I recently purchased a Pro-Ject T1 turntable from a well know Hi-Fi store at a discount price due to the packaging being opened. The reviews for this turntable are very good but I wanted to know if the turntables cartridge could be upgraded to a better one at a later date. The sales assistance informed me this was not a problem and I would be able to change over the cartridge to one of my choice.
Therefore I agreed to buy the T1, the cartridge fitted was the bottom of the range Ortofon OM5E, and after listening for some time I found it not to have much detail , the mid-range vocals seemed a little recessed/distant on some material, and the cartridge had a tendency to sound hard and brash.
I also found the turntable to have a very light chassis to the extent when you opened the lid the whole turntable moved around, this despite having a 8mm blasted glass platter.
However I decided to upgrade the cartridge to maybe an Nagaoka MP110 ,Sumiko Rainier or a Ortofon 2M Red. This is when I found changing the cartridge over to one of my choice was not possible. I emailed the Technical Support team at Henley Audio, the UK distributor for Pro-Ject, and they confirmed due to the T1 having a fixed counterweight & no Vertical Tracking Angle they wouldn't recommend changing the entire cartridge but just upgrading to an improved stylus for the OM5E.
I was very disappointed as I was sold the T1 as being upgradable, however this turned out not to be the case. The service and technical information in regards to the project T1 turntable I received by Hi-Fi store in question was not accurate. I informed them of my disappointment and they agreed to take it back for a full refund or an exchange for a turntable that as the capability of changing the cartridge.
I am a newcomer to the world of high-end Turntables so I suggested I would like to go up the range by exchanging it to an Pro-Ject Debut Carbon EVO to which they agreed. However I would have to wait a few days for them to get one, not a problem.
In the meantime I starting looking at YouTube videos to show me how to setup the Pro-Ject Evo and to amazement this turntable also did not have the capability of upgrading the cartridge, this was mainly due to not having VTA (Vertical Tracking Angle).
Now, the sales representative knew I wanted a turntable that had VTA so that I could fit any array of cartridges from the many on the market , but despite knowing this they were still willing to sell me this turntable to which I would have had the same problem as the T1.
Richer Sounds were fully aware of my requirement of wanting a turntable with VTA, however I think all they wanted was to get another sale and ignore my “the customers” requirements. The other reason is there lack of knowledge in the products they are selling.
Both of these reasons don’t give this well-known audio retailer a very good review, especially as there website page states them having expert advice. So my advice is to do some research and find out were your local audio specialist stores are. Then go and visit and talk to them stating your requirements and budget.
Don’t be pushed into buying audio equipment just because it's cheap or if the salesman states that are having an price increase next week. If you have any concerns or are undecided don’t buy, do some more research, if the audio store is reputable they will understand.
So if anyone out there can give me some advice on the best cartridge for the Evo that would be great.
Therefore I agreed to buy the T1, the cartridge fitted was the bottom of the range Ortofon OM5E, and after listening for some time I found it not to have much detail , the mid-range vocals seemed a little recessed/distant on some material, and the cartridge had a tendency to sound hard and brash.
I also found the turntable to have a very light chassis to the extent when you opened the lid the whole turntable moved around, this despite having a 8mm blasted glass platter.
However I decided to upgrade the cartridge to maybe an Nagaoka MP110 ,Sumiko Rainier or a Ortofon 2M Red. This is when I found changing the cartridge over to one of my choice was not possible. I emailed the Technical Support team at Henley Audio, the UK distributor for Pro-Ject, and they confirmed due to the T1 having a fixed counterweight & no Vertical Tracking Angle they wouldn't recommend changing the entire cartridge but just upgrading to an improved stylus for the OM5E.
I was very disappointed as I was sold the T1 as being upgradable, however this turned out not to be the case. The service and technical information in regards to the project T1 turntable I received by Hi-Fi store in question was not accurate. I informed them of my disappointment and they agreed to take it back for a full refund or an exchange for a turntable that as the capability of changing the cartridge.
I am a newcomer to the world of high-end Turntables so I suggested I would like to go up the range by exchanging it to an Pro-Ject Debut Carbon EVO to which they agreed. However I would have to wait a few days for them to get one, not a problem.
In the meantime I starting looking at YouTube videos to show me how to setup the Pro-Ject Evo and to amazement this turntable also did not have the capability of upgrading the cartridge, this was mainly due to not having VTA (Vertical Tracking Angle).
Now, the sales representative knew I wanted a turntable that had VTA so that I could fit any array of cartridges from the many on the market , but despite knowing this they were still willing to sell me this turntable to which I would have had the same problem as the T1.
Richer Sounds were fully aware of my requirement of wanting a turntable with VTA, however I think all they wanted was to get another sale and ignore my “the customers” requirements. The other reason is there lack of knowledge in the products they are selling.
Both of these reasons don’t give this well-known audio retailer a very good review, especially as there website page states them having expert advice. So my advice is to do some research and find out were your local audio specialist stores are. Then go and visit and talk to them stating your requirements and budget.
Don’t be pushed into buying audio equipment just because it's cheap or if the salesman states that are having an price increase next week. If you have any concerns or are undecided don’t buy, do some more research, if the audio store is reputable they will understand.
So if anyone out there can give me some advice on the best cartridge for the Evo that would be great.