Pioneer PL-112D cartridge/stylus upgrade

Terryff

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Just got my (2nd) pioneer PL-112D working and it sounds pretty good, but want to upgrade the stylus and/or cartridge and was looking for advice what to go for, not really being much of a vinyl-head. Can i get other makes than pioneer and hitachi (that's what it's got at the moment).
 
T

the record spot

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Budget? For a little outlay you have:-

Nagaoka MP-11 (£15 - smooth, warmish sound, top of the line VFM)
Audio Technica AT95E & AT110 (think these are around £20-£30 respectively)
Goldring Elektra (£35?)
Ortofon lower "OM" range (from £35?)

Once you start getting up to Ortofon 2M Red territory (£55) you are moving up a notch, but it all depends on what you want to do. I used the Elektra many moons ago and it was a good cartridge for the money.
 
A

Anonymous

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If your really on a budget, you can grab an Ortofon OM5 for incredibly cheap prices.
 

Terryff

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I know this sounds like a daft question, but would using one of these give me a big increase in quality?

Seems a relatively cheap upgrade. Also, i take it these just slot in to replace what i have?

ÿ
 

chebby

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Terryff:Oh...as for budget, i think £35 would be about tops for this deck for me..

Damn! I was about to recommend a Shure M97xE (£95)

Seriously excellent tracker and of the same vintage as your deck yet still available brand new.
 

Terryff

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Do you think that this deck would justify that cartridge? I mean, if it did, then maybe i could stretch to that if the sound upgrade was that much worthwhile.
 
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Anonymous

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Nah, no more than £50 IMO...its just not worth it - the wow and flutter will be too great, it wont track perfectly and the tone arm will allow lots of vibrations up the arm...you won't hear a difference...
 

gregory

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The AT 95E is about £22.00 so not much outlay there, contrary to popular belief those old turntables can put in quite a decent performance if they are set up right, level, cartridge aligned properly a new belt helps as well so go ahead and buy with confidence.
 

Terryff

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I was messing around last night with all the spare parts i have kicking around and fitted an adg head onto the tonearm using the no name cartridge i got with the pioneer and noticed that the sound was slightly better, the original pioneer one, even when screwed into the tonearm, still moved around, so maybe that was causing the needle to mistrack? Is there any guides around to calibrating heads/cartridges etc?

As a complete novice i am enjoying playing about with the gear but dont want to ruin the setup too much through ignorace.ÿ
 

Terryff

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It's funny, i have heard people on these forums saying it is a rubbish deck, but having compared it to the Dual CS505-2, i like it a lot. It is well made, has a nice overall tone and is aesthetically pleasing. I know it does not compete with the best out there, it is an old japanese deck after all, but i dont think it should ÿbe dismissed as no good. I only have a no name cartridge and stylus in 9believe they might be hitachi) but even so it gives my cd player a very good run for it's money. If the goldring even slightly improves its sound, i will be completely happy (or as long as a hi-fi addict is ever happy with equipment for).

ÿ
 

Terryff

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emotion-6.gif


urmmmmm, fitted the goldring after much squinting and swearing getting the little connectors on (goldring has little pins, it seems) and....well......errrrr.....it sounds a bit.......rubbish really. Harsh as hell would come close to about how it sounds. I have a question for all the tt experts, the leads and prongs are colout coded, but no on the headshell, do they connect directly to the pins opposite them, or cross over, am sure they were crossed over before i started messing about........

I see the future, i see Terry buying a new record deck........or walking into the nearest friendly hi fi shop to get this thing set up right.

ÿ

ÿ
 
T

the record spot

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The Elektra sounds harsh??? * scratches unashamedly unshaved chin *

I'd never have considered the Elektra harsh - if anything it's nearer the warmer Nagaoka end of the scale than the sharper AT440MLa end of things. Is it aligned properly?

Anyway, check out the Vinyl Engine site - there's a section on there for useful hints and a good forum too (no offence the good people of this one...!).
 

Terryff

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Will do, i very much expect it is my inexpert fitting rather than any issues with the kit, would alignment affect the balance, do you think?

To my uneducated mind, if the needle is on a slant mayhap the sound would be???ÿ
 
T

the record spot

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Hard to say from the photo; but I probably should have said set-up properly rather than aligned, although that's all part of it. Is there a VTA adjuster on the Pioneer?

This lets you adjust the height position of the arm and is a bone of contention for any Rega owners who use non-Rega cartridges as an incidental (they don't have this)!

Is the cartridge itself in good shape? I know you said new out the box, but that's another option...?

*** over to the VE site; guaranteed, there'll be a Pioneer t/t expert over there who might be able to help more fully. No offence to anyone else here I should add!
 

chebby

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Get yourself registered and logged in to vinyl engine and find your instruction manual here....

http://www.vinylengine.com/library/pioneer/pl-112d.shtml

Check through to ensure nothing is amiss.

I have checked the tonearm database but the PL-112D tonearm mounting distance is not listed (centre of arm pivot point -> centre spindle distance) but you can measure this yourself.

The effective length (arm pivot point -> stylus tip) should be 221mm.

When you have measured it then look for an appropriate proctractor on this list...

http://www.vinylengine.com/cartridge-alignment-protractors.shtml

...then print it out (with no size constraints) and cut out the centre hole with a pin or scalpel. Measure the vertical and horizontal reference lines to ensure the print is correctly scaled.

Use the grid on the protractor to ensure the cartridge is aligned and use the points marked on the arc protractor to double check that effective length/overhang is good.

Some decks of this vintage may need the cartridge to be slightly 'offset' (not parallel in the headshell) with the cartridge turned in towards the centre spindle slightly to achieve alignment. This maybe the case with the PL-112D.

After alignment, re-balance the arm and set tracking force (and matching anti-skate/bias) again.
 

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