[MOSFET]

Alright, that's what I'm looking for! Thank you. Will check it out RIGHT
NOW!

Thanks,
Nick

"John Durbin" wrote in message
...
Hard to go wrong with the Shure M97xE, great little cartridge for what it
costs and a good match for mid to heavy tonearms. I've always liked Shure
carts though; I use the V15 type V in its various forms on most of my
TT's.

JD

MOSFET wrote:
I know, this is totally the wrong forum, but as I know so many of you and
how helpful most all of you are, I thought, "What the heck?" before I
post the same question on home audio and audiophile sites, give my old
stomping grounds a try. So here goes....

I have an old Technics SL-B2 turntable that is in perfect shape and works
perfectly as well. I have had it for many, many years. However, it has
been relagated to a box that is kept in my attic or garage for the last
25 years. I still have my record collection going back to 1978 when I
purchased my first LP, and I accumulated records at a pretty good clip
(perhaps 2 a week) until, I would say, 1988, when EVERYTHING was switched
to CD's. Even the EP's that were the last hold-out of recordings not
found on CD, but only on vinyl, really disappeared by 1992. By '91-'93,
except for an extremelly small niche market of audiophiles (who to THIS
DAY will claim that LP's still sound better than CD's given very HIGH
quality recordings, EXPERT mastering techniques, and EXCEPTIONAL
equipment used in playback). Besides Audiophiles, DJ's continue to this
day to use vinyl in clubs as mxing one song to the next is MUCH easier
than with CD's (though advances in DJ oriented CD mixing gear with
controls like BPM synchrnozation has leveled the playing field).
However, besides those two groups, NOBODY BUYS vinyl anymore.

Anyway, I have about 400-500 LP's I was flipping through the other day
and felt nostalgic and wanted to hear some of this old stuff. However,
my turntable is just missing a headshell and cartride (stylus too, of
course). I gave it to someone (the headshell and cartride) about 10 years
ago as I thought I would NEVER want to use the turntable again, I nearly
threw it out (well, I was going to give it to the Salvation Army, same
diff.)!!!!!

I have already ordered the headshell and it should be here tommorrow or
the next day.

My question is about what would give me the best bang for my buck in
terms of cartridges (with stylus, of course). I definately want to buy
new as you NEVER know how many hours a used needle may have seen. I am
NOT an audiophile NUT when it comes to my home gear (OK, a little bit)
and my turntable is certainly not one you would consider "high-end". But
it's built like a tank (surprisingly heavy) and after literally decades
of collecting dust it fired right up, by using the strobe adjustment I
dialed in the PERFECT 33 1/3 and it never wavered (wow and flutter) at
all.

I have no doubt it's as good (SQ wise) as any other Technics turntable (I
know, I know, DJ's all prefer the 1200 series with direct drive, mine's
belt driven, as the 1200's can go from 0-60 MPH in like .02 seconds or
some damn thing like that). But again, sound quality wise, they all
SOUND the same (given the same cartride) and it becomes more a factor of,
again, your cartridege and stylus selection as Technics does not employ
more esoteric turntable construction (like thick glass platters,
drive-motors COMPLETELY seperated from the spinning table itself, only
joined by the belt in an attempt to COMPLETELY erradicate any motor noise
that might creep in, and EVEN MORE essoteric and complicated means of
isolating ANY vibrations in the environment or the surface the turntable
is placed upon. These esoteric turntables might empoly (to name only a
few) double decker affairs where the first part of the table is simply a
vibrations absorber; different materials employed in constructing some
tables such as carbon fiber, fiberglass, REAL glass, and so on and so
on......).

Anyway, back to my original question. Do any of you out there have a
favorite cartridge maker and if so why? I don't want to spend a
ridiculous amount of money, I just want my records to sound decent as I
transpose them to MP3. I used to buy only Audio Technica cartridges as a
kid as I thought they made a very good product at a reasonable price. Is
that still the case? Are there others to consider? Like I said, I am
DEINATELY looking for a NEW cartridge and stylus, but I am not going to
spend $500 on a Grado flagship model. It MUST be under $100, preferably
under $50. Like I said, I am not all that picky about my sound inside
the house (I'm pickier in the car!).

Anyway, any ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Nick