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What's on your Basik Plus?
Hey all! I'm seeking recommendations for a new cartridge for my Linn LP12/Vahalla/Bask Plus.I'd love to hear from owners of a similar set up and am open to any of the many very experienced here. I've been without my table for a number of years and am just now able to get it back out and up.Prior carts that I've had on it in the past was a Linn K9 and two (yep I ruined one before attatched one) Sumiko Blue Point Special(pre evo). I know the BPS wasn't liked by all but was notably better than the Plus/well worn K9 combo which was hightly touted years back.I know AT carts are good choices and I've been looking at those ;but the Goldring 1042 has peaked my interest as has the Clearaudio Performer/Artist V2 Ebony.I'm aware that this arm is considered to be better with MM, but did will with my BPS. Pre is a CJ PF1 with 40 DB gain and worked fine with the mc's output of 2.5 mv. I really need to keep this at no more than $600.Listen to mostly to Rock/Blues/Jazz with a little classical tossed in.Thank you ahead of time and I'm looking forward to your responses.
Gruv.
Follow Ups:
consider the stylus shape. while its not the only variable it does make a BiG difference. conical typically has least resolution and most noise (its only strenghth is that its easy to setup up). elliptical is next up. better than conical but still not upto most audiophile standands. hyper-elliptical gets you to most audiophile standards. above hyper-elliptical there are a variety of shapes with micro-ridgve (costliest?) probably being the one to beat.
so if it was me to buying a cartridge, i would choose the cheapest AT cartridge with best stylus shape above elliptical. i might also consider Hana and some newer no-names which are priced attractively. i remember some AT cartridges at <$500 point having Shibata needle shapes.
note. both conical and elliptical were wide-spread on vintage cartridges. guessing they are still used in the sub-$500 cartridves.
Using Basik LVXGoldring 1042 - superb
Grace F9 E. - wonderful "sinister" tone
Grace ruby - remarkable speed
Ortofon VMS MK11 - moving iron, matched arm well,very rich SPU like soundReality is that while the Jelco 750 and the 850 in particular out class the Basik , it it is underrated as an arm.
.
must..NOT..resist..."upgraditis"
Edits: 09/13/20
Thanks fore the response!I thought that the Goldring was possibly a good choice.I will look into the Graces as well.They sound very interesting, Just started seriously looking at the Ortofons Thanks!
I think one of the best values will be found in Audio Technica cartridges. They make both MM and MC cartridges and you'll get some of the best bangs-for-the-buck with these cartridges. 2juki has some of the best prices through his eBay store and LP Gear also has some nice prices .
Good luck!
John Elison
I think that the AT cartridges with a boron cantilever and microline stylus are best values, either MM or MC. Consider a used 150 MLX ($100 to $200) with a new stylus ($300). The new 540 is pretty close and $249. The VM series has lower compliance. I don't know which is a better match for your arm.
I don't think their lineup has any boron cantilever MM carts anymore, they are all aluminum. But you may be able to find a NOS 150MLX stylus, though not likely very close to $300 anymore. Agreed on the market value of the MC line, though, volume production gives them a very big advantage, and they offer fairly good trade-in value on them too, generally cheaper than a retip, though sometimes supply is limited.
Edits: 09/16/20 09/16/20
I am aware that you can't buy that combination new which is why I suggested the used 150MLX because you can still buy new boron/microline replacement styli for the 150MLX. The newer, stiffer VM gets the aluminum/microline combo closer to the 150MLX sound quality. Many reviewers as well as inmates prefer the basic 540 in the VM series.
You can buy a boron/microline AT 33/PTG MC which is currently my main cartridge, really good. That meets the OPs spending limit at $550 but he wasn't happy about a .4mv cart so I recommended the 150 approach.
Thanks John! I've read that Linn carts were at least modeled or based on Audio Technicas(rebadged?) and were great matches for Linn arms. I've been looking through the number of options and trying to decide which to line up with other options. Definitely in the running. Thanks!
