Greetings all!
I have a Technics SL-D3 turntable with an Ortofon LM-20 cartridge that I bought around the mid-80's. I used that turntable alot back then until I switched over to CD's in the early 90's. For the last 30+ yrs, that turntable has played maybe 6 vinyl albums per year, and I am always struck by how crummy it sounds. I detect lots of distortion, so I presume the stylus is shot. I want to rehabilitate it now, so I can bring my massive vinyl collection back into the rotation.
One question I have is, how do I know if I should get a new cartridge+stylus versus just a new stylus? I saw some commentary that cartridges can get old and need to be replaced after some years, but I am wondering if that is generally true? It seems far more likely to me that, over time, the stylus is the more obvious replacement necessity. Yes? No? But if I do just replace the stylus, what would be a good stylus to pair with that cartridge?
I should say that even if I rehab my turntable, it is never gonna be my main source of music, not even close; I would love to bring it back into the rotation, but there is no sense in me paying tons of money for a turntable I use infrequently. So my goal here is not to get some super awesome, high-end, audiophilic cartridge/stylus that will reveal amazing nuance in the high and low ends; I just want something capable and robust enough to resist distortion. Overall, I do have audiophilc tendencies...I might describe myself as an "audiophile-lite." But in terms of getting this turntable back in play, I think my standards are more like "capable" than "audiophilic." I mention that partly becuz it might affect whether I should get a cartridge/stylus combo, versus some type of stylus...conical, elliptical, shibata, etc...to pair with my Ortofon cartridge.
Yes, I confess, whatever knowledge I had about turntable technology 40 yrs ago has since gone fallow, so I appreciate any guidance at all regarding my current turntable rehab project!
Otherchuck
I have a Technics SL-D3 turntable with an Ortofon LM-20 cartridge that I bought around the mid-80's. I used that turntable alot back then until I switched over to CD's in the early 90's. For the last 30+ yrs, that turntable has played maybe 6 vinyl albums per year, and I am always struck by how crummy it sounds. I detect lots of distortion, so I presume the stylus is shot. I want to rehabilitate it now, so I can bring my massive vinyl collection back into the rotation.
One question I have is, how do I know if I should get a new cartridge+stylus versus just a new stylus? I saw some commentary that cartridges can get old and need to be replaced after some years, but I am wondering if that is generally true? It seems far more likely to me that, over time, the stylus is the more obvious replacement necessity. Yes? No? But if I do just replace the stylus, what would be a good stylus to pair with that cartridge?
I should say that even if I rehab my turntable, it is never gonna be my main source of music, not even close; I would love to bring it back into the rotation, but there is no sense in me paying tons of money for a turntable I use infrequently. So my goal here is not to get some super awesome, high-end, audiophilic cartridge/stylus that will reveal amazing nuance in the high and low ends; I just want something capable and robust enough to resist distortion. Overall, I do have audiophilc tendencies...I might describe myself as an "audiophile-lite." But in terms of getting this turntable back in play, I think my standards are more like "capable" than "audiophilic." I mention that partly becuz it might affect whether I should get a cartridge/stylus combo, versus some type of stylus...conical, elliptical, shibata, etc...to pair with my Ortofon cartridge.
Yes, I confess, whatever knowledge I had about turntable technology 40 yrs ago has since gone fallow, so I appreciate any guidance at all regarding my current turntable rehab project!
Otherchuck
