Phono Cartridges - Your favorites and least favorites?

Angsty said:
www.audio-technica.com

AT-VM95C

This VM95 Series cartridge with 0.6 mil conical stylus fits half-inch mount turntables. The cartridge’s special coil design delivers a powerful output level of 4.0 mV. It also offers excelle ...
www.audio-technica.com www.audio-technica.com
Click to expand...
Thanks, man. I like the review comment that notes this cartridge’s “pulchrat
Angsty said:
www.audio-technica.com

AT-VM95C

This VM95 Series cartridge with 0.6 mil conical stylus fits half-inch mount turntables. The cartridge’s special coil design delivers a powerful output level of 4.0 mV. It also offers excelle ...
www.audio-technica.com www.audio-technica.com
Click to expand...
Like the comment that notes it’s “pulchritudinous “. 😜
 
OMC said:
Any recommendations for a modest replacement cartridge will be appreciated. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Joe Mac said:
If you wanted to stick with goldring I believe the top 2 of their E series MMs review well. I believe @AnthonyI had and liked the E3 and they’ve since added another level up with the E4.
Click to expand...
I second the E3, very good cartridge
And, $89 from Juno records in the UK
www.juno.co.uk

Goldring E3 Moving Magnet Hi-Fi Cartridge & Stylus (single) at Juno Records.

Buy Goldring E3 Moving Magnet Hi-Fi Cartridge & Stylus (single) at Juno Records. In stock now for same-day shipping.
www.juno.co.uk
 
Last edited:
As I posted up thread, I’m running my Joseph Long retipped Grado Gold3 again. I bought a Baerwald arc protractor from the Vinyl Source and it arrived yesterday. I spent some time with it and learned a few things.

The MoFi Geo Disc is very close. The Vinyl Source is perfection. The Geo Disc matched the Viinyl Source on the outer grid of the Vinyl Source. The inner grid was off-maybe 1 mm. I got both grids to align and the stylus to track the arc perfectly. The VS also has a tad more offset than the MoFi- the cartridge is slanted a bit more towards the inside than before.

When one aspect of cartridge setup is changed, the rest should be rechecked. I pulled out my Fozgometer to check azimuth and channel balance. I found I was able to get an improvement just by using the wiggle room between the headshell collar pin and the arm. In fact, channel balance is perfect.

So I pulled out my HiFi News and Record Review test record to check tracking ability. The Grado can now track the +18 db band with only the slightest bit of instability. This is a true torture track cut way hotter than any LP I can think of save maybe the cannons on the Telarc 1812. And it’s cut closest to the label- the most difficult combination. The Grado would just skip over the grooves at 1.65 grams before. Bumped up to 1.9 grams, it could barely track it. Now at 1.65 grams it tracks it really well. Not perfectly, but much closer- far better than some other cartridges I’ve tried with that track on different turntables.

What I’ve learned:

I’ve been aligning to Baerwald for 40 years now. I’ve tried other alignments but always end up with Baerwald. IMO, it tracks best and sounds best. It also gives the lowest distortion on average across the entire playing surface.

The MoFi Geo Disc can get the alignment super close and certainly good enough for most. An arc protractor is required for perfect alignment.

People slam Grados as generally poor trackers-they aren’t but require extra care for proper setup. Actually the same care should go into setting up any cartridge.

The difference between close and perfect is audible. Not night and day, but noticeable.

An arc protector is a bit fussy and frustrating to use initially, but it gets easier with practice. I had the alignment dialed in today in 15 minutes. My first time with an arc protractor took an hour.

My hotrod Gold 3 is staying in place for the foreseeable future.
 
HiFi Guy said:
As I posted up thread, I’m running my Joseph Long retipped Grado Gold3 again. I bought a Baerwald arc protractor from the Vinyl Source and it arrived yesterday. I spent some time with it and learned a few things.

The MoFi Geo Disc is very close. The Vinyl Source is perfection. The Geo Disc matched the Viinyl Source on the outer grid of the Vinyl Source. The inner grid was off-maybe 1 mm. I got both grids to align and the stylus to track the arc perfectly. The VS also has a tad more offset than the MoFi- the cartridge is slanted a bit more towards the inside than before.

When one aspect of cartridge setup is changed, the rest should be rechecked. I pulled out my Fozgometer to check azimuth and channel balance. I found I was able to get an improvement just by using the wiggle room between the headshell collar pin and the arm. In fact, channel balance is perfect.

So I pulled out my HiFi News and Record Review test record to check tracking ability. The Grado can now track the +18 db band with only the slightest bit of instability. This is a true torture track cut way hotter than any LP I can think of save maybe the cannons on the Telarc 1812. And it’s cut closest to the label- the most difficult combination. The Grado would just skip over the grooves at 1.65 grams before. Bumped up to 1.9 grams, it could barely track it. Now at 1.65 grams it tracks it really well. Not perfectly, but much closer- far better than some other cartridges I’ve tried with that track on different turntables.

