Vinyl Junkies …

Bill Brewster or the guy from groove armada - it was called music for pleasure and was a banging yacht rock mix.

Been on a bit of a reggae and dub 7" purchasing spree and took delivery of some Eek A mouse, Al Bell & Yabby You today. Many more to come.

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Coincidentally I had this delivered this morning!!

https://pressuresounds.bandcamp.com/album/conquering-lion-expanded

That all looks tremendous to me. The comments on the PS website suggest some of the LP tracks were on the Blood and Fire Yabby You thing that came many years ago. I remember that as brilliant.

I have listened to it a couple of times already and it is superb.

Excellent, a great album indeed!

...capacitance, how does it work?

Decided to buy a 1210 MK7, finally, and trying to figure out now which catridge to get.
It will only be used for listening, not for DJ-ing / scratching.
The audiophile thread already schooled me that I should be getting a moving magnet one within my budget.
I'm noticing different catridges prefer different ...capacitances (capacities?), and one might / should be keeping this in mind.

How exactly does this work?
I check the pF of the cables in the MK7's tonearm, and the pF of my RCA cable from the MK7 to my amp and that's it, basically (not using a dedicated phono-preamp, at least for now)?

Ps: and if any of you got a recommendation for a solid MM catridge below 250 or so I'm all ears.
Looking for something honest and clear sounding, without bells and whistles; best way I can describe it is "I like how Sennheiser HD-25 sound" - as in: they're not audiophile but pretty solid, sound quality wise, they're not really coloured but rather dry / neutral, still they don't sound boring, more like "understated but really nice".

Thanks for any input!
So far I'm looking at the Ortofon 520 MKII / VM Red, AT95 series, Concorde R 20, Goldring 1006..

Goldring would be a solid bet.

Nagaoka MP-110 worth a look; I've not used one but they have a decent reputation. Likewise Ortofon 2M Blue.

If you are using a fairly conventional MM cartridge into a phono stage built into an amp, I don't think capacitance should be an issue. Some phono stages allow adjustment to better match the cartridge output.

There's a bit too much importance placed on capacitance. There was an issue with a batch of 1200's because the hardwired cable had its capacitance increased hugely. I think they have phono sockets on the back now? There are lots of ways to test and analyse it if you enjoy that kind of thing. Just pick a cart and look for recommendations on the phono stage or ignore it all together!

Most of the MM carts in the £250 range depend heavily on the stylus profile. For that sort of money you can get microline/shibata or similar complex shapes.

I really like the MP-110, it's way under budget but it has a boxy sound and after a while that can be fatiguing. It's only an elliptical stylus. I thought it was best in it's £110 price range.

When I was looking at Goldring it seemed that the 1042 was the best pick and it's too much money for your budget (or mine). I want to try it next though.

The AT series is great but you don't like the sonic signature. The HD-25 tend to give a little prominence in lead guitar range. I like this too. All the AT carts I've measured are the opposite. I create an eq for my carts using a test record.

Thank you both for your feedback!

@Airhead ..yeah they have sockets now 👍

The AT series is great but you don't like the sonic signature. The HD-25 tend to give a little prominence in lead guitar range. I like this too. All the AT carts I've measured are the opposite.

..ha, funny you say that - I heard them a couple of times in person and then the reviews etc. on youTube - and I always thought they really do not sound bad, but there's definitely something missing here 🙂

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It's easy to say but you really need to find something that works in your entire system and pleases you. Personally I think the stylus profile is the most important part of the stylus choice. AT make some of the most affordable microline/shibata.

I've got one of the old AT95 carts with a paratrace stylus on it which I'm happy with.

https://theaudiofiles.co.uk/95p-paratrace-stylus-for-at95e-cartridge/

Not really advice but more for note, I picked up a very good condition SL1301 for £350, it's from 1979 and everything still works on it.

The turnable side is all electronically controlled, with quartz lock, and a strobe just to check.

The automatic tone arm side is all mechanically controlled, and works really well.