If you are in the US, the best prices are usually direct from AT using their standard 15% discount code. Free shipping too.I've been using the new AT-OC9XML on my Micro Seiki deck recently, really nice cartridge, and comes to $466 with TIM2020 discount code. Threaded body and Microline stylus with boron cantilever. My MA-505 arm has about the same effective mass as your Linn, and the AT carts are pretty high compliance, this one around 23cu, so resonance is around 7Hz, but sounds great...
Edits: 09/14/20
Hi Slider! Unfortunately the output of 0.4mV is probably too low for my Pre without a step up or sut. Not an impossibility but wanting to keep things simple and don't have much more space at this point. Sounds like a great cart though. Thanks!
Where does discount code get filled in on order sheet?
There's a discount code box on the place order page.
I guess it is no longer available. I am not seeing it.
Not sure what to tell you, it's about halfway down the page on the left, see below, this is after clicking the apply code button showing the 15% off ...
Thank you Slider for your patience and direction. I am on the US version site and I still do not see the code box you have directed me to. Maybe since I am not a returning customer I am not allowed the discount.
That is strange, not just for returning customers, worked the first time for me and still works, and a lot of other people have used it as well. All I can say is to make sure you are on the final Place Order page, as I said before and show in the picture above.
nt
The problem is not that there is evil in the world, the problem is that there is good. Because otherwise, who would care?
Thanks Ghost!
I have a VM540ML. Outstanding cartridge. Tracks perfectly, recently moved it from an old AR XA to a new Rega Planar 6 and the 540 just sounds like it was made for that arm.
In fact, I have two of them. One is a back up.
The problem is not that there is evil in the world, the problem is that there is good. Because otherwise, who would care?
I have read that lately shipping from Japan takes longer than usual. I used to get packages from him in 2-3 days. The AT's are excellent and affordable in a world of 10k MC's.
"Bass is the place..the rest is filigree and lace" Doug Sax
Is 2juki in Japan or Hong Kong?
The problem is not that there is evil in the world, the problem is that there is good. Because otherwise, who would care?
I've ordered from 2juki a few times also, no problems. Great service.
2juki is in Hong Kong. I have ordered at least a dozen times from him over the years. NEVER a problem and usually the best prices.
Used it with my ARO for a few years beating many other MM carts priced up to 600$. This is a cartridge which can keep up with an arm upgrade. I gave mine to a friend who's running one with Ekos now. Other good thing is replacement stylus cost is about 350$ so maintenance cost is low. I used to replace the stylus every year.
Hi Kuma! Thanks for responding.I think that the Adikt may be just out of my price range and I'm stretching it a bit at that.Looking back at it again though maybe I should reconsider and go for it. Thanks!
+1 on the Linn Adikt!
Nt
Thanks Viridian!
A couple of things, one, the quote of 2.5mV is high output MC, to use low output, you will need to get either a head amp, or a Step Up Transform (SUT) to bring the say, .4mV up to a usable level so the rest of the phono stage can accept and then raise the gain enough to work with the line inputs of your preamp. Just saying.
Another type of cart is MI (moving iron). I run the Grado Prestige Green 1, a high output 5mV I think, MI cart on a Rega P6 I bought brand new in April and it is a good match, but MI of that output voltage works fine in most if not all MM stages. LOMI carts (also known as fixed coil) designs are the same voltage output as LOMC designs but have the advantage of having a smaller cantilever instead than what is found in MC designs, or so Peter Lederman of Soundsmith says. Anyway, like the MI design as one it's fast in its actions and tracks very, very well.
Hi John! I've become familiar with MM and MC; but got to admit to fairly recently learning more about MI. As my Pre only has 40db of gain and am fairly limited on space right now (not that a sut is huge);I am looking mostly at MMs or Hi output MCs. My BPS did well at 2.5mV so I can probably be ok around that. Soundsmith seems to hjave a great reputation around here and I've actually just recently ran into Mr.Lederman's videos on Youtube. Great Stuff. Thanks!
there might be a few there:
"Bass is the place..the rest is filigree and lace" Doug Sax
HI Story! Yep that's one of the first places that I looked.And as to the thread above,after hanging around here (lurking) for so long, I'm aware of 2Juki and have looked at his offerings. Definitely seems to have a solid reputation. Thanks!
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