Is my cartridge and/or stylus worth upgrading/replacing?

[machTucker]

Hi everyone,

I'm a keen music enthusiast and have a pair of turntables that I bought back in 1999 when I was at university. They are pretty entry level (Gemini XL-500 MkII) but have faired me well and are still going strong. I used to do a bit of bedroom DJ'ing with them but now just use them to play my records on. I'm reasonable happy with the sound but I realised that I am still using the original cartridges and stylus that were shipped with it. I have the Stanton 500 MkII cartridge and the D5100AL stylus.

I'm looking for advice as to whether an upgrade/replacement is worth the money? I've done a bit of reading and it seems an elliptical stylus would be better? Can I buy a suitable stylus for my current cartridge or is a whole new cartridge/stylus combination required?

Any help/recommendations would be great,

Many thanks,

Ed

 

[twitch]

assuming everything on your TT is functioning a-ok I'd just replace the cartridge with a newer entry level one that allows for easy styli replacement/chaange down the road perhaps. Example...... Audio Technica AT-VM95C. Many other options out there as well.

Your table is not worth putting any serious money into as I'm sure you know. Do you have thoughts and or plans on expanding your analog playback ?

 

[daytona600]

Jico make styli for 500 stantons or DJ100I/DJ200I from grado
Hifi cartridge you can mix with
This is hands down my favorite cartridge. The DJ200 is basically a hi-fi cart that can take the abuse of backcueing. You cannot, and should not expect to scratch with this. That's not the purpose. The channel separation is awesome. Awesome for ripping tracks for use in your DVS as well. When I'm scratching or mixing I like the Ortofon Q-Bert, but when casually listening or sampling -- this is my weapon of choice. I really can't say enough good things about it. Holy Grail. If you're a beatmaker looking for a hi-fi cart with a cantilever strong enough to withstand backcueing, this is what you want. I keep -DJMag