return to Vinyl

[Seakiwi]

Hi,

Been lurking for some time as I have been looking at updating my 90's system.

First cab off the rank was to replace my KEF C80 speakers originally bought in about 1988 and I have to say still going strong, but that B139 has got a bit looser over the years!

So a couple of R700s have arrived in the room, and they are great, even still being driven by my Technics SU-V800 amp, a remarkable sound eminates from them! So, that made me dig out the old vinyl and fire up the Technics SL-QD33 turntable, and, even allowing for a very worn stylus, the sound is incredible. I just can't believe I have dithered so long in replacing the C80s, but, well, they were great in their time!

Anyway the point of this post is to ask if there is a better cartridge for the Technics TT. I currently have the P30, and need to replace the stylus/cartridge anyway so is there a worthwhile improvement I can make?

TIA

 

[Al ears]

Hi,

Been lurking for some time as I have been looking at updating my 90's system.

First cab off the rank was to replace my KEF C80 speakers originally bought in about 1988 and I have to say still going strong, but that B139 has got a bit looser over the years!

So a couple of R700s have arrived in the room, and they are great, even still being driven by my Technics SU-V800 amp, a remarkable sound eminates from them! So, that made me dig out the old vinyl and fire up the Technics SL-QD33 turntable, and, even allowing for a very worn stylus, the sound is incredible. I just can't believe I have dithered so long in replacing the C80s, but, well, they were great in their time!

Anyway the point of this post is to ask if there is a better cartridge for the Technics TT. I currently have the P30, and need to replace the stylus/cartridge anyway so is there a worthwhile improvement I can make?

TIA

You are not going to find anything to replace it that is cheaper than a simple technics replacement stylus. However if you're looking to upgrade at some expense then Ortofon make suitable replacements though this would mean having to adjust the balance of the arm / stylus force.

 

[audioaddict]

hiya, nice retro setup by the way......if you look on the auction site you will find a nice audiotechnica cartridge brand new for twenty quid.......thats what i,m using on my technics sl1200 and although not a high end cartridge by any means it works a treat.......give it a go

 

[Seakiwi]

cheers guys, the system is retro only because I am!

I'll check those two out. Quite happy to invest a bit more if doing so would give me a better result from the existing TT.

I'm in NZ so hopefully can find a supplier down here.

Had rippd all my CDs to a Synology NAS and when my retro CD player failed replaced that with a Oppo bdp105D and the XLR outputs to the Technics amp are also great, but I am stunned by the result of playing the vinyl through the KEF R700 speakers and it has got me back listening to some great music again.

 

[audioaddict]

good for you mate, and just love retro technics

 

[Al ears]

A lovely bit of kit that Oppo. Got one myself, a real Swiss army knife of a media player. Don't know your amp but I do your speakers.

Get the best cartridge you can afford for your turntable would be my advice. Enjoy.

 

[MajorFubar]

Your Technics SL-QD33 uses a T4P (aka P-mount) cartridge. I'm pretty sure stylus replacements for it are readily available from eBay etc if you want to keep the cartridge and revitalize it with a new stylus, but if you want to replace the cartridge with something else your choices are more limited, because you can't mount a regular cartridge.

My choice would be to beg/buy/steal* an Ortofon OM-P cartridge, which takes any standard Ortofon OM stylus. All the OM cartridges share the same innards and progressive upgrades can be made purely by upgrading the stylus. Even an OM10 will sound significantly better than the original cartridge, and in the future you could upgrade it with a Stylus 20.

(*I don't advocate stealing; figure of speech)

EDIT: PS you won't need to mess about with the tracking-weight, anti-skate or anything else if you replace the cartridge. The whole premise of the T4P system is all the carts were directly interchangeable with no adjustment required. Remove the one knurled screw which holds it to the arm, pull cartridge out of the arm, push the new one in, put the screw back. That's it. No fuss.

 

[Seakiwi]

Unfortunately it appears Ortofon no longer make P cartridges, the local distributot (based in Australia not NZ) advises that the tooling wore out so they no longer manufacture them.

It appears my choices without being silly price wise are AudioTehnica (like the 311 ep) or Grado (eg the Black1 Prestige or Green 1 prestige).

I have no experience to judge which one to buy so would appreciate any help from those who have tried either or both.

tia

 

[ifor]

You can get Ortofon p-mount cartridges from William Thacker.

https://www.thakker.eu

Or, you could do what I did and get a Jico SAS stylus for my original Technics cartridge.

Bob Wood's website, dedicated to p-mounts, may also be of interest.

http://www.p-mount.net

 

[MajorFubar]

....Bob Wood's website, dedicated to p-mounts, may also be of interest.

http://www.p-mount.net

OOoooo...I didn't know that existed! Nice one *drinks*

 

[ifor]

....Bob Wood's website, dedicated to p-mounts, may also be of interest.

http://www.p-mount.net

OOoooo...I didn't know that existed! Nice one *drinks*

He's a good guy too.

 

[Seakiwi]

Thanks guys, enormous amount of info on those sites, just what I was looking for!