#1 Good, Cheap Cartridges
Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2020 4:22 pm
Was prompted to start this list, after receiving yesterday, an E2 replacement needle for my Goldring E-Series, MM cartridge. The E2 is in the middle of the range and is equipped with a 0.6mm conical stylus.
https://shop.mantra-audio.co.uk/acatalo ... tml#SID=18
I’d had the time honoured mishap with the Goldring cart, in E3 (elliptical) guise, of catching the sleeve of my jumper on the underside of the body and had ripped out the cantilever assembly from the cart.
There were a few choice words.
I bought the cheaper conical stylus assembly, because I no longer trust myself either to exactly align a cartridge, or to handle one consistently without some incident occurring sooner or later. My manual dexterity and eyesight are not what they were, so the days of Ortofon Rondo Bronzes and the like, are now gone.
Cutting to the chase: The E2 and the SME 3009 S2 imp, are an excellent match. The conical stylus gives a smooth, easy, soulful, sound, with plenty of weight and a wide soundscape.
At the ends of record sides, the presentation does get softer, as one would expect, but all that means in practice, is that everything smooths out even more, rather than getting coarse. There are no nasty surprises, such as mis-tracking, congestion or sibilance at the inner grooves; which’ll do for me. In actual fact, the tracking is better with this stylus than with the elliptical. It’s up with the AT VM540ML in that department, so no complaints there.
The sins of the E2 cartridge are of omission rather than commission, the E2 being warm, full, weighty and disarmingly musical in its approach to the signal in the groove, rather than being forensic and analytical.
The conical stylus plays my old 1950s and 60s original mono and stereo LPs, way better than anything else I’ve used, which is nice. Surface noise on old records is very low, and the green coloured stylus assembly looks cool.
Anyone else got a favourite cheap cartridge?
https://shop.mantra-audio.co.uk/acatalo ... tml#SID=18
I’d had the time honoured mishap with the Goldring cart, in E3 (elliptical) guise, of catching the sleeve of my jumper on the underside of the body and had ripped out the cantilever assembly from the cart.
There were a few choice words.I bought the cheaper conical stylus assembly, because I no longer trust myself either to exactly align a cartridge, or to handle one consistently without some incident occurring sooner or later. My manual dexterity and eyesight are not what they were, so the days of Ortofon Rondo Bronzes and the like, are now gone.
Cutting to the chase: The E2 and the SME 3009 S2 imp, are an excellent match. The conical stylus gives a smooth, easy, soulful, sound, with plenty of weight and a wide soundscape.
At the ends of record sides, the presentation does get softer, as one would expect, but all that means in practice, is that everything smooths out even more, rather than getting coarse. There are no nasty surprises, such as mis-tracking, congestion or sibilance at the inner grooves; which’ll do for me. In actual fact, the tracking is better with this stylus than with the elliptical. It’s up with the AT VM540ML in that department, so no complaints there.
The sins of the E2 cartridge are of omission rather than commission, the E2 being warm, full, weighty and disarmingly musical in its approach to the signal in the groove, rather than being forensic and analytical.
The conical stylus plays my old 1950s and 60s original mono and stereo LPs, way better than anything else I’ve used, which is nice. Surface noise on old records is very low, and the green coloured stylus assembly looks cool.
Anyone else got a favourite cheap cartridge?