What I’ve learned:

I’ve been aligning to Baerwald for 40 years now. I’ve tried other alignments but always end up with Baerwald. IMO, it tracks best and sounds best. It also gives the lowest distortion on average across the entire playing surface.

The MoFi Geo Disc can get the alignment super close and certainly good enough for most. An arc protractor is required for perfect alignment.

People slam Grados as generally poor trackers-they aren’t but require extra care for proper setup. Actually the same care should go into setting up any cartridge.

The difference between close and perfect is audible. Not night and day, but noticeable.

An arc protector is a bit fussy and frustrating to use initially, but it gets easier with practice. I had the alignment dialed in today in 15 minutes. My first time with an arc protractor took an hour.

My hotrod Gold 3 is staying in place for the foreseeable future.
Click to expand...
Sounds great. I could not get an arc protractor made for my turntable as Luxman does not publish the required specs. 🫤
 
Angsty said:
Sounds great. I could not get an arc protractor made for my turntable as Luxman does not publish the required specs. 🫤
Click to expand...
This is the best I can come up with. I’m not sure if VS needs the pivot to spindle distance or if they can extrapolate it. If this is enough, they can custom make one for you. They are really well made.

IMG_2771.png

Custom Protractor
 
HiFi Guy said:
As I posted up thread, I’m running my Joseph Long retipped Grado Gold3 again. I bought a Baerwald arc protractor from the Vinyl Source and it arrived yesterday. I spent some time with it and learned a few things.

The MoFi Geo Disc is very close. The Vinyl Source is perfection. The Geo Disc matched the Viinyl Source on the outer grid of the Vinyl Source. The inner grid was off-maybe 1 mm. I got both grids to align and the stylus to track the arc perfectly. The VS also has a tad more offset than the MoFi- the cartridge is slanted a bit more towards the inside than before.

When one aspect of cartridge setup is changed, the rest should be rechecked. I pulled out my Fozgometer to check azimuth and channel balance. I found I was able to get an improvement just by using the wiggle room between the headshell collar pin and the arm. In fact, channel balance is perfect.

So I pulled out my HiFi News and Record Review test record to check tracking ability. The Grado can now track the +18 db band with only the slightest bit of instability. This is a true torture track cut way hotter than any LP I can think of save maybe the cannons on the Telarc 1812. And it’s cut closest to the label- the most difficult combination. The Grado would just skip over the grooves at 1.65 grams before. Bumped up to 1.9 grams, it could barely track it. Now at 1.65 grams it tracks it really well. Not perfectly, but much closer- far better than some other cartridges I’ve tried with that track on different turntables.

What I’ve learned:

I’ve been aligning to Baerwald for 40 years now. I’ve tried other alignments but always end up with Baerwald. IMO, it tracks best and sounds best. It also gives the lowest distortion on average across the entire playing surface.

The MoFi Geo Disc can get the alignment super close and certainly good enough for most. An arc protractor is required for perfect alignment.

People slam Grados as generally poor trackers-they aren’t but require extra care for proper setup. Actually the same care should go into setting up any cartridge.

The difference between close and perfect is audible. Not night and day, but noticeable.

An arc protector is a bit fussy and frustrating to use initially, but it gets easier with practice. I had the alignment dialed in today in 15 minutes. My first time with an arc protractor took an hour.

My hotrod Gold 3 is staying in place for the foreseeable future.
Click to expand...
I bought the VS protractor a while back.
Super nice product.
I had no idea what method they were baselined but it seems to take the technics 90% good and dial it in.
 
Jbraswell said:
I bought the VS protractor a while back.
Super nice product.
I had no idea what method they were baselined but it seems to take the technics 90% good and dial it in.
Click to expand...
They make them for both the Technics alignment (similar but not identical to Stevenson) and Baerwald. I now have both.

I can say that I’ve listened to music for much of the day and I’m thrilled with the results I’ve been able to achieve.

The Deutsche Grammophon Original Source of Smetana’s “Ma Vlast” has side 4 cut insanely close to the label. There’s less than 1/4” of dead wax. Even though side 4 ends with a monster crescendo, the realigned Grado sailed right through.

I’ve got 3 albums I know of with sibilance that’ll rip your head off- two of which are original first generation MoFis. I’ll have to check those to see how the Grado fares now.
 
HiFi Guy said:
This is the best I can come up with. I’m not sure if VS needs the pivot to spindle distance or if they can extrapolate it. If this is enough, they can custom make one for you. They are really well made.

View attachment 185505

Custom Protractor
Click to expand...
Thanks - the guy at VS said he needed the offset angle. I’ve written to Luxman to see if I can get full specs for the protractor.
 
HiFi Guy said:
They make them for both the Technics alignment (similar but not identical to Stevenson) and Baerwald. I now have both.

I can say that I’ve listened to music for much of the day and I’m thrilled with the results I’ve been able to achieve.

