Cartridges for WTA?

ghunter · « **on:** 24 Feb 2010, 04:17 am »

I've been very happy with my Shelter 501 mk2 on my Amadeus GTA. The Denon DL-103R just didn't do it for me with this table - it sounded brittle and thin. I have a low output Grado that's waiting in the wings but I'm just so thrilled with the Shelter it's still sitting on my desk.

Anyone else care to weigh in with their choice in cartridge?

SteveFord · « **Reply #1 on:** 27 Feb 2010, 02:50 pm »

I have an older Well Tempered and I couldn't be happier with the Ortofon 2M Black.

VSV · « **Reply #2 on:** 28 Feb 2010, 03:23 am »

Great to have a site for this superb table. I actually anticipate auditioning a bunh of cartridges later this month at my local dealer. I told him I'd give him a non-refundable deposit if he would order a few carts for me to audition. I anticipate ordering the 17d3, Shelter 501, Lyra Dorian and Lyra Delos.

I used to own the 17d2 (among other carts- my fave has been the DV Te Kaitora Rua, but I digress) and frankly did not like it. The shelter is recommended by my dealer and the Lyra's were recommended by WTL when I called New Zealand.

To be faithful to his advice though WTL recommended the DV carts first then the Lyra line. It'll be exciting to hear the possibilities of the new Delos cartridge in particular.

Triode Pete · « **Reply #3 on:** 2 Mar 2010, 12:18 am »

I heard that the Well Tempered table work very well with Grado cartridges. I use a Grado Reference Sonata with my WT Classic.

j beede · « **Reply #4 on:** 3 Oct 2010, 04:58 pm »

Quote from: VSV on 28 Feb 2010, 03:23 am

Great to have a site for this superb table. I actually anticipate auditioning a bunh of cartridges later this month at my local dealer. I told him I'd give him a non-refundable deposit if he would order a few carts for me to audition. I anticipate ordering the 17d3, Shelter 501, Lyra Dorian and Lyra Delos.

I used to own the 17d2 (among other carts- my fave has been the DV Te Kaitora Rua, but I digress) and frankly did not like it. The shelter is recommended by my dealer and the Lyra's were recommended by WTL when I called New Zealand.

To be faithful to his advice though WTL recommended the DV carts first then the Lyra line. It'll be exciting to hear the possibilities of the new Delos cartridge in particular.

So WTL/Dynavector recommended DV... Hmmmm, I wonder why that might be

Years ago JAT had the DV Ruby for $130 plus shipping from Tokyo. Wish I had bought a case of them. FYI: Grado RefPlat is producing more surface noise then expected in my WT classic rig. I am still working on it.

richard_ · « **Reply #5 on:** 1 Dec 2010, 07:59 pm »

hiya, I use a Miyabi standard

its quite a rare cart but very musical and unselfconcious

I find it works very very well in the WTA

TerryO · « **Reply #6 on:** 29 Dec 2010, 03:13 am »

Grado "Silver" here.

Best Regards,
TerryO

roscoeiii · « **Reply #7 on:** 19 Jul 2011, 10:40 pm »

Just wanted to refresh this thread to get some more cart feedback from WTA owners. Will be comparing an Ortofon 540, and a Shure M91 with JICO SAS stylus shortly, and will report back my findings. As soon as I settle on a phono stage...

doak · « **Reply #8 on:** 29 Jul 2011, 02:01 am »

I'm using the WTA with a London Decca Super Gold cartridge - the "livest" sounding phono cartridge I've ever encountered. I bought the WTA specifically to use with this cart since it puts a substantial amount of energy into the tonearm. The WTA arm damps the resonances wonderfully and lets it sing. It is a near perfect match.

