Cartridge shoot-out Ortofon OM Super 30 and a vintage Shure V15 type V

[SUPERBEE]

I am fixing up another Thorens 125 Mrk II. This one has a SME 3009 series II arm and my tech is recomending the Ortofon OM Super 30. I was going to track down another Shure V15 type V like I am running (and love) on my other 125 but thought that this might be a little cheaper option as this table will not see the use my main one will.

Any one care to weigh in here?

[Hoerninger]

This one has a SME 3009 series II arm and my tech is recomending the Ortofon OM Super 30. I was going to track down another Shure V15 type V like I am running (and love) ...

Superbee,

as far as I remember the Shure V15 and the SME 3009 series II fit very well. It is a high mass tonearm and the V15 is designed for this type.

The modern Ortofons like OM Super 30 are designed for low mass tonearms. In combination with a high mass tonearm the resonance of moving mass and compliance will be deeper than the prefered 15 - 20 Hz. It is said that a lower resonance may produce instability. But when your disks are flat and even I do not see a problem.

The Ortofon Super OM 30 has a Fine Line stylus, this should be a hearable advantage.
___________
Peter


PS: member rs237 reminded me, that the newer Shure V 15 are recommended for low mass tone arms, so in comparison there seems to be no disadvantage for the OM 30.
BTW: I am using several Ortofon's.

[macaroonie]

Alloy Headshell Get the counterweight in as close as you can to the pivot and track down a Denon 303 series High output moving coil. Great with JBL.
Do not use the original Thorens mat it is no good and also make sure that the suspension is moving freely.
Do you know how to do this ?

[Hoerninger]

Cartridge shoot-out Ortofon OM Super 30 and a vintage Shure V15 type V

Any listening experiences so far? Would be interesting ...
__________
Peter

[MJC]

Have any of you had any experience with ClearAudio Cartridges?
I've been thinking about getting the CLEARAUDIO - MAESTRO WOOD , along with a VPI Scoutmaster Signature table.
Of all the audio gear I've got, 3 systems, the turntable is the only piece of gear I haven't replaced since '79.

[garyl]

I have the SME 3009 ll on my luxman table. Love the TA.

I have gone thru a number of changes in cartridges and don't profess to know what I am doing here.

Denon DL 103 with step up (Denon AU 320) and I have a hum I can't seem to isolate.

I now have a Sure M 97 Xe on it and this cartridge sounds wonderful.

I think the MC cartridge with step up might sound a bit nicer but the darn hum will drive me to drink so I won't say to go that route unless you love tweeking these things out to the source.

Oddly, I tried the MC set up on one of my SL 1200 MKlls and it sounds great with zero hum.

Wish I had the patients to figure this out because I really do like the SME/Lux table.

Gary

[MJC]

I now have a Sure M 97 Xe on it and this cartridge sounds wonderful.

That is the same cartridge I'm using now on my 28 year old Yamaha direct drive turntable. Very good, for the price. I used Shure V15 types II, III, IV from about '69 ~ '89, until I couldn't buy the stylus' anymore (locally, before the internet came along).

So now that I've pretty much made up my mind to get a VPI Scoutmaster Signature turntable, I've got to decide what cartridge to put with it. This is the one I thinking of getting.

[SEAWOLF97]

and bought a Denon DL-103 MC cart....the guy in Spain seems to have the best price on these, although the 1st one he sent must have fallen in the pond, but the 2nd one came through....havnt mounted it yet,,,just got the Denon transformer ready and although its still August,,we are preparing for winter.

Mac asked and here is the graph that accompanies the cart ...looks OK up to about 20k , then falls apart

[macaroonie]

I have the SME 3009 ll on my luxman table. Love the TA.

I have gone thru a number of changes in cartridges and don't profess to know what I am doing here.

Denon DL 103 with step up (Denon AU 320) and I have a hum I can't seem to isolate.

I now have a Sure M 97 Xe on it and this cartridge sounds wonderful.

I think the MC cartridge with step up might sound a bit nicer but the darn hum will drive me to drink so I won't say to go that route unless you love tweeking these things out to the source.

Oddly, I tried the MC set up on one of my SL 1200 MKlls and it sounds great with zero hum.

Wish I had the patients to figure this out because I really do like the SME/Lux table.

Gary

The Sme 3009 can have slightly odd grounding characteristics. As I remember the short ground lead is the earth of the body of the arm only and the long lead that is the same length as the phonos is only a signal ground.
You could try no grounding at all or more likely extend the short ground lead to connect to the amp and ditch the one that is normally connected. The arm connector can be a bit of a pest and I have found hum where the -ve side of one signal was not connected due to the connector being not fully home.
Otherwise SME have been making superbly crafted products for years and years. Sorry the pic is cruddy but hope this helps

[SEAWOLF97]

I would invest in a flat surface mat for whatever deck you are using. There are tons of them on the market. You can't go wrong with the Gyromat from the Michell Gyrodeck.

checked their site, did not see any mats for sale.

Quick test --- put a record under the record you are playing and hear what happens. If it improves then shim the cart in the headshell or put an old record under the mat. I'm assuming the deck has no arm height adjustment.

tho this works, I went back to normal and attenuate the treble with tone controls.

Record cleaning machine -- a pal of mine has a wee laddie who is at the stage of investigating everything. Yesterday he took a bread maker totally to bits. Now let me tell you that is the donor for a slow speed motor system, I had it in my mitt today. That and any old platter from a junk deck plus your vacuum and wash gear and you are away. Model it on a Keith Monks , I used one at work for many years and it does do the job.

almost sold on that VPI 16.5 deal

http://www.musicdirect.com/product/72457

Denon DL 103 with step up (Denon AU 320) and I have a hum I can't seem to isolate.
Gary

I have that same setup but with the AU 250 and no hum, wud assume either insufficient ground or transformer problem. have read of many using the DL-103 without trans ...tho havnt tried it

[SUPERBEE]

Any listening experiences so far? Would be interesting ...
__________
Peter

SORRY!!

I forgot all about this thread. The Shure is the clear winner for me. Just has everything going for it. The Ortofon at first I thought was a little to harsh but it has smooted out and now sounds nice with tubes over the Paragon