The BIG needle and cartridge thread.
The BIG needle and cartridge thread. Posted on: 22.12.2011 by Nereida Jasnoch Wich needle and cartridge do you prefer ? Why ? Give us the pro's and cons.I only have experience with ortofon concordes but I heard they rip your vinyl up like mad, and since I'm playing tunes like mad, this seems like a bad combination. So I might switch to something that extends the lifetime of my precious 12 inches. If we could collect all the DJTT needle/cartridge knowledge in this thread it would be very helpful. | |
| Romelia Stankard 02.01.2012 |
Originally Posted by hrtbrkd
I just picked up a pair of M447s in technics headshells + 2 new spare needles with a pair of 1200s last evening (all for $400). I'm glad to finally own a pair, they feel really nice and are a lot more sturdy feeling than all my ortofons and trackmaster carts. I don't feel like I have to be careful with them and hide them from people i don't trust who might snap a lift arm off like the ortofons. The output is also really nice. I was testing and when my ortofons were peaking at -6 to maybe -4db with gains at 12 o'clock the M447s peaked at 0db. |
| Lindy Jonker 29.12.2011 | Regarding the S-120...
Originally Posted by Hoodless
Thick bass, clear midrange and clarity at the top-end is fantastic. I've got some muddy-as-feck disco records that I've can play again using the SH-4 kit (headshell and S-120 OM). I've had all manner of problems Whitelabels and M44s - even other Ortofon needles - but these (once worn in) track like glue at 2g (home) to 2.75g (party) on regular wax and CVs. |
| Rosina Stanford 23.12.2011 |
Originally Posted by djproben
As my mixer is older, it may have a lower tolerance for loud cartridges compared to DJ Mixers designed today. Cheers. |
| Karolis Petrauskas 16.01.2012 | Ortofon scratch carts with American DJ headshells. I got the headshells for 7$ and the respond better than my original technics ones. After I properly balanced the tonearm to the headshell I get almost no skips. I can honestly slightly bang on my vinyl with no jumps. I'm super happy with my choice. |
| Ashley Bernhoft 12.01.2012 | Nightclub MKII is the "non-puls-ultra" DJ Cartridge. You see them in Clubs and Festivals around Germany on the 12x00's if the Legends that still play Vinyl only are on the Stage. In another community (a German language board) i read a comparison and the only DJ Cartridge that got a better rating was the Ortofon Brodcast. |
| Erich Vallabhaneni 12.01.2012 | The new Ortofon Nightclub MKII looks like a sick cartridge :eek: might have to grab a pair at some point. anybody heard anything about them? |
| Nereida Jasnoch 07.01.2012 | I believe I might replace mine quicker then I anticipated. I got them second hand with TTs and I don't know how long they 've been used. And as soon as a little bit of scratching is done the gain of the signal drops a lot |
| Romelia Stankard 02.01.2012 |
Originally Posted by hrtbrkd
I just picked up a pair of M447s in technics headshells + 2 new spare needles with a pair of 1200s last evening (all for $400). I'm glad to finally own a pair, they feel really nice and are a lot more sturdy feeling than all my ortofons and trackmaster carts. I don't feel like I have to be careful with them and hide them from people i don't trust who might snap a lift arm off like the ortofons. The output is also really nice. I was testing and when my ortofons were peaking at -6 to maybe -4db with gains at 12 o'clock the M447s peaked at 0db. |
| Tania Somppi 29.12.2011 | Stanton Groovemaster v3s with G3 and T3 styli here for the choice of spherical or elliptical styli as I had straight arm Vestax decks and switched to j arm Technics decks. They're not as loud as some carts but audio reproduction is v.good and I can set them v.light for minimal record wear and they still track perfectly. |
| Noelia Martig 29.12.2011 | I know poeple may laugh at this one but to be honest ever since I went to DVS there was no real need to pay top dollar on Ortofon anymore. I really don't by into the DVS needle hype. I could see why I higher quality needle was needed when music was anolog but now that all that is being read is a tone that software will convert and soundcard play out. So I now stick to Numark CC-1, Cheap, Inexpensive, and looks stylish. I used to buy the high end back in the days but 15 years experience have taught me paying more doesn't mean you get more. [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Numark-CC-1-Premium-Cartridge/dp/B0007V28KC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1325196407&sr=8-1"]Amazon.com: Numark Premium Cartridge: Musical Instruments@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31TY5fMsewL.@@AMEPARAM@@31TY5fMsewL[/ame] 43$ for the stylis and body, Stylis can be bought for as low 12$ when on sale. |
| Dorie Scelzo 29.12.2011 | Based on talking to a lot of people and using them once, briefly, the S-120 are good needles. I wouldn't buy them over my Shures, but I wouldn't buy any ortofon over my Shures. I had such good luck with them that the only way I'd buy anything else is if Shure stopped making them or I was spinning with hifi carts for some reason. |
| Tillie Sliman 29.12.2011 | Ortofon Concorde S. They came with my turntables and I just replaced the styli, no complaints so far. |
| Lindy Jonker 29.12.2011 | Regarding the S-120...