Doak

mark1965 · « **Reply #9 on:** 30 Jul 2011, 06:14 am »

I plan on using my Denon DL A100 initially, but am also interested in the Decca.
Sounds like it might be a very interesting combo with the Amadeus.

gagamut · « **Reply #10 on:** 4 Aug 2011, 03:10 pm »

Hi mark,i'm using the Denon 103R with my WT reference before,but i thing it's not match.but now i'm using WT Amadeus GT,so i don't is it match.

doak · « **Reply #11 on:** 4 Aug 2011, 03:24 pm »

Here's a link to the Decca London Club on the Lenco board:

http://www.lencoheaven.net/forum/index.php?topic=545.0

Best info on the carts. I am not the only one who has found close to nirvana with the Well Tempered and Decca London combo.

Enjoy,
Doak

Gopher · « **Reply #12 on:** 18 Sep 2011, 02:51 am »

Reading the limited information in this forum, it seems that the standard Denon DL-103 is not a great mate with the Amadeus...

Has anyone tried (or care to speculate) how a Denon DL-103D would fare on the Simplex or Amadeus? Its a higher compliance cartridge and a whole other beast SQ wise then the 103.

It isn't the most lively of cartridge--similar to a Koetsu in terms of being laid back, which left things a tad dull though beautiful on my Well Tempered Reference--from what I've read, it sounds like the Simplex and Amadeus have more life to them intrinsically though.

Thoughts?

roscoeiii · « **Reply #13 on:** 18 Sep 2011, 02:55 am »

Don't recall where I saw this, but I think somewhere I read mention that the Zu or a Denon 103 with greater mass worked better with the WTA.

Gopher · « **Reply #14 on:** 18 Sep 2011, 03:23 am »

Quote from: roscoeiii on 18 Sep 2011, 02:55 am

Don't recall where I saw this, but I think somewhere I read mention that the Zu or a Denon 103 with greater mass worked better with the WTA.

Extraordinarily frustrating to read! I screwed up this morning, unmounting my beloved Zu 103 Grade 2 cartridge from my Well Tempered Reference as the table was going to a new owner. While putting the cartridge back in the protective box, my thumb slipped and I snapped the damn cantilever.

doak · « **Reply #15 on:** 18 Sep 2011, 03:26 am »

Ohhhhhh....Aww.....

Hate when that happens ... And it has to me also.

Doak

Goatguy · « **Reply #16 on:** 8 Dec 2011, 02:26 pm »

Hi. New to the this group. I started with a Dynavector 20x2H and used the phono section on my upgraded Onkyo PR/SC 5508. It sounded very good. I dropped a Heed Quasar pre-amp in last night. Pretty huge difference without any burn-in time on the Heed.

Update. My Oppo 95 upgraded player stomped the above configuration so I moved to an EAR 834P upgraded phono stage and an Ortofon Cadenza Black. This combo has put the Oppo below the vinyl playback quality. I would say the Cad. Black is very nice on the WTA. It likes a little less dampening than the DV20X2. I also got a Fozgometer for setting the azmith and it is a piece of cake to dial dead on.

mgsboedmisodpc2 · « **Reply #17 on:** 10 Dec 2011, 07:10 pm »

I use a denon 103R wth Graham Slee Reflex M and Denon AU-300LC step and after resodering the white tonearm cable cable after not being gentle enough I decided not to swap carts and instead enjoy the current setup with maybe a step up change in the future to a GRAHAM SLEE - ELEVATOR MC STEP UP or a Bobs Devices Stepup

roscoeiii · « **Reply #18 on:** 10 Dec 2011, 07:21 pm »

mgsboedmisodpc2 (not even going to try to pronounce that one),

I have heard mixed reviews of the Denon 103 and 103R on the WTA. A lot of folks tend to mod these carts with a heavier wood or aluminum body. Zu and Soundsmith both offer tweaked Denons built like this (IIRC), but you can also buy metal or wood bodies and perform the mod yourself.

roscoeiii · « **Reply #19 on:** 10 Dec 2011, 07:23 pm »

I just pulled the trigger on a SoundSmith SMMC4 MI cart, to tide me over as I await a rebuild of a Dyna XX-2 cart from Soundsmith. Will post impressions when I am able. At present, my fave is a Shure M91ED with a Jico SAS. But I haven't explored beyond the $1-200 range just yet.