Ortofon stylus

Rodeo0530

I'm looking to buy a new stylus for my Pro-ject TT. It still has the stock Ortofon 5 cartridge/stylus on it and I would like to upgrade. I'm wondering if anyone can give me any first hand experience as to how worthwhile it is going up the food chain so to speak.

Basically, I would like to know if it is going to be worth the $$$ to move all the way up to the 40 with my humble setup, or if I should choose somewhere in between.

I don't want to say that I'm not worried about the money because I always look at the bottom line, but if the general concensus is that I should go for the 40, I will. I want to stay with the Ortofon cartridge because of the ease of just changing the stylus.

thsmith

Call needledoctor and ask them. WHat phono stage are you using?

Dawgfish

I had a Project 1.2 that I bought used off a gentlemen on Craigslist. It had a Ortofon Super OM-30 cartridge on it. It also came with a spare OM-10 stylus that the original owner used on vinyl that had more scratches on it as to not damage the more expensive OM-30 stylus. Unfortuantely I was wiping down a record on the table and my shirt sleeve caught the OM-30 stylus and broke it. I put the OM-10 stylus on it and it did not sound anywhere near as good as the OM-30 stylus. The difference was huge. Going from the OM-5 to the OM-40 stylus should be a signifigant upgrade. I have never heard the OM-40 cart or stylus, but I was very impressed with the OM-30 cart. It was warm and detailed at the same time. I was very seriously contemplating upgrading to the OM-40 stylus, but I went in another direction with another turntable and setup. Going all the way up to the OM-40 stylus is really up to you and your budget, but I don't think you would be disappointed with it or the OM-30 stylus for that matter. One thing though,if your like me and you get the OM-30 stylus and like it, you'll always wonder about how much better the 40 stylus will be and eventually want to get it. If that sounds like it may be the case with you, you might as well get the OM-40 stylus because you will actually save money in the longrun.

Here's a tip for you. Check out LP Gear at www.lpgear.com. They make their own proprietary replacment stylus for the Ortofon OM series cartridges (and many others). Their replacement stylus uses a shiabata diamond and is actually an upgrade over the corresponding OEM Ortofon replacement stylus' (they have equivalents for the OM-20, OM-30, OM-40, etc) and is also cheaper than the replacement Ortofon stylus'. It's a no brainer for replacement of OM series stylus'.

Rodeo0530

thsmith wrote: »

Call needledoctor and ask them. WHat phono stage are you using?

I'm using the phono for my TT at the moment:redface:

Rodeo0530

Dawgfish wrote: »

I had a Project 1.2 that I bought used off a gentlemen on Craigslist. It had a Ortofon Super OM-30 cartridge on it. It also came with a spare OM-10 stylus that the original owner used on vinyl that had more scratches on it as to not damage the more expensive OM-30 stylus. Unfortuantely I was wiping down a record on the table and my shirt sleeve caught the OM-30 stylus and broke it. I put the OM-10 stylus on it and it did not sound anywhere near as good as the OM-30 stylus. The difference was huge. Going from the OM-5 to the OM-40 stylus should be a signifigant upgrade. I have never heard the OM-40 cart or stylus, but I was very impressed with the OM-30 cart. It was warm and detailed at the same time. I was very seriously contemplating upgrading to the OM-40 stylus, but I went in another direction with another turntable and setup. Going all the way up to the OM-40 stylus is really up to you and your budget, but I don't think you would be disappointed with it or the OM-30 stylus for that matter. One thing though,if your like me and you get the OM-30 stylus and like it, you'll always wonder about how much better the 40 stylus will be and eventually want to get it. If that sounds like it may be the case with you, you might as well get the OM-40 stylus because you will actually save money in the longrun.

