Ideal Cartridge for Revolver Rebel?

pekers678

New member
May 24, 2008
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Thinking that perhaps I should upgrade the cartridge on my Revolver Rebel. I think when it was produced in the late 80s it was a rival to the Rega P3, but don't quote me on it! My question is, what would be an ideal cartridge in the £70-150 price bracket for my TT? I'm not too sure about the Ortofon Blue - I have read mixed reviews saying it's too harsh and analytical, perhaps the AT440MLa would be a good idea? Any thoughts are greatly appreciated - I am assuming that the Rebel is worthy of a £70-150 cartridge; it has what looks like quite a good Jelco arm fitted.

EDIT: on further inspection, it looks as though the arm is Revolver's own.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Try a Grado Silver or Gold. Lovely, slightly warm sounding cartridges.
 

John Duncan

Well-known member
Jan 8, 2008
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Ah the Revolver (sighs nostalgically). I bought one of these because it sounded better than a Systemdek IIX back in the summer of '88 - though I think by then there were two models, the Rebel and the 'normal' one - the normal one was aesthetically prettier and mine had an RB250 but the same underneath. Lovely, clever design.

Anyhoo - in theory, if it's still working properly (mine finally died after speed problems and my inability to find another belt for it), your budget is the right sort of money to spend, yes. I have a 2M Red on my current deck and it's very good, and I'll probably get a Blue next - I don't think Chebby would agree that it's harsh or analytical but as always YMMV. The AT440 is another option, certainly, as is the Denon DL-110 which, although a moving coil, still has a 1.6mV output so should work fine even if you have an MM-only phono stage.
 

fatboyslimfast

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Jan 10, 2008
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IIRC, the Revolver Rebel was aligned price-wise to the Planar 2, and the Revolver to the Planar 3.

They also shipped it as standard with an AT-95E.

To that end, I wouldn't be spending more than about £75 on a cart. Certainly the 440ML would be above what I would recommend spending.

If you want smooth and "analogue sounding", then the DL110 would be my choice (and it is for my LP12!), but if you prefer a more modern up-front sound, then I would go for the 2M Red.
 

chebby

Well-known member
Jun 2, 2008
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For the price of the Ortofon 2M Blue plus another £90 you could get an entire (better) deck/arm/cartridge and 3mm Acrylic mat right here

The Systemdek IIX was an extremely capable design and the Linn LVX a better arm than the one on the Rebel.

The success of the Systemdek IIX design is apparent when you consider it is still being made by Audio-Note as the TT1.

I wish someone would would buy it as it keeps calling me every time I am on ebay!
 

chebby

Well-known member
Jun 2, 2008
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You can ask these people about a new Revolver Rebel belt or any other spares....

http://www.revolveraudio.co.uk/spares.htm

Oh yeah (John?) the Ortofon 2M Blue is not harsh. Not even before it had fully run-in. Although I did try it for a day each with Baerwald and Stevenson alignments before deciding which was best (both optimised for Rega) and found (a) Stevenson was best (b) the Rega alignment card barely corresponds to either.*

*I used carefully printed arc protractors from a dedicated Vinyl website that I cannot link here.
 

fatboyslimfast

Well-known member
Jan 10, 2008
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Oh go on Chebby, treat yourself!

But it does raise a good point - you might be better off sticking with something like the original AT-95E (a new one is around £35 and is a great little cart), and then if you want to upgrade, do it in style!
 
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Anonymous

Guest
I have an original Revolver so this is usefull for me too. From memory I bought it new in 1981(early 80's anyway) with the Linn Basik arm for £189.99. Still performing well though not had much use in the last 12 years. I need to fix a shelf to a wall to sit it on as our current suspended floors 'bounce' too much.
 
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Anonymous

Guest
The Tonearm on the Revolvers are OEM from Jelco from Japan, the same as on the Revolver Replay. They are/were tuned using Audio Technica AT95 (I think) carts so that would be a sensible place to start, I'd go no higher than the 440.
 
T

the record spot

Guest
The AT440MLa would be £130 well spent and I wouldn't suggest it was out the Rebel's league - a very decent spinner back in the mid-90s from memory. The Denon DL110 is another, if you;re on a budget, the AT-95E and the evergreen Nagaoka MP11 if you can get it, are two others under £30 worth seeking out.
 
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Anonymous

Guest
I just checked the receipt, I bought it in November 1984. Currently has a Nagoaka MP11 cartridge fitted.

Dug out the late Mr Jackson's Off The Wall album, ah memories!
 

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