Just taken the plunge back into vinyl

[rjb70stoke]

After much deliberation having read many posts on here, I decided I was going to give a turntable and vinyl a try.

So, not wanted to spend (waste) too much of the hard earned, I have today picked up a Technics SL-1900 from ebay. Having got it home, it has an Ortofon FF15eMkII stylus, and appears to play perfectly with my old Joshua Tree LP, that was left in a cupboard at my mums.

Has anyone got any advice on setting the turntable up for its optimal performance? and is the stylus any good, or would it be worh investing in a new one?

 

[mitch65]

Congratulations and welcome back from the dark side!

As a matter of course I would change the stylus simply as it could be knackered!, about 14 quid should get you a replacement stylus or take the plunge and change to an Audio Technica at91 for under £20.

 

[rjb70stoke]

Thanks for the reply. Do you mean replace just the stylus with the AT91, or the cartridge. I can get the cartridge for £20 or the stylus only for £10

 

[camcroft]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Audio-Technica-AT-91-Moving-Magnet-Cartridge-/290840363130?pt=Turntable_Parts_Accessories&hash=item43b76fc07a

 

[mitch65]

Thanks for the reply. Do you mean replace just the stylus with the AT91, or the cartridge. I can get the cartridge for £20 or the stylus only for £10

You would have to get the whole cartridge, for £20 it's a steal

 

[MajorFubar]

Wouldn't he be better off just getting a new stylus for the Ortofon FF15eMkII cartridge which is already fitted? It would save a lot of faffing around fitting a new cart. From my memory of the dim and distant past, the FF15 was quite highly regarded, was it not?

 

[Al ears]

Wouldn't he be better off just getting a new stylus for the Ortofon FF15eMkII cartridge which is already fitted? It would save a lot of faffing around fitting a new cart. From my memory of the dim and distant past, the FF15 was quite highly regarded, was it not?

It was indeed MajorFubar............in it's day. I ran one on my first ever turntable.

However if it has been on his deck since new it is probably well past it's sell by date and things have moved on in the world of cartridges.

I would agree with you though that it is a lot less faff just fitting a new stylus, however, he will have to change the cartridge one day, best to start now.

 

[altruistic.lemon]

Why would you want to put a cartridge with a conical stylus on the arm? Surely you're better off putting a new elliptical stylus on the Ortofon.

It's a better cartridge anyway. The AT91, unless it's changed a lot, is the base of all base cartridges.

 

[rjb70stoke]

Thanks for the replies. Ive been having a look at styli for the Ortofon Cartridge.

Any ideas which would be best to go for? There seems to be lots of choice of 3rd party products, but very hard to find a genuine Ortofon one. Ive seen a NAD stylus which is suitable for the cartridge, and think I'd rather go with a name I know.

Initially I think I'd rather go for a new stylus until I get to grips with the turntable, setting up a cartridge seems a little beyond my knowledge at the moment.