Here's a tip for you. Check out LP Gear at www.lpgear.com. They make their own proprietary replacment stylus for the Ortofon OM series cartridges (and many others). Their replacement stylus uses a shiabata diamond and is actually an upgrade over the corresponding OEM Ortofon replacement stylus' (they have equivalents for the OM-20, OM-30, OM-40, etc) and is also cheaper than the replacement Ortofon stylus'. It's a no brainer for replacement of OM series stylus'.

I thought that this is what I would get. I appreciate the input though and I will definitely look at LP Gear to see what they have. This might force me to go with the 40 if it will be cheaper then the original. I don't have all brand new vinyl as I have bought a lot of vinyl from George, but most of what I have is in very good shape, or new. I guess I'm worried that because of my very humble setup, I don't want the step up to the 40 to be useless.

I'm still trying to figure out how your shirt sleeve caught the stylus and broke it though. Was alcohol involved? My shirt sleeve never comes closes to my vinyl!

Dawgfish

No problem and as a mater of fact alcohol was involved! I learned my lesson, from then on no "putting one on" and spinning vinyl has ever been mixed.

Fongolio

I am looking for a "Super" body (no stylus) if any of you have one. PM me if you want to get rid of it. I've got a OM30 that has no body. It came on a p mount body on a Technics linear tracker I have. I'd really like to try it on my Mission arm on the Thorens table.

Rodeo0530

Dawgfish wrote: »

No problem and as a mater of fact alcohol was involved! I learned my lesson, from then on no "putting one on" and spinning vinyl has ever been mixed.

Ouch. I try to separate the two as well. I haven't done anything stupid...yet, but I had a buddy pull off my new O Brother Where Art Though vinyl...the sweet clear one and proceed to drop it on the floor and break it nicely. No longer is anyone else allowed to touch the table, vinyl, or anything else related. I try to keep the g/f from messing with it too, but I believe I have put the fear of God into her if she would happen to do something that shouldn't be done. She stays away and plays the Ipod when I'm not around. She does love the sound of vinyl though!


So no one else has any experience with these styli?

Rodeo0530

thsmith wrote: »

Call needledoctor and ask them. WHat phono stage are you using?

I called needledoctor today and I talked to a guy named Matt who couldn't have been any more helpful!

He has listened to each of the Ortofon 5, 10, 20, 30, and 40 on my exact table and was able to give me a detailed description of what I should expect from any of them. I think he talked me into buying the 30 because he said that while the 40 is still an upgrade, it may not be quite worth the extra $$$ for what I'll get. I think that I was kind of set on the 30 anyway, but he definitely helped push me that way a bit more.

Anything that I've bought from them in the past has been nothing but a pleasant experience. The same can be said for Music Direct IMO.

Rodeo0530

I know this thread was started a while ago, but I just thought that I would share my excitement about finally ordering the Ortofon 30 stylus to upgrade the Ortofon5 that came with my TT. I also decided to order the AQ G-snake interconnects because the price didn't seem too bad, but...they were out of those at Needle Doctor and at AQ. Normally, this would seem like a disappointment, but not today. Instead of getting 1.5M AQ G-snakes, they did a free upgrade to the new AQ Golden Gate 2M interconnects. According to the Needle Doctor site, I'm getting about $25 worth of cable for free as they are selling for $69. The Golden Gate IC's are supposed to be comparable to the Sidewinders. Everything will be here early next week, so I'm jacked about hearing what kind of difference everything will make!!

thsmith

Congrats. I did not follow what Phono stage you are using. Sounds like you are using the Phono stage in the TT.

A good Phono stage is just as big of an upgrade.

Rodeo0530

That is another upgrade that I am panning in the future. It's good enough to get me by for right now, but I know it can be improved upon. Any good budget suggestions for me to begin with?

Rodeo0530

Installed the new stylus last week and have been thoroughly enjoying my ever-growing vinyl collection since. It has really opened everything up and it just sounds so much better now.

I had a buddy come into town over the weekend that has listened to a bit of music on my system from time to time, and he noticed something was different without me ever mentioning a thing. He said it sounded good before, but sounds even better now. I'd say that is a good compliment to the improvement the stylus made.

