[rudy99]

i am deciding between a grado prestige gold 1 or silver 1,, or a goldring 1006, if that would deliver more bass and punch as long as it is not muffled,     which is more detailed and which has more bass punch and would be better for speedy rock?
   
  i almost went for a mc denon 103 R  or regular 103 ,, or the classic 110,,, but im not that farmiliar with mc carts and i thought i had read that they were usually extra bright or more detailed  and geared toward the high end?
     which denon would be best for rock and have most  punch?

  and is there really a difference between the gold and silver grado sound? and  really a diff betweent hte denon 103 and 103R?????

thanks i need good recommendations

[bunnyma357]

I had a Goldring 1012 that came with my Musichall TT, I really liked the sound and primarily listened to rock - I happily used it for 4 years. My only complaint was that there was a sense of "congestion" in the upper midrange during complex segments where all the instruments would seem to smear together compared to the detailed bass and treble.

I've since moved on to a Ortofon MC cartridge that is more detailed, but not what I would call bright (although it was harsh out of the box and took a few weeks to break in).

I've no experience with the Grado's so I can't offer any comparison.

Jim C

[Wayner]

I can vouch for the Grado Gold (modded) and the Audio Technica AT440MLa. Both track very well and work with many types of music, but love a challenge.

Wayner 

[WGH]

Your cartridge choice also depends on the tone arm. The Grado and Goldring with their high compliance (16-20mm/N) work best in low to medium mass tone arms. The Denon's compliance is 5 x 10-6 cm/dyne will work best in a medium/high mass arm.

I haven't heard a Goldring 1006 but do use a Goldring 1042 in a low mass arm and it is always musical. The Goldring also has low surface noise so I can confidently buy used records knowing the ticks and scratches will minimally intrude on my listening pleasure. I recently spent an afternoon listening to records with an AC member. We played a short game of stump the listener since the turntable and albums are in an adjoining room nobody can see what I am picking out. I was asked a question after I put on the second album: "Is this a CD?" (it was vinyl), which demonstrates how quiet and dynamic the Goldring 1042 is.

The two main problems with the 1042 is the price and the Gyger S tip which is sensitive to VTA. If your arm does not have a height adjustment then I would not recommend the Goldring 1042.

The best price for Goldrings is at Origin Live.

Wayne   

[TONEPUB]

One of my favorite rock cartridges is the Shelter 501.  A little bit on the warm side which helps most rock recordings, yet still plenty of punch.

[Stu Pitt]

My album collections is pretty much all classic rock, newer stuff, and 90s alternative.  I run a Dynavector 10x5.  Speed, precision, and cleanliness.  It does everything right to my ears.

The only thing people criticize about it is bass.  It goes deep and is very controlled, but its not the first thing you notice.  After listening to it for about 2 years now, I think most other stuff in its range sounds a bit overblown.  Everyone's ears are different.  I also tried a wooden Grado and Goldring in the same price range during the audition.  All carts were broken in, and the 10x5 easily beat them all out to my ears. It wasn't very close.  Different tables, tonearms, and phonostages give different results, so everyone's milage will vary.  I use a Pro-Ject 1Xpression w/ Speed Box 2 and Pro-Ject acrylic platter.

The Linn Adikt is an excellent cartridge that rocks out and has a bigger bass presence.  I liked the 10x5 better side by side, but I could see people prefering the Adikt.

The 10x5 is a high output MC.  It works very well with my internal MM stage in my Bryston B60.  I think most high output MCs don't give MM stages too many problems.  Others will probably be far more knowledgable about that than I.

[jrtrent]

From past posts, it seems you considered Audio Technica, Thorens, and Rega models to replace a turntable you weren't happy with, but I don't know what you ended up getting.

Provided you have a suitable deck and arm, I'll second Wayner's recommendations of the AT440MLa and Grado.  I've always found the AT a great pop/rock oriented cartridge, especially if you like it loud.  In my system it was a bit lean for softer chamber works, but cranked up for rock it was very dynamic with well-sorted rhythms and clean, articulate bass.  On the other hand, Grado, at least on my LP12/Ittok, was great for softer chamber works, but didn't impress me for other types of music.  This opinion changed once I heard it on the damped arm of a Well Tempered.  And the Longhorn version offered by Audio by Van Alstine turned the Grado Green1 into a great all-round cartridge even on my Linn, outperforming a Statement Platinum in that arm (the Platinum resides happily on the WTRP).

If you ended up with a Rega that has an arm that can accommodate 3-bolt mounting, I would recommend the Elys 2 cartridge.

[royphil345]

I heard a rip done with the Denon DL-160 and it's not what I expected at all. Sounded very balanced, with a slight rolloff of the lows and highs, similar to a DL-103, but with maybe slightly more subdued detail, still sounded "transparent". Bet it tracks better than the DL-103 in some cases. I got rid of my DL-103 because in the end, there were just some things it couldn't track cleanly... on my tonearm anyway. I've been very tempted to try a DL-160 after hearing that rip and probably will eventually. If I can find it, I'll post it. But, it was awhile back and I'm not sure if I saved it or if I can figure out where I got it from.

I finally got my 440MLa to sound good. But, I still think it's a bit on the "lean" side and I enjoy sitting back and listening to my vintage AT13 carts or Ortofon Blue better most of the time. A little less detail and rolled-off frequency extremes, but a little more "meat".

Here's my AT13Ea with some rock. Both my 13 series carts require a lot of capacitance to bring them to life. Maybe a bit too much here. I have some plugs and various capacitor values coming in the mail to try and tweak a little further...

http://www.4shared.com/file/WHCZcAxC/AT13Ea_and_Jolida.html