Changing Cartridge on Project TT

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I have a Pro-ject audio TT and I am thinking of upgrading it by fitting a new cartridge. I have a model with a fixed counter-weight (you can adjust newer models) which can't be moved. How can I fit a new cartridge if you can't adjust anything?
 
Simple buy a new cartridge that requires the same settings. I'd guess you've got a debut II or III, in which case the Ortofon 2m red or blue will just bolt straight in. I've put a red on my debut II and it's great.
 
+1 for the 2M Red!
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the_lhc:Simple buy a new cartridge that requires the same settings. I'd guess you've got a debut II or III, in which case the Ortofon 2m red or blue will just bolt straight in. I've put a red on my debut II and it's great.

What do you mean when you say same settings?
 
So can I just bolt on an Ortofon 2m red without changing anything?
 
swoosta:So can I just bolt on an Ortofon 2m red without changing anything?

Yep - did just that myself on a Debut... be careful if you go ahead though - upgradeitis is likely to set in and you'll be upgrading the deck before you know it
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swoosta:So can I just bolt on an Ortofon 2m red without changing anything?

Assuming your deck is one of the ones I mentioned earlier yes, but you haven't actually confirmed that, so I can't say for certain until you do.
 
it's a debut 2 it's not a 3 as this has an adjustable counterweight
 
like this?
http://i554.photobucket.com/albums/jj432/Ryan_1994_photos/677ec125.jpg

this is a photo from the web - mines been looked after better!
 
I stand to be corrected if I am wrong, but I think that the counterweight is locked with an allen bolt. If it is, then it can be loosened to allow fine adjustment for the cartridge of your choice.

I'm going off memory, so I might be totally wrong. Things get a bit hazy, sometimes, at my age!

Mike
 
mickeyjoef:
I stand to be corrected if I am wrong, but I think that the counterweight is locked with an allen bolt. If it is, then it can be loosened to allow fine adjustment for the cartridge of your choice.

I'm going off memory, so I might be totally wrong. Things get a bit hazy, sometimes, at my age!

Mike

The counterweight is indeed adjustable as is the cartridge position in the head shell and you must set these correctly. You should have got a protractor and plastic scales with the turntable. If not, you should buy the scales - they're not expensive - and print out one of the protractors that are freely available from vinylengine.

The_lhc, I strongly suggest you do the same. Unless you've struck lucky, you cartridge could be doing damage to itself, not to mention the vinyl you use it on. It is not correct to say you can slot a replacement cartridge straight in. The plus is that, when you have set it up correctly, the sound should be noticeably better.
 
I also have a debut 2, and have recently been looking to upgrade the cartridge. I am looking at either the 2m red or blue (most likely blue as I dont want to upgrade the cart for a long time after this), If I were to buy and install the 2m blue would the upgrade be 'wasted' on the debut 2, or to put it another way would I not be getting the most out of the upgrade putting such a good cart on a low end tt?

Thanks in advance!
 
Grottyash:mickeyjoef:
I stand to be corrected if I am wrong, but I think that the counterweight is locked with an allen bolt. If it is, then it can be loosened to allow fine adjustment for the cartridge of your choice.

I'm going off memory, so I might be totally wrong. Things get a bit hazy, sometimes, at my age!

Mike

The counterweight is indeed adjustable as is the cartridge position in the head shell and you must set these correctly. You should have got a protractor and plastic scales with the turntable. If not, you should buy the scales - they're not expensive - and print out one of the protractors that are freely available from vinylengine.

The_lhc, I strongly suggest you do the same. Unless you've struck lucky, you cartridge could be doing damage to itself, not to mention the vinyl you use it on. It is not correct to say you can slot a replacement cartridge straight in. The plus is that, when you have set it up correctly, the sound should be noticeably better.

The counterweight has a small screw holding it in place on mine, rather than an allen bolt but there's no markings on the arm to indicate what position it's in.

Anyway, the point of getting the 2M Red is that range of force it requires coincide exactly with the cartridge that was on there already and I checked with Henley when I bought the Red and they confirmed that.

And obviously I didn't just slap the cartridge in the headshell, I aligned it with a protractor from vinylengine, that was just a figure of speech. And the sound is massively better than before, if I'd just "slapped it in" there'd be obvious problems with the sound, and there isn't.
 

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