Stylus upgrade for Pioneer PL-200 worth it?

[johnnyelectro]

Recently acquired a still functioning PL200.
I took it to a dealer, had it cleaned, and replaced the cartridge with a Grado Black.
Sounds pretty good for what is considered an entry level turntable.

Just wondering, if I were to replace the stylus with a Grado Green, Blue, or Red stylus would I get a sonic improvement at all? Beings this is not a high end TT would a stylus upgrade even be worth it?

[alxjalmeida]

Sorry not trying to hijack this thread just wanting to get in touch with others that have my TT.

I too just bought a PL-200 off of Craigslist, and replaced the cartridge. I put in an AT95e it had an Empire Cart on it. Sounds great so far, except for some particular parts of some records where I get some static... It is loud parts, For example, in the loud part of Track 1 on Side A of Coldplay's Mylo Xyloto. New LP just got it from Amazon and I can't figure out if it is the TT, Cart, or the BBE Pre-Amp that is introducing the static.

Just curious What on the table did the dealer clean? From the manual, it looks like the motor doesn't need to be serviced/clean, but maybe I am being naive?

Again sorry for hijacking the thread I know that all Grado carts and styli are pretty good, just not sure about the differences in the ones you mentioned.

[Alec124c41]

If you are getting "static" in loud passages, try increasing the tracking force a bit.

Cheers,
Alec

[alxjalmeida]

Alec,

I am still trying to get used to the terms. By Tracking force, are you referring to "downward?" or "Anti-skate?" I am already set at 2g for both. Go to 2.5?

Thanks,
Alex

[Alec124c41]

I will assume that you zero-balanced the arm before setting tracking force (pressure of stylus on record).
Is the noise the same on both channels? Go to 2.25
Is there more noise on the right channel? Increase anti-skate.
Is there more noise on the left channel? Decrease anti-skate.
Good luck.

Cheers,
Alec

[Fishtails]

Hi

I have one of these turntables. It is an ok tt but i wouldnt go to too much effort on improving it. I have tested it with various cartridges and it sounds about the same either way.

You would be better off investing your money in a better turntable.

Dont get me wrong. Im not hassling the pl-200, it does the job well.

I just put a pretty cheap audio technica cartridge on it and it does fine.

[johnnyelectro]

Thanks Fishtails. I was kind of thinking the same as well.

[jaspar]

I have this turntable currently fitted with an AT-12S cartridge. I wouldn't rule out a stylus upgrade. I can definitely discern a big improvement when using the shibata tip compared to the elliptical tip on the same cart, and a further improvement when using a nude shibata tip compared to a bonded shibata version.

[Fishtails]

Hi
Thought you might like to see my glammed up pl-200.

I always thought it looked quite boring in colour before.

[alxjalmeida]

Very nice! Can you share how you did this? Did you take photos while you were going through the process? I assume you basically took it apart and put it back together? lol

[Fishtails]

The process was pretty simple.

Took the platter off and spray painted it gold. First i covered the speed dots with plastic electrical tape as it is more flexible for round shapes.

Removed headshell and counterweight.

Then covered the tonearm and tonearm mount section with painters tape. Painters tape is like masking tape but leaves no residue when you remove it. I also used electrical tape for the curved part on the tonearm mount section.

I covered all holes with tape so no paint got inside the system.

Then cut some strips of tape to cover the speed light section.

Then sprayed the whole thing with gloss black spray paint. Three coats.

Thats about it!