The Deutsche Grammophon Original Source of Smetana’s “Ma Vlast” has side 4 cut insanely close to the label. There’s less than 1/4” of dead wax. Even though side 4 ends with a monster crescendo, the realigned Grado sailed right through.

I’ve got 3 albums I know of with sibilance that’ll rip your head off- two of which are original first generation MoFis. I’ll have to check those to see how the Grado fares now.
Click to expand...
Do you have a link for the alternate?

I bought this one but it's not specifying a method.

www.thevinylsource.co.uk

Arc Protractor for Technics SL-1200G/GR/GLE/GLD/LTD/GAE SL-1210GR/SL-Qx series | vinyl

For sale, a high precision arc protractor for cartridge alignment.This protractor is made of 3mm High Glossy Black Acrylic Perspex, high-precision laser cut and engraved.The arc protractor is the most accurate protractors for cartridge alignment; this one is designed for the following Technics...
www.thevinylsource.co.uk www.thevinylsource.co.uk
 
Jbraswell said:
Do you have a link for the alternate?

I bought this one but it's not specifying a method.

www.thevinylsource.co.uk

Arc Protractor for Technics SL-1200G/GR/GLE/GLD/LTD/GAE SL-1210GR/SL-Qx series | vinyl

For sale, a high precision arc protractor for cartridge alignment.This protractor is made of 3mm High Glossy Black Acrylic Perspex, high-precision laser cut and engraved.The arc protractor is the most accurate protractors for cartridge alignment; this one is designed for the following Technics...
www.thevinylsource.co.uk www.thevinylsource.co.uk
Click to expand...
I've got the same one, I'd been using just the jig, which has been working fine, but decided to grab the protractor to double check, they match every time. This protractor, I believe, mirrors what the jig represents, which is 1200's alignment, which, is unique. If you look at the numbers on the protractor and compare, you'll see they're kind of off on their own.

Baerwald - 66.0mm / 120.9mm
  • Attempts to make the distortion even across the entire record
Stevenson - 30.325mm / 117.42mm
  • Attempts to minimize inner groove distortion
Loefgren Alignment - 70.3mm / 116.6mm
  • Attempts to minimize distortion across the entire record

I've been happy sticking with the manufacturer's physics. ;)
 
AnthonyI said:
I've got the same one, I'd been using just the jig, which has been working fine, but decided to grab the protractor to double check, they match every time. This protractor, I believe, mirrors what the jig represents, which is 1200's alignment, which, is unique. If you look at the numbers on the protractor and compare, you'll see they're kind of off on their own.

Baerwald - 66.0mm / 120.9mm
  • Attempts to make the distortion even across the entire record
Stevenson - 30.325mm / 117.42mm
  • Attempts to minimize inner groove distortion
Loefgren Alignment - 70.3mm / 116.6mm
  • Attempts to minimize distortion across the entire record

I've been happy sticking with the manufacturer's physics. ;)
Click to expand...
Are those null points?

Yeah I was curious to see. I have no reason to change at this point but always trying to learn a bit more.
 
Jbraswell said:
Do you have a link for the alternate?

I bought this one but it's not specifying a method.

www.thevinylsource.co.uk

Arc Protractor for Technics SL-1200G/GR/GLE/GLD/LTD/GAE SL-1210GR/SL-Qx series | vinyl

For sale, a high precision arc protractor for cartridge alignment.This protractor is made of 3mm High Glossy Black Acrylic Perspex, high-precision laser cut and engraved.The arc protractor is the most accurate protractors for cartridge alignment; this one is designed for the following Technics...
www.thevinylsource.co.uk www.thevinylsource.co.uk
Click to expand...

www.thevinylsource.co.uk

Arc Protractor for Technics SL-1200G/GR/GLE/GLD/LTD/GAE SL-1210GR/SL-Qx BAERWALD | vinyl

For sale, a high-precision arc protractor for cartridge alignment.This protractor is made of 3mm High Glossy Black Acrylic Perspex, high-precision laser cut and engraved. THIS PROTRACTOR ISN'T FOLLOWING THE TECHNICS GEOMETRY BUT IS MODIFIED TO ACHIEVE THE BEARWALD/LOFGREN-A NULL POINTS!!! The...
www.thevinylsource.co.uk www.thevinylsource.co.uk
 
HiFi Guy said:
www.thevinylsource.co.uk

Arc Protractor for Technics SL-1200G/GR/GLE/GLD/LTD/GAE SL-1210GR/SL-Qx BAERWALD | vinyl

For sale, a high-precision arc protractor for cartridge alignment.This protractor is made of 3mm High Glossy Black Acrylic Perspex, high-precision laser cut and engraved. THIS PROTRACTOR ISN'T FOLLOWING THE TECHNICS GEOMETRY BUT IS MODIFIED TO ACHIEVE THE BEARWALD/LOFGREN-A NULL POINTS!!! The...
www.thevinylsource.co.uk www.thevinylsource.co.uk
Click to expand...

Might be tempted by the one of these they make for my table. A bit of an upgrade from the paper one that came with it!
 
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