There's not a whole lot that can't be fixed on them that doesn't just boil down to cleaning and lubricating.

"Cogging" is imperceivable, and can't be observed on the strobe.

The Technics headshell is very light, easily the lightest for the money.

Regarding boxy bass, you might find if you're listening to something modern on the bass heavy side that a modern cartridge might be a bit on the bass heavy side for it, for example in Justices Planisphere there's some very low bass sounds that don't sound good through a Goldring E3 or Audio Technica ATN3600L but sounded great through a Goldring Elan.

Thanks for the feedback!
I'd rather buy new though, I did already spend enough time & money on used record players 🙂

@Airhead - thanks again!
..yea, ideally I'd go listen to a couple of catridges at some hifi shop or something if possible (actually I don't know of any store here that would actually be willing to do that) .. so likely that won't happen and I'll just order something that sounds like a good fit and just listen to that for a while and see how it works out 💁🏼

Sure, was really more a comment on Technics reliability and durability than anything else, it's not like the current 1210 it's a million miles away from the MK2, definitely more of an evolution than revolution. Ultimately I went for an automatic turnable because eliminating user error was a factor. Definitely don't currently have enough vinyl to justify spending £900+ on turnable (ask me next year).

It's still a synergy with your system and room kind of thing (plus the wallet!).

I don't like to just rely on internet reviews and recommendations but the ones I've followed on carts have been fine. There's no way I would try out more than a few over a number of years though.

Few more 7" delivered today. More Eek a mouse and some Max Romeo. That Max Romeo track has such a great vibe and was released a few years before I was born. Good to see he's still touring.

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Nice!! You probably already have it, but War Inna Babylon is a superb album if you are looking for some 12" Max Romeo vinyl.

It's on my growing list of purchases but not got it yet 😂

I don't like to just rely on internet reviews and recommendations but the ones I've followed on carts have been fine.

I did see a few good ones on youTube, mostly regarding the current 2M line by Ortofon though.

Do you happen to have experience with their Vinyl Master series?
The VM Red (aka 520 MKII) sounds like another good option.

It's still a synergy with your system and room kind of thing (plus the wallet!).

Ha.. yea, I was aware there are many variables at play, but to be honest it does make my head spin realizing how much those catridges / styli are actually shaping the sound 😅

@Airhead @Dogs , coincidentally i've been thinking about giving my SL1300 with an AT95E cartridge a bit of TLC. My amp and speakers are old and basic so i'm looking into replacing these in time but i was wandering if there's any benefit in treating myself to something like the Paratrace stylus or Goldring 1006 cartridge beforehand? Or would it make more sense replacing the original (and possibly slightly bent) stylus with the same unit until i have a new amp and speakers?

I know relatively little about hifi and to be honest a lot of my vinyl isn't in the best of condition so any tips would be much appreciated!

I think it's over egged. If you have a pile of dusty 45's and like to prance about of an evening spinning a few then a Stanton 500 is probably the best choice.

If you want to turn all the lights out and get lost in Aja you probably want a microline/shibata stylus profile.

A good elliptical like the MP110 will play all sorts and do no harm to your records. Ortofon Red/Black, AT95ML, Goldring 10xx are all slightly different and one or the other might suit your system or taste slightly better but none of them trounces the other.

Then you're into the high end and all bets are off. You can spend thousands and still be no happier because quality pressings don't grow on trees.

The AT95E is a bit of a special case because there are fakes and poorly made examples around. They can be damaged quite easily.

One big advantage of the Paratrace is that the stylus has been examined modified and checked by experts before being sent to you.

Aside from that the new version of the AT95E has been out for a couple of years and that might be a good place to start since the body can take any of the styli in the range so you can upgrade to microline/shibata later.

Also with the AT95E there's a few 3rd party options that get good reviews.

Probs amp and speakers first if you're not already in the land of diminishing returns. There's definitely some decent second hand bargains out there.

Also one thing you might consider to upgrade your 1300 is wiring some some interconnectors in as pretty much all of the ones that came hard wired in are garbage.