I haven't installed the new IC's yet because I wanted to be able to hear the difference that just the stylus made, then I'll see what kind of a discernible difference the IC's make. I'm sure that it will be noticeable over the junk that I was using.

thsmith, you mentioned a good phono stage will be a good upgrade too...can you, or anyone else, give me any suggestions?

gudnoyez

I have ortofon TM20h cartridges on both my technics TTs and the OM20 stylus are the ones I use I always keep a couple on hand they are $169 ea and keeping a spare on hand for each Cartridge is quite expensive but they sound way better than the Audio Technica Cartridges I use to own not sure what the ortofon 30 stylus costs but the 20s are well worth the money.

inspiredsports

When many receivers and preamps are built, the phono stage (phono input) is thrown in as inexpensively as possible to keep costs down. Depending upon the quality of your receiver or preamp phono input (I didn't notice what you are currently using), a separate can make a huge difference.

There's a lot to be said for the synergy between Pro-Ject and Sumiko and the "Sumiko Pro-Ject Phono Box II" is a good value phono preamp that would fit your TT like a glove.

There's a nice black finish Phono Box II on eBay right now at . . .
http://www.ebay.com/itm/170726044122?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

You can find detailed specs and pricing for a new one at . . .
http://www.sumikoaudio.net/project/products/phonobox2.htm

If your budget is higer, a nice tube phono stage may be something to consider.

Dawgfish

Rodeo0530 wrote: »

Installed the new stylus last week and have been thoroughly enjoying my ever-growing vinyl collection since. It has really opened everything up and it just sounds so much better now.

I had a buddy come into town over the weekend that has listened to a bit of music on my system from time to time, and he noticed something was different without me ever mentioning a thing. He said it sounded good before, but sounds even better now. I'd say that is a good compliment to the improvement the stylus made.

I haven't installed the new IC's yet because I wanted to be able to hear the difference that just the stylus made, then I'll see what kind of a discernible difference the IC's make. I'm sure that it will be noticeable over the junk that I was using.

thsmith, you mentioned a good phono stage will be a good upgrade too...can you, or anyone else, give me any suggestions?

What's your budget? That will determine which one's are good fits.

Rodeo0530

Sorry for any confusion on this everyone...my TT is the USB version and it has a built in phono input. I'm not at all sure of the quality vs. anything else.

As for budget, I don't really have a budget to work from other than I would like something to be less than $300, or preferably even less than that if possible. I don't mind used and all input is appreciated because I can look at info and reviews until my head spins, but I still might not really figure anything out.

Dawgfish

In that budget range the ones to put on the shortlist are the ProJect Phono Box II like IS recommended, the Cambridge Audio 640 P, and if you are lucky enough to find one used on Audiogon for $300ish, the Jolida JD-9. If you see a JD-9 in that price range on the Gon (they do show up for that occasionally), jump on it because it won't last long. I'm running one with NOS RCA Grey-Plate 12AX7 tubes and it sounds wonderful.

inspiredsports

Rodeo0530 wrote: »

Sorry for any confusion on this everyone...my TT is the USB version and it has a built in phono input. I'm not at all sure of the quality vs. anything else.

As for budget, I don't really have a budget to work from other than I would like something to be less than $300, or preferably even less than that if possible. I don't mind used and all input is appreciated because I can look at info and reviews until my head spins, but I still might not really figure anything out.

I'm sorry I overlooked the USB part. The ProJect Phono Box II I linked to is NOT the USB version, but it is made in a USB format also and would be a good match and worth pursuing.

Rodeo0530

I'm probably willing to spend more, but I'm rather cheap/frugal most of the time. I'm not an audiophile by any means as I don't think that I can discern a lot of subtle differences that many people here are able to do. I do believe that this is an upgrade that I need to make at some point in the future though. I've researched the Jolida JD-9 and thought about buying it in the past, but I know nothing about tubes and that scares me to a point.