Originally Posted by Hoodless
Thick bass, clear midrange and clarity at the top-end is fantastic. I've got some muddy-as-feck disco records that I've can play again using the SH-4 kit (headshell and S-120 OM). I've had all manner of problems Whitelabels and M44s - even other Ortofon needles - but these (once worn in) track like glue at 2g (home) to 2.75g (party) on regular wax and CVs. |
| Rosina Stanford 23.12.2011 |
Originally Posted by djproben
As my mixer is older, it may have a lower tolerance for loud cartridges compared to DJ Mixers designed today. Cheers. |
| Willa Schwallie 23.12.2011 | I use Ortofon DJ S's with the spherical styli and they work great for vinyl and timecode pla yback. The only issue i've ever had with them is the handle u grab on to is pretty flimsy. One of mine broke right at the base, easy fix with super glue, but still kinda lame. |
| Danae Dumler 23.12.2011 |
Originally Posted by DJ Abercrombie
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| Romelia Stankard 22.12.2011 |
Originally Posted by keithace
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWNim...3lxoDQW5VvXe4r |
| Nereida Jasnoch 22.12.2011 | To specify: I have ortofon concorde pros and they are spherical. |
| Margie Pavell 22.12.2011 | and can someone shed some light on the spherical v. elliptical aspects? |
| Margie Pavell 22.12.2011 | good thread... i have always been concerned about record burn...but i don't scratch or have mad weight downforce...so i believe i am okay with my shure 35c... |
| Rosina Stanford 22.12.2011 | For those who are using the Shure M447, don't you experience some records distorting due to it's high output rating? Also how many years do Shure's last before they wear out for mixing? |
| Tamekia Piraino 22.12.2011 | M44G's. I use for both mixing and scratching. Holds the groove almost as well as the m447's, but takes longer to setup correctly. I also own some Numark CC1's pretty decent, but replacement styli cost more that the Shure's |
| Cristian Carmona 22.12.2011 | shure 35c blue tips |
| Danae Dumler 22.12.2011 | M447s for me. If I'm being all audiophile and shit I have a Shure M97xe; I used to use it for recording vinyl but it's a bit precious; the cart is unforgiving when it comes to dust and such. Whereas the M447s will cut through that and still sound brilliant. I am intrigued after reading comments above on the whitelabels; I really like the look of them but I didn't know there was a sound advantage over the 447s. I also have a pair of Ortofon Scratch carts (they are pink and they are mounted on regular Technics headshells) but I noticed a significant burn on older cheaper vinyl while using them so I stopped using them. But they did sound noticeably better than the 447s. I am having an old audiophile turntable from the 1970s restored and when that is done I will probably mount the M97xe on it and see how I like the sound. But it's not something I would use for DJing. |
| Dione Haimes 22.12.2011 |
Originally Posted by jsa83
They're overpriced, paying for the serato badge. |
| Audrey Pinda 22.12.2011 | I use Ortofon Concorde Elