Help for cartridge please

[Sergio51]

Hi, I've been looking for an answer to a problem for several days and I hope for Help from some friends. I want to restart listening to my vinyl after many years. I have a Thorens 160 mk 2 with SME 3009 S2 improved and I would like a stylus or new cartridge/stylus
I have an ADC VLM MKIII omni pivot improved without stylus, and a cartridge shure M 70B , finally I have an Ortofon Concorde pro s that is not good for a hifi listening.
The SME arm is calibrated for about 1.5 g max.

1) A salesman proposed me the shure M97xE head and stylus.

2) I could buy a stylus for the ADL VLM MKIII which is the one that satisfied me in the past but I don’t know if I find the same quality since there are substitutions.

3) I could take a stylus for the Shure M70 B head (maybe for older discs) with little expense but which one?

4) I could put an Ortofon 10 or 20 or ... .. to be mounted on the Concorde but perhaps it is too heavy for the EMS.

5) I could take Ortofon Super OM head With 10, 20 or more.

I am very confused and undecided and I ask for Help
Many Thanks!

Sergio51 Italy

[BMRR]

Shure is no longer making phono cartridges, and prices of replacement styli have already begun to go up. I would suggest choosing a cartridge from a manufacturer who is still making cartridges, so you won't have to buy aftermarket styli of unknown quality.

With that in mind, Ortofon Super OM 10 or 20 would be a good match for your tonearm, and the 20 is significantly better than the 10, so you'd be wise to choose the 20 if you can afford it.

The new Prestige Series 2 cartridges from Grado Labs are very good and all of them would be a good match for your tonearm. They start at $75 for the Prestige Black2, increasing in price as you go up the line, eventually reaching $260 for the Prestige Gold2.

[Sergio51]

Thank you very much for your kind and very useful answer that after many days of research and unnecessary requests, my ideas are asked. I suspected that Ortofon, still in production, was the right solution and that the interrupted productions (ADC and Shure) had problems. Do you think the Grade Prestige Black series 2, to start, can be a good solution (quality / price) compared to Ortofon? At your suggestion I saw right now great reviews on Grado Prestige Black s2. Although Thakker does not have it in the catalog I will find it on Amazon. Thanks to you I'm coming to the decision. A cordial greeting and I thank you very much Ciao Sergio

[BMRR]

Yes, I think the Grado Black2 would be an excellent place to start. :)

And perhaps you will enjoy knowing that the founder of Grado Labs, Joseph Grado, was Italian. :D He was a watchmaker for Tiffany & Co., and in 1953 he left Tiffany and began making phono cartridges by hand. In fact, he invented the moving coil phono cartridge. He loved opera and was proud of his Italian heritage. :)

[Sergio51]

To buy
Photo card
Cutter spare parts

Thanks BMRR, I'll take the Grado Prestige Black S2 cartridge, to start it goes very well, I'll let the developments know. Many Italians have created good tools, like Federico Faggin, a Veneto emigrated to the United States, for information technology and photography. Too bad that in Italy, for them, all this would not have been possible. Grado is another example that I did not know, thanks for the information. I hope to do a good setup with Thorens and SME, I'm not a great expert, I have all the original documentation and manuals of when I bought in the 80s. You did a lot to Help me, thank you!
Sergio

[Richard Coxon]

I have an SME 3009 S2 Improved on a Fons CQ30 and fitted it with a second hand Shure M95 ED with excellent results.Thakker in Germany sell replacement styli for about 25 EUR which may be Jico manufactured.I was then fortunate in aquiring a Jico HE stylus which has further improved the sound.Just an idea Sergio....

[Sergio51]

Thanks Richard, I already ordered the Grado Prestige Black 2, which my friend recommended. If the N95 ED stylus was compatible with the Shure head I have M70B (?), I can consider it in the future as a second possibility, thanks anyway. On Thakker I did not find the M95ED head, but only the N95 stylus.
Now I will fix the new Cartridge that will arrive next week. The SME arm..... I used it many years ago with ADC head that gave me great satisfaction.
I hope to fix the tonearm well, also because I'm not a great expert. If I’ll have difficulty I will take advantage of your courtesy and competence. Meanwhile, many thanks to you and good music!
Sergio

[Richard Coxon]

Sergio I doubt that the N95 stylus would fit the M70B body.Let me know how you get on with the Grado Prestige Black 2 and I hope it provides excellent music for you.
Richard.

[Sergio51]

Thanks for the warning Richard, the Grade came yesterday afternoon. As soon as I have tried it, I will let you know the impressions. I occupied the original headshell of the SME 3009 S2 improved with an old but still quite good Shure. So I would like a new head shell to be used only with the Grade Black 2. Which headshell can I buy for example on Thakker ......? Thank you for the new information 👋 ciao

[Richard Coxon]

Both my SME 3009s have fixed headshells so I can only guess.I would be inclined to go for a lighter headshell for the SME.Thakker appear to offer a NOS Hitachi headshell at 7g which would be my choice over the heavier Ortofon or Audio Technica offerings.Good luck!

[BMRR]

Technics headshells are excellent too. I believe they also weigh approximately 7g. The alloy they use, along with the powder-coated finish, are very good at reducing resonances.

Unfortunately they have become quite expensive in recent times — currently 79,50 € at Thakker. :(

Now that Technics is firmly back in the turntable business and releasing two new turntables, hopefully they will begin selling headshells again, and at a sane price.

[Sergio51]

Thanks friends BMRR and Richard, I will consider the technics hiding the purchase to my wife, if she finds out I will tell her that it is the fault of the friend BMRR !. I know that in many forums it appears that SME 3009 s2 Improved has a fixed headshell but it's not always like that because my tonearm has detachable it. I bought the Thorens and the SME in the early 80s, I could include a photo of the manuals but I do not know how to do it.
I sent an email to Gradolabs to register.
So I can keep the original headshell with an old shure cartridge that I will use for the less new and more damaged disks.
You helped me a lot. Let me know if you can post images in the forum.
Hello
Sergio

[Van_Isle]

The Grado Hum database is showing that hum is present in quire a number of Thorens, including TD160. Hope that isn't the case here.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... edit#gid=0

Ortofon's website show only a couple models still in production for the OM series - like the OM5. So how long do they continue with making styli?

Isn't Audio Technica the only larger supplier of cartridges that is still developing new models?

[Sergio51]

Hi Van_Isle! I hope no hum, in the database there is not the type of tonearm used with the Thorens. I'm waiting for the new headshell and I'll try the Grade with the new "Technics" shell and the old "Sme" shell that was recommended by Gradolabs. We'll see! Thanks, as soon as the new shell arrives I'll do the tests.

[Sergio51]

Dear Friends I mounted the Technics shell on the Grado Black 2, I quickly adjusted the various parameters ..... Then "The Four Seasons of Antonio Vivaldi" with a discrete headphone AKG (it's 11.30 PM .. ...).
I have a lot of high quality CDs and liquid music, but this is another story.
In some passages it was exciting and moving.
They say that our ear can not recognize good digital music from a good vinyl but there is something different, physical, that comes with vinyl.
If you want you can get to 200KHz and 32 bit but the analog disk even with its imperfections is a direct message, without intermediaries, you feel it with your heart and body.
Thank you for everything
Sergio