Cartridges for a Well Tempered Turntable
John Procyk
and would like to determine the best "affordable" (about $400)
cartridge for the table. The Grado Reference Platinum and Semiko
Blue Point Special have been a few of the cartridges that have been
suggested to me. I would like to get some other ideas/suggestions
from Well Tempered Table owners as to what they are using or have
heard is compatible or not so compatible. Thanks for your help.
John
Todd Warnke
The US distributor for Dynavector, Mike Pranka at Toffco Electronics, uses a
Well Tempered. As you would guess, he feels the combo is yummy. I'm sure
he could give you some suggestions. His e-mail is pra...@i1.net .
Todd Warnke
Bill Stephens
the Clearaudio cartridges for about 10 years and am very pleased with them.
I used the fairly low priced Clearaudio Gamma years ago with the Well
Tempered arm and liked the results. I now use a Clearaudio Pradikat with an
ET 2.5 on the Well Tempered with Black Damped Platter and the sound in my
opinion is exceptional. I've found these cartridges to track well, last a
long time, have about 0.6 mV output, and sound superb.
My recollection is that the Clearaudio uses a somewhat different design that
places the coils on each side of the cantilever pivot rather than both coils
opposite the stylus. I heard, years ago, that these cartridges do use a
different elastomer (or none - I can't recall the details) to mount/suspend
the cantilever inside the cartridge. The story goes that the cartridge life
is thus less dependent on the suspension with this method and that the
ultimate life of the cartridge is more in line with the life of the diamond
stylus. In any event, my Pradikat is 8 years old and going strong (I use
LAST with each play) and still sounds superb, though I don't play records
non-stop.
I don't know what you can get a current Gamma for. I believe they list for
about $700. I'm sure you can get one for less than this, though I don't know
what the current market is for one.
Good Luck,
Bill Stephens
GStew
>ET 2.5 on the Well Tempered with Black Damped Platter
>and the sound in my opinion is exceptional.
Interesting. I thought I was the only person in the world using an
ET-2.5 on a WTT. I love that combination... I've been through several
TT's since 1987 trying to find an optimum platform for the ET that I
can afford... the Oracle Delphi didn't support the ET's weight
well... the Elite Rock (that I owned) had some speed stability
problems... the VPI didn't have the spark of life the Oracle and
Elite Rock both endowed upon the music... now the WTT gives me the
best of all worlds!
I've got a Black Damped Platter and have tried it, but I still prefer
my original platter with a layer of Sorbothane stuck to the bottom
for damping and a Warren Gehl platter mat ($500 or so new!!!) for the
record interface... very non-resonant yet very dynamic.
I have damped and rewired my arm some and use a damped Bluepoint (not
Special). I like this combo much more than I suspect I should... I am
always embarrassed to admit what cartridge I have, but it allows me
to enjoy the music (for now).
Have you done any other mods to your combo? Considered the
Fountainhead base?
Later!
Greg Stewart
Pete
One of the nice things about the WT arm is that it works well with
most cartridges. The Benz Glider works well on both the Record Player
and Reference Arm (never heard it on the Classic arm). The Stanton
CS100 sounds very dynamic and overall does a decent job for very
little money with WT arms. I have a Roksan Chorus Black on my WT
Referenece arm and it generally works well although large orchestral
peaks on a few well recorded records causes some distortion (I think
this is the cartridge not the arm or setup).
--
Pete
Bruce Kinch
<pro...@total.net> wrote:
> I am in the process of purchasing a Well Tempered Classic Turntable
> and would like to determine the best "affordable" (about $400)
> cartridge for the table. The Grado Reference Platinum and Semiko
> Blue Point Special have been a few of the cartridges that have been
> suggested to me. I would like to get some other ideas/suggestions
> from Well Tempered Table owners as to what they are using or have
> heard is compatible or not so compatible. Thanks for your help.
Bruce Kennett reviewed the Grado Platinum for Primyl Vinyl when it first
came out-on a Well-Tempered Classic-and it was a rave. That review was
also run in Listener, when he started writing for that fine publication.
I didn't have much to add to his review, as mine (installed in a WTRP)
also sounded terrific.
There are certainly other fine cartridges out there, and the WT design
seems a non-critical platform. A lot comes down to system synergy. The
Platinum can be a bit dark-sounding, especially in systems set up to make
bright CD listenable. The Audio Technica OC-9 is being closed out at under
$200, and might be an option in such a system, although it is a low output
MC. One of the Grado's virtues is it's high output, even for a MM.
I haven't heard the current production BPS, but my experience with the
original version was less than enchanting.
--
Bruce Kinch
Editor
Primyl Vinyl
The Audiophile Record Collectors Newsletter
Shapiro, Arthur L
<pro...@total.net> wrote:
>
>> I am in the process of purchasing a Well Tempered Classic Turntable
>> and would like to determine the best "affordable" (about $400)
>> cartridge for the table
I lived uneasily with a Well-Tempered for five years, until yesterday.
(It's for sale...I upgraded substantially). I used the Audio Technica OC9
that Bruce K. has cited, and thought it was a decent cartridge for the
price. One electronic acquaintance terms the OC9 "lean and mean", which
might be a bit uncharitable but gives the correct assessment of the somewhat
dry tonality. It is definitely not a lush, warm cartridge. The 0C9 seemed
to behave properly in the Well Tempered arm, both the original silver jobby
and, later, the carbon fiber upgrade arm. I think it gives a good first
impression, although to my tastes a warmer cartridge stands the test of
listening time a little better.
Art
michael joncic
hi there,
well, a live since 3 years with my well, and i'm quite happy with it.
i use a van den hul ddt ii, which is slightly modified (striped).
as far as i can tell, this combination works very well, but is a bit hum
sensitive.
sorry, but i don't know how much this cartrige cost's in the states, but
here in europe it would within your limits.
mike