what moving coil for moded RB250

[JRC]

Hi, having just destroyed the cantilever on an Ortofon MC15 super 11,i have been looking at alternatives in the less costly moving coils,the MC15 suited my RB250 stripped incognitoe`d and michell technoweighted arm very well,i have been looking at the Goldring eroica,denon 103, grados `sumiko`s etc as the MC15 is now discontinued,and its replacement the "salso" may well be as good but is the most horrible bright orange and looks "tacky" to me. any suggestions would be appreciated,i quite like the spec of the goldring eroica,but not shure how it would be withe moded RB250,
I only registered today having only just finishind the T/T i built myself with granite,theres a pic in the D.I.Y gallery it sounded very good with the MC15,untill i tried to put the guard on the stylus wearing a spare pair of specs that were around 10 years old,and i should have known better,to finish a project like this and then destroy the stylus within a day or two was sickening.
I have read that the MC!5 is one of the few cheaper MC`s to suit the Rega`s one piece construction.

[bauzace50]

Hello,
This is just to share my good experiences with my modded RB-250 (Origin Live), and several MC cartridges. These have worked very well for me, and are all part of my cartridge collection: Ortofon Jubilee, Dynavector Karat 17D3, Audio Technica OC9ML-II.
The tonearm is good enough to let the listener know the character of each of these units. The Jubilee sounds solid, strong, neutral, well extended (bottom to top), and easy tracking of anything.
The Karat 17D3 is the most neutral of the three, with a smooth extended and seemingly infinite treble. Never, ever offensive. VERY good tracker, but not as much as the other two.
The OC-9ML-II is the very best tracker of the three...will take any hot LP in stride, and not break a sweat! It also shows a slight, small, treble emphasis which you may (or may not) like.
All three of them show ample stage width, depth and height. The images within the stage are rather explicit, and I could not prefer one over the other in this criterion. My main point of difference is in the tonal presentation, which is the most neutral in the Karat 17D3.
I understand that the Dynavector entry-level model, with the red body, is very well liked, but have not heard it.
One MM unit which I like rather well on the modded RB-250 is the Ortofon Super OM-20.
Happy Hunting to you.
bauzace50

[JRC]

Hi,thanks for benefit of your experiences, these are all highly regarded carts i know. but just a bit more expensive than i can stretch to just now.
I have looked at the ortofon moving magnets and i`m shure they perform well but i have found that once you have listened to a moving coil it`s hard to go back to MM, it feels like a retrograde step, but i know that there will be those that do not agree, and will admit the Grado prestige gold was temptng.
I have an MF MVX.2 preamp, in its day its phono stage was top of the range and very highly regarded just for that aspect alone,it still sounds superb and i feel it deserves as good a cartridge as i can afford,and is exceptionaly good with a low output mc. the ortofon was all i could afford and for the money very good, but i klutzed it.
I made the decision to go for a Goldring Eroica LX last night and have "won" a new one on Ebay for a good price and i`m looking forword to its arival with glee as iam suffering from the vinyl withdrawal symptoms.
I will report back on the outcome. jrc

[bauzace50]

JRC,
best wishes on your upcoming cartridge. Yes, we would all benefit from your shared experience with it! And, yes, comparisons between mm/mc's is a highly controversial subject which has received voluminous coverage in all pertinent forums. I happen to like mm's very much.
Regards,
bauzace50

[JRC]

The Goldring Eroica turned up this morning, it looks very small in comparison to the Ortofon MC.
I have been looking at a moded Denon 103 thats for sale on Ebay,the seller takes the body off the cart and bonds the naked insides to a copper ? plate for rigidity and extra mass.
I would not attempt to take the coil out of the Eroica but have wondered if adding the plate to it might bring about improvements ?
Has anyone any experience of this type of cart modding ?

[JRC]

The Eroica is installed, and my initial thoughts are that it suits the RB250 very well indeed, i would say that it outperforms the Ortofon ! on this T/T anyway,very happy, i dont think i shall be messing about with bits of copper plate, the cartridge mass is fine as it is, and is mounted very firmly, thanks to its Pecan body,whatever Pecan is ?

[delcam1n0]

Ah so! You writing Pecan I thought
it was pecanwood at first!!

FYI:
"Pocan® PBT and PET
Pocan is the tradename for the LANXESS range
of semi-crystalline thermoplastic polyesters based
on polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) and polyethylene
terephthalate (PET). These resins are noted for their
high heat resistance in the short-term from 320 to 464
degrees F and in the long-term from 194 to 284 F
(depending on grade).

Properties of Pocan resin include:
High heat resistance, especially short-term
Strength and hardness
Excellent slip properties and high abrasion resistance
Good resistance to chemicals
Low susceptibility to stress cracking
Low moisture absorption"

(Source Lanxess website: Long live the WWW!)

Enjoy it!
delcam1n0

[JRC]

Me and my spelling, pehaps i shoud use the preview button in future, or maybe its dementia
yeah thank heaven for the www. i should use it more often, thanks for filling me in, amazing these modern materials, it makes for a very nice cartridge anyhow.

[JRC]

After listening now for a couple of weeks i have to say that the Goldring Eroica is a fine cartridge, and well suited to the RB250.
I believe it gives a better soundstage than the Ortofon MC15 it replaced
Thanks blue angel, it was your remark (nothing wrong with an eroica) that made my mind up up after dithering for days over it.