[Spin Lps]

I need a new belt for my WTRP. I see NOS on eBay. Has anyone purchased one of these? Just curious on your experience.
Also, what catridge and phono preamp are you using. At one time, Grado was the go to cartridge for the older models. Is that still the case? Do the Dynavector cartridges preform better? A 10x5 would be stretching my budget.

[Apesbrain]

On the belt, this thread has some ideas:
https://www.audioasylum.com/cgi/vt.mpl?f=vinyl&m=972730

The cheap ones I see on ebay look too wide to me.  My original belt is no more than 1/8" wide and it is very thin.

I use a Benz ACE cartridge on mine, but they are no longer available.  The Dynavectors get good reviews and I'm sure the 10x5 is a good performer.  If you want to spend less, I'd suggest looking at the Ortofon OM series.  Many other options available here:
http://www.needledoctor.com/Online-Store/Phono-Cartridges

[Spin Lps]

Thanks for the reply. I understand some the aftermarket belts have speed issues. I wanted to see if anyone had recent experience replacing their belt. I have no interest in doing a conversion to the string belt.

As for cartridges,  I am familiar with the brands, but not necessarily how they sound on the WTRP.  Again, I'm looking for those with first hand experience and their observations. It appears most members here have the newer offerings from Well Tempered.  I am guessing the Simplex would be a latteral move.

Thanks

[Spin Lps]

Hey Apesbrain,
Your table looks great for its age. What mat are you using? How did it affect the sound? Do you use the record clamp with it?

[SteveFord]

I got tired of the platter speed being all over the place so I replaced my stock belts with one of the wide ones from eBay.
I'm told that the sound quality is degraded but if so it's better than Johnny Winter sounding like he weighed 500 pounds.

I use Ortofon 2M Black and Jolida JD-9 with JJ Tesla 12AX7 tubes on both of my Well Tempereds with good results.

[Spin Lps]

Hi Steve,
Thank you for your post!

[Apesbrain]

Hey Apesbrain,
Your table looks great for its age. What mat are you using? How did it affect the sound? Do you use the record clamp with it?

Thanks. The felt mat is just a dust cover; I play my LPs directly​ on the bare platter.  I use the stock, screw-on clamp.

[Whitespider]

I purchased one of the NOS belts last year and the belt I received was in excellent condition.  Inspection under a microscope showed the belt being supple without any signs of drying or cracks.  I actually own the kit for changing the pulley to string drive but wanted to keep the WTRP going with a new belt to get a feel for the sound with a new belt before changing to string drive.  The new belt improved the sound over the worn out one that I still haven't changed to string drive.

I have used a Garrott P77 with an original stylus as well as a ruby cantilever Soundsmith replacement.  I presently am running a Soundsmith SMMC2 (Boheme).  I highly recommend the Soundsmith cartridges and also their rebuilding work.

My WTRP has been a reliable unit that does a fine job of drawing me into the music.  Before the WTRP I was using a Micro Sekei BL-99 with a Souther linear tonearm.  I still own the Micro, but I actually enjoy the WTRP more.  I was able to get my mint WTRP in a trade for the Souther tonearm which is an outstanding tonearm.  But I now just play my turntable and enjoy the music.

[Spin Lps]

Hi Whitespider,
I will order one of the NOS belts. Thanks for your response and experience!