cartridge recommendations

jrdcesq · « **on:** 21 Jul 2004, 04:23 pm »

Hi:

I have a basically SOTA Nova turntable (started life as a star but has been upgraded by SOTA) with vacuum. I just bought a Graham 1.5t tonearm (which will likely be upgraded as well). I have a clearaudio aurum beta cartridge right now. I am would like to spend under $1000 on a cartridge. I have been looking on audiogon. There is a lot out there and I don't know where to begin. I am reluctant to go to dealers because I don't want to listen to a bunch of things and then buy on the internet... unless you think there are good new cartridges out there that gives most of the performance that you would get from a more expensive used cartridge. I would especially like to hear from people with a graham arm to see what matches best.

sorry for the long winded message. Any advice is greatly aprreciated.

thanks
JOhn

Carlman · « **Reply #1 on:** 21 Jul 2004, 07:40 pm »

I'm not sure what SOTA is but it sounds like you have a really nice turntable.

I was recently looking around and some trusted people recommended Shelter cartridges to me. I read reviews that remarked at how neutral they were. However, they were a bit out my range... but are in yours.

I'm quite pleased with the Dynavector 10x5 I bought, it works well on my Pro-Ject arm... Is there a style, weight, size, etc. that the Graham arm works well with?

Have you done any searching on AA for cartridges that might work well with the Graham arm? I have found the cart, arm, preamp combo has been a very important 'synergistic' match. (in that order)

Good luck,
Carl

Tonto Yoder · « **Reply #2 on:** 22 Jul 2004, 12:14 am »

Quote from: Carlman

I'm not sure what SOTA is but it sounds like you have a really nice turntable.

http://www.sotaturntables.com/

I'm not familiar with the Graham arm enough to give a recommendation, but wondered about trading in the Clearaudio cart on another Clearaudio further up the food chain??? (this assumes you don't mind giving up the existing cart).

WEEZ · « **Reply #3 on:** 22 Jul 2004, 01:47 am »

Do you wish to have low output or high?

WEEZ

Carlman · « **Reply #4 on:** 22 Jul 2004, 02:25 am »

Quote from: Tonto Yoder

Quote from: Carlman
I'm not sure what SOTA is but it sounds like you have a really nice turntable.

http://www.sotaturntables.com/

Anything that "utilizes a polished sapphire thrust plate with zirconium bearing" is way out of my league. Sounds like SOTA in the same ballpark as Teres... ?

Thanks for the link. Good luck with the cart... I agree that high or low output would be a good thing to know also...

DARTH AUDIO · « **Reply #5 on:** 22 Jul 2004, 03:03 am »

Shelter 501 MKII.. TAS said best cartridge under 1k. April/May 2004

http://www.10audio.com/Shel_501.htm

http://www.tnt-audio.com/sorgenti/shelter_501ii_e.html

DARTH AUDIO · « **Reply #6 on:** 22 Jul 2004, 03:03 am »

Shelter 501 MKII.. TAS said best cartridge under 1k. April/May 2004

http://www.10audio.com/Shel_501.htm

http://www.tnt-audio.com/sorgenti/shelter_501ii_e.html

mcrespo71 · « **Reply #7 on:** 22 Jul 2004, 03:26 am »

I heard it and didn't like it. It depends on your musical tastes- vocal and jazz- I'd say the Shelter is great.

Michael

GBB · « **Reply #8 on:** 22 Jul 2004, 10:57 am »

Hi,
The Graham arm will mate with a large number of cartridges. Different cartridges can give different sound so it would help to know a bit more about your system. Does you phono stage have enough gain for a MC cartridge? Would you decribe the current sound as warm and you need a nicely detailed cartridge or would you say you need something to warm up the sound a bit because its already too analytical?

Assuming that you can take MC cartridges, I've got experience with the following. In the roughly $500 range, I've found the Benz Gliders to be very listenable. A little bit cheaper and you can think about the Denon 103, a classic MC which still sounds great for around $300, if you can find one. I really like Koetsu cartridges but they definitely have a warm romantic sound. New ones are now really expensive but I've had reasonable luck picking up used samples for a better price. I got a used Koetsu Black on audiogon for $300 and love its sound. Going up in price, I recently heard a Zyx R-1000 and thought it sounded great but its probably between $1500 and $2000 new. It was playing in a Graham Robyn arm and did just about everything well. In a similar price range, the Lyra Helikon is a bit less romantic and sounds very good as well.

Hope this helps.
---Gary

SONUS DA50 · « **Reply #9 on:** 25 Jul 2004, 09:21 pm »

Hi! I recomended my MC cartridge The Benz Glider of low output,I´m very happy with them

Marbles · « **Reply #10 on:** 25 Jul 2004, 09:30 pm »

If it were me (and it was!), I would call Klaus Bunge of Odyssey Audio (317-299-5578).

He is now the Van Den Hul importer, but more importantly, he has available to him many REBUILT premium carts of many different makes and models.

You just might be able to get a $2-3000 rebuilt cart for your budget. Klaus has been in the business for around 15 years and his customer service is top notch.

hifitommy · « **Reply #11 on:** 1 Aug 2004, 07:44 pm »

wont make you unhappy. ruby cantilever, decent output, gorgeous sound. and its not that costly, try juki on ebay or juki@leonidasltd.com.

he is trustworthy and has a nice array of products.