, or upgrade the stylus to the OM10 one for about £60, but then again a complete OM10 cartridge isn't that much more than just a replacement stylus.

I'd suggest a complete cartridge upgrade would be the best bet, however: I'd go for an Ortofon 2M Red, which is a much better cartridge than you have now, and will bring out the best in that turntable.

 

[Al ears]

Thanks very much guys. It's an Ortofon OM5E. Looks like this:

Well, you could replace the stylus on that one for about £45, or upgrade the stylus to the OM10 one for about £60, but then again a complete OM10 cartridge isn't that much more than just a replacement stylus.

I'd suggest a complete cartridge upgrade would be the best bet, however: I'd go for an Ortofon 2M Red, which is a much better cartridge than you have now, and will bring out the best in that turntable.

Spiny has a point, although I don't rate the 2M Red some do. Are you OK with cartridge fitting and alignment / balancing? If not a dealer could do it for you.

You could, of course, simply change the stylus for a new one, which would negate any messing around with those things.(£35 on Amazon, however they also list the complete cartridge for £30 which is a bit odd.)

 

[spiny norman]

Also worth noting that price I quoted was from the official Ortofon/Henley Designs site: I'm sure you could get the styli or replacement cartridges for a good bit less with a spot of Googlage.

And agreed on getting a dealer to fit a new cartridge if you get one: as I mentioned before, could be a good opportunity to get a health-check on the turntable, assuming the dealer knows what they're doing.

 

[BigH]

Thanks very much guys. It's an Ortofon OM5E. Looks like this:

Well, you could replace the stylus on that one for about £45, or upgrade the stylus to the OM10 one for about £60, but then again a complete OM10 cartridge isn't that much more than just a replacement stylus.

I'd suggest a complete cartridge upgrade would be the best bet, however: I'd go for an Ortofon 2M Red, which is a much better cartridge than you have now, and will bring out the best in that turntable.

Spiny the cartridge only costs £30. I would either buy a new cartridge or upgrade.

 

[Al ears]

Thanks very much guys. It's an Ortofon OM5E. Looks like this:

Well, you could replace the stylus on that one for about £45, or upgrade the stylus to the OM10 one for about £60, but then again a complete OM10 cartridge isn't that much more than just a replacement stylus.

I'd suggest a complete cartridge upgrade would be the best bet, however: I'd go for an Ortofon 2M Red, which is a much better cartridge than you have now, and will bring out the best in that turntable.

Spiny the cartridge only costs £30. I would either buy a new cartridge or upgrade.

There is an echo here

 

[BigH]

Thanks very much guys. It's an Ortofon OM5E. Looks like this:

Well, you could replace the stylus on that one for about £45, or upgrade the stylus to the OM10 one for about £60, but then again a complete OM10 cartridge isn't that much more than just a replacement stylus.

I'd suggest a complete cartridge upgrade would be the best bet, however: I'd go for an Ortofon 2M Red, which is a much better cartridge than you have now, and will bring out the best in that turntable.

Spiny the cartridge only costs £30. I would either buy a new cartridge or upgrade.

There is an echo here

Plenty.

He may want to hear some comparisons on youtube to get an idea of differences, some of the Shures are not bad.

 

[BigH]

Thanks very much guys. It's an Ortofon OM5E. Looks like this:

Well, you could replace the stylus on that one for about £45, or upgrade the stylus to the OM10 one for about £60, but then again a complete OM10 cartridge isn't that much more than just a replacement stylus.

I'd suggest a complete cartridge upgrade would be the best bet, however: I'd go for an Ortofon 2M Red, which is a much better cartridge than you have now, and will bring out the best in that turntable.

Spiny the cartridge only costs £30. I would either buy a new cartridge or upgrade.

There is an echo here

Plenty.

He may want to hear some comparisons on youtube to get an idea of differences, some of the Shures are not bad. Here is one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWzp1rOLL0s

Note the Empire was faulty, in a subsequent test it was among the best.

 

[Al ears]

This deck originally came fitted with an OM10 apparently but can take any cartridge from 4-12 gram. It's possible someone has fitted a 5e stylus to it in the past.

 

[Daz B]

I would replace the stylus which is very easy to do and see how the deck sounds all set up if you haven't done that already.
I have that stylus on my Rega P1 and have been happy with it.

 

[spiny norman]

Spiny the cartridge only costs £30. I would either buy a new cartridge or upgrade.

As I said, I was quoting prices from the Henley/Ortofon site, and definitely they can be bought at discount prices. I'd agree that switching the stylus to the OM10 would be a smart move, and would only cost around £40, which is also the same price as an entire OM10 cartridge. The newer Super OM10 cartridge would be around £65. All prices from those big South American river people.

 

[losalnos]

Thanks for all the advice guys. I took it along to my local dealer where they're giving it a full service & setup, fitted with an Ortofon Red. Can't wait to get it back - unfortunately there'll be a delay until saturday. Also Treated myself to Mogwai's new "Atomic" album to play on it when it comes back.

Give you guys a full report next week (in case you're interested!)

Thanks again.