Pro-Ject Debut III Cartridge Upgrade

[Guinness6]

Hi All,

I recently decided to upgrade my cartridge, hoping that would cool an increasing upgrade fever. After lurking on this site for a bit and doing as much online research I could, I decided on the Ortofon 2M Red. I stopped by my local dealer to see what price they were offering it for (if it was more than what it would be online I would probably still get it from them [within reason]). I was surprised to find they didn't carry Ortofon carts, but he offered me an amazing deal on a Grado Gold. I hesitated and he told me to check it out & come back if I was interested.

Turns out the Grado hums, so I ended up ordering the 2M Red online. Oh man, I couldn't wait! It was (finally) delivered the day before Thanksgiving. What a perfect situation - I only had to work a 1/2 day, but my wife had to work a full day and my son would be at his daycare until I picked him up - plenty of time to install the new cartridge a break it in (at my preferred [rarely achieved] listening levels!).

Then, in the process of swapping out the old one I broke one, then two of the leads! Ugghhh. Totally ruined my day. I was able to drop it off at my dealer that day, but with the Thanksgiving holiday coming up they didn't know how long it would take. I was totally beside myself, seeming consumed with the gaping hole between my speakers where the table used to be. (I realized I was overreacting [a bit], I mean, I can't go a few days without listening to vinyl? I still have 1,000s of cds & my ipod, but I think everyone here understands!)

Andyway, got the table back, told my guy about the Grado Hum Database (he hadn't heard about it) & set up the new cartridge. FINALLY. I love it! A real, noticible improvement! Its louder (not that that matters much), roomy & has much more bass pick up.

Well, thanks for indulging me! In the next day or two (hopefully) I'll post before & after recordings for any of you tempted to upgrade but still unsure. Pics, too.

[Guinness6]

For anyone interested, here are links to download a comparison between the two cartridges:

2m Red
http://www.sendspace.com/file/x7u21t

Om53
http://www.sendspace.com/file/ccmrsl

These are flac files of the Velvet Underground's Foggy Notion (mono, natch).

[pulsetsar]

Hi All,
Turns out the Grado hums, so I ended up ordering the 2M Red online.

So does the 2M Red for most people, it turns out. In my case, it was only audible at well beyond the range where I would ever listen and didn't seem to keep me from enjoying the cart while I had it.

Of course, there are plenty of other reasons to ditch the Grado, but since I'm only a junior member of the Grado Defamation League I'll leave to my seniors to address those. Glad you're enjoying the new cart.

[Vinyl and Tube Dude]

My Grado Gold have been running for close to 2 years now. My Debut III is fairly close to the left speaker and I have tube pre /amplifer. No hum ever, not even at high volume. 2M is a good cartridge, I've heard it in a hifi shop once. Enjoy!

[Mojo31]

I have a 1 Xpression III with the 2M Blue and a Speed Box. I recently noticed some hum between tracks. I don't know if there was a break in the ground wire attached to the standard interconnects or if it was something else. I changed interconnects and used a 16 gauge speaker wire for the ground, and the hum is completely gone. It's now dead silent between tracks.

[sergio_oliva]

Hi all

I can say one important thing. Debut 3 Esprit (Acryl plater) with 2M Blue is very bright for me, but detailed and good imaging. This combo sounds like NAD C545BEE CD player but brightly. I'm trying it with integrate and tube pre-amps. It sounds better with tube. But I don't recommend it anyway.

How Grado Gold and Debut 3 sounds?
Is sound warm, good bass, rich midrange and without over bright treble?
What kinds of music do this combo play?

I thinking about changing 2m blue to Grado Gold, is it good step?

Thank you
Sergey

[banerjba]

I use a Nagaoka MP110. No hum. Bigger fuller sound. 2M Blue is better for the Project Xperience etc. The Debut is better with the 2M Red. All great carts. And I am a huge Grado fan for my Technics 1200. But not for the Rega or Project.

[sergio_oliva]

I use a Nagaoka MP110. No hum. Bigger fuller sound. 2M Blue is better for the Project Xperience etc. The Debut is better with the 2M Red. All great carts. And I am a huge Grado fan for my Technics 1200. But not for the Rega or Project.

It's strange... MP110 compliance = 18 x 10-6 cm/dyne so it should be better combo with heavy arms. (Debut has light arm I think)

[sergio_oliva]

I use a Nagaoka MP110. No hum. Bigger fuller sound. 2M Blue is better for the Project Xperience etc. The Debut is better with the 2M Red. All great carts. And I am a huge Grado fan for my Technics 1200. But not for the Rega or Project.

It's strange... MP110 compliance = 18 x 10-6 cm/dyne so it should be better combo with heavy arms. (Debut has light arm I think)

Nevertheless it's ok
res freq = 9,3

[Dazed]

I use a Nagaoka MP110. No hum. Bigger fuller sound. 2M Blue is better for the Project Xperience etc. The Debut is better with the 2M Red. All great carts. And I am a huge Grado fan for my Technics 1200. But not for the Rega or Project.

It's strange... MP110 compliance = 18 x 10-6 cm/dyne so it should be better combo with heavy arms. (Debut has light arm I think)

That's a pretty high compliance, and should fit lighter arms well.

[gofar99]

Hi, My P-J DB III hums severely with the Grado Reference Platinum I. I have the speedbox and acrylic platter. The unshielded Grado picks up the hum about 1/3 way through an LP. I had a Grado Silver as well and it did the same. Other cartridges I have tried in the P-J are a Denon DL-110 (rather nice crisp sound especially for the $$), Benz Micro MC Gold (quite good more $$), and Dynavector 10X5 with a Soundsmith Ruby cantilever and line contact stylus (really excellent and costly - the Soundsmith stuff was the result of fumble fingers - well worth it, but in stock form the 10X5 was still really good). Pretty much anything but a Grado will work in the P-J. In another post on this subject.... it was suggested to put a sheet of mu metal between the motor and platter. It may have merit. I saw some listed on the web about 2 months ago - cheap.

[Aural Addict]

The Sumikos I've heard we're decent with no hum at all. I have a Blue Point 2 on a 5.1se (stock) and its great. Runs about $450.... For a cheaper choice (about $130) the pearl seemed good. Only heard a little of it on a rpm 1.3, but it was good...

[ighten]

Im using a grado Blue, like silk and so musical but I guess its all about synergy with other equipment as the Linn equipment does tend to be super detailed... No hum unless I push the pre up into the 94 mark - but then again so did the original 5e and the 2M red I tried which in my set up sounded harsher and brighter than a cd..

Think the moral of the story is like the OP - find a dealer wholl let you try it in your system for a few days before buying

[gofar99]

Hi, Neither the Dynavector 10X5 or Benz Micro Gold hum in the TT. But I found a fix that will probably work for you. See my thread on Fixing hum in the DB when using a Grado cartridge I posted earlier today. A cheap fix that works. Really surprised me how well.