Got my Micro Seiki !! NEEDS NEW HARDWARE THOUGH ..help please

Dropthebeat

So I bought the Micro Seiki MB15 , after closely inspecting it I noticed the previous owner had some hack job headshell and cartridge setup . . . I need to replace the two, any recommendations on a replacements . Preferably some that wont break my bank.? I'd like to keep it under 100 for the pair

mhardy6647

This doesn't look bad (on paper -- or, at least, on LCD)... I haven't seen one in the ahem flesh, though.

http://www.parts-express.com/a-t-style-phono-headshell-with-lead-wires-gold-plated-contacts--230-012



The 'real thing' (from A-T) is $23-ish bucks from PE.


Cartridge? If all is well with the arm, Shure M97xe or Grado Black are great reasonably priced choices relative to my tastes in sound reproduction. FWIW, I don't care for any A-T or Ortofon that I can actually afford :-) -- YMMV, of course, though.

Dropthebeat

how do i know what type of headshell my turntable accepts

Dropthebeat

sorry didnt see that first post until now, well considering I thought this was going to cost me a lot more i dont mind spending the 23 dollars for another one. . thanks for the quick reply , im itching to get this thing going. Everything else looks to be working fine, the table spins properly and i was able to play it for a while until I decided it would be best if i waited to use it until after its fixed.

mhardy6647

It should take the "universal" four pin bayonet mount headshell (pioneered by SME and subsequently adopted by a generation of Japanese massarket tts with "S" shaped arms).

Dropthebeat

Though I have been reading up on TT, I still have so much to learn. Thanks for the guidance and extremely helpful advice . Greatly appreciated.

mhardy6647

ahh, they're easy - heck, dope-fiend college students in the '60s and '70s were able to set 'em up and use 'em ;-)

Are you registered at www.vinylengine.com yet? Lots of good info there to be had.

Dropthebeat

these cartridges come with a new stylus correct?

Dropthebeat

Yeah I registered and got the downloadable manual for the MB14.

Dropthebeat

well my headshell is actually in perfect shape, i just thought they were a one piece system at first but it turns out the guy had the cartridge glued to the headshell. It came off pretty easy and the glue came off the headshell. So i guess i just need a new cartridge. The shure is about $80 so I guess ill order that.

Jhayman

Love the "S" shaped arms you refer and the tables, lol
To the OP Audio Technica has a nice cart AT95e for about $70 + your headshell and your under $100

mhardy6647 wrote: »

It should take the "universal" four pin bayonet mount headshell (pioneered by SME and subsequently adopted by a generation of Japanese massarket tts with "S" shaped arms).

Dropthebeat

mine is the half inch mount headshell, how do I go about knowing what will work with my headshell and what will NOT..

Dropthebeat

nevermind on the last question, I've found my answer. again thanks guys

mhardy6647

we're doin' a great job so far ;-)

For the record (heh)... any 1/2" mount cartridge, in principle, will work with your tt - in practice, the mass of the cartridge, the compliance (springiness) of the cantilever's suspension system, and the physical geometry of the cartridge means that they're not all 100% universally compatible with any given arm and headshell. Sticking with common big names should keep you in the game, though.

The alignment of the cartridge (or, more to the point, the location of the stylus relative to the groove of the record being played) isvery important to the overall performance and - indeed - to play a valuable record collection with no fear of damage from mistracking. The OM for the tt should give basic information on alignment -- if not, or if you want to get a notch more serious about alignment, download one of the recommended protractors from vinylengine, print it and follow the instructions provided with it to align your cartridge.

Dropthebeat

I went with the Grado black, read a lot of good things about it and decided to get that one.

Dropthebeat

SUCKKKS I really wanted to go home and get this baby going. It shall wait till monday !!

mhardy6647

:-( Sorry! It goes like that some times.

Alternatively, go to a good hardware store, buy some suitably small machine screws and nuts, and re-mount the original cartridge if the stylus and cantilever are OK ;-)

Dropthebeat

Well I got the micro seiki going today, absolutely flawless in its performance(as far as I know). Though I am currently running it with a audio technica 433e instead of the grado black that im still waiting on. I'm new to this so I have no clue as to how much more the audio will improve upon replacing the AT with the Grado. The vocals are very smooth and laid back the bass comes through pretty well no complaints yet.

What do you turntable people usually do about the dust covers? Mine is pretty rough looking and its the only thing on the tt that looks old .

Dropthebeat

correction it is a AT311ep...

agfrost

Dropthebeat wrote: »

What do you turntable people usually do about the dust covers? Mine is pretty rough looking and its the only thing on the tt that looks old .

Go to Audiokarma and head to the Turntables subforum there. There's a sticky on top with more advice than you'll need, and some pretty impressive before/after pictures.

Dropthebeat

I went and looked at the different ways people are buffing the scratches out , I'll take some before and after pictures and report back with my results . We shall see how this turns out later today