New to Turntables. Broke my Cartridge?

audiocr381ve

My wife decided to put a blanket over my turntable (no dust-cover :eek:) so our baby wouldn't mess with it. Well, upon taking that blanket off, it snagged the needle right off!

The record player I have is a very cheap one (Old Technics) so I don't need an audiophile grade cartridge, but I want something solid.

Would someone educate me on what makes a good cartridge, different types of cartridges, and the role they play on a record player? I listen to Jazz, Blues, and some Bob Marley when I need to be reminded not to worry

And of course, some recommendations would be awesome.

danger boy

so much to learn about cartridges, stylus and setting them up correctly... a decent cartridge can make any old turntable sound much better..

this is a good place to start http://www.needledoctor.com/Online-Store/Phono-Cartridges

in the budget category.. lots of people like this one.. http://www.needledoctor.com/Shure-M97XE?sc=2&category=402

and up the ladder... this one is pretty popular.. http://www.needledoctor.com/Audio-Technica-440MLa-Cartridge?sc=2&category=402

quadzilla

audiocr381ve wrote: »

My wife decided to put a blanket over my turntable (no dust-cover :eek:) so our baby wouldn't mess with it. Well, upon taking that blanket off, it snagged the needle right off!

Whoops... If it makes you feel better, I once ground the stylus of a $1000 cart into an aluminum platter. It didn't work very well after that.

The record player I have is a very cheap one (Old Technics) so I don't need an audiophile grade cartridge, but I want something solid.

You can probably just get another stylus for your current cart if you can determine the model.

Would someone educate me on what makes a good cartridge, different types of cartridges, and the role they play on a record player? I listen to Jazz, Blues, and some Bob Marley when I need to be reminded not to worry

The main things affecting how cartridges sound are stylus mass and tip geometry.

Stylus mass is just how much the needle itself weighs, including the mass at the back end of the stylus.

Moving coils cartridges have the lowest mass styluses, making them able to track very accurately.

Moving magnet cartridges, while you can replace the stylus, have the highest mass in the stylus, making them less accurate in tracking the record grooves.

Moving iron cartridges are in between for mass.

However, there are some very fine sounding moving magnet cartridges that will reveal lots of detail, and some not so good moving coil cartriges. But that covers things in general.

And of course, some recommendations would be awesome.

I'd just call needle doctor, tell them what kind of music you like, what table you have, and how much you have to spend, and let them make a recommendation. I've never heard of anyone being unhappy with any of their recommendations.

Also, if you don't know how, I'd strongly advise you to either take the table to a stereo shop that does table set ups and have them mount and align the cart. Even the best cart will sound like crap and damage your records if it's not aligned properly. Alternatively, make friends with someone that knows how to do it, get them to help, then buy them lots of beers. But don't let them have any beer until after aligning that cart


Also, get a table cover.

audiocr381ve

quadzilla wrote: »

Whoops... If it makes you feel better, I once ground the stylus of a $1000 cart into an aluminum platter. It didn't work very well after that.



You can probably just get another stylus for your current cart if you can determine the model.



The main things affecting how cartridges sound are stylus mass and tip geometry.

Stylus mass is just how much the needle itself weighs, including the mass at the back end of the stylus.

Moving coils cartridges have the lowest mass styluses, making them able to track very accurately.

Moving magnet cartridges, while you can replace the stylus, have the highest mass in the stylus, making them less accurate in tracking the record grooves.

Moving iron cartridges are in between for mass.

However, there are some very fine sounding moving magnet cartridges that will reveal lots of detail, and some not so good moving coil cartriges. But that covers things in general.



I'd just call needle doctor, tell them what kind of music you like, what table you have, and how much you have to spend, and let them make a recommendation. I've never heard of anyone being unhappy with any of their recommendations.

Also, if you don't know how, I'd strongly advise you to either take the table to a stereo shop that does table set ups and have them mount and align the cart. Even the best cart will sound like crap and damage your records if it's not aligned properly. Alternatively, make friends with someone that knows how to do it, get them to help, then buy them lots of beers. But don't let them have any beer until after aligning that cart


Also, get a table cover.

Holy Moly. That's some GREAT info there. Learned a lot.

The cartridge I have in here now is a Shure SC35C. It was the only one they had at Guitar Center and is supposedly meant for scratching :eek:

stuwee

I second danger boy's recomendations, both have a swing down stylus guard and will sound very nice indeed, make sure to have it set-up properly as quadzilla said too!

I lost the dustcover on my old Thorens years ago,, I found an old Pioneer at a garage sale that was broken with a really nice dustcover for a buck, it fits well enough to keep the cat off it.

quadzilla

audiocr381ve wrote: »

Holy Moly. That's some GREAT info there. Learned a lot.

The cartridge I have in here now is a Shure SC35C. It was the only one they had at Guitar Center and is supposedly meant for scratching :eek:

Yeah, call needle doctor and talk to them. Carts/needles made for scratching aren't really designed to sound good. They're designed to stand up under the stress of scratching. At this point, I'd say almost anything you buy will sound better.

erniejade

If you are not comfortable installing or alligning the cart. yourslef, you can look at ortofon for some DJ type carts. that have the headshell and cart are all in one unit. Since its an old technics turntable, I am going to asume it's an S shape arm. If so, the headshells were universal. No the sound wont be as nice as what is suggested but, it will get you running and all you have to do then is balance the arm. Shure and Ortofon both make them. There might be some others that do also.

Sure has 2 types one that it is intigrated and one that is just pre mounted. http://www.needledoctor.com/Shure-M44-7-H?sc=2&category=380


I personally have a denon DL160 but for crappy records I change the headshell to my ortofon all in one body type. Works good and doesnt sound bad. It has a gift for hiding crappy or records that are not so great. Might be becuase of the heavier tracking force on them.. Not sure but, if a record I have is not available on cd, and it not in that great of shape I put the ortofon headshell in.



You can also take the headshell and cart into a shop and they can allign it for you if you are still not comfortable and want to go with a better cart. then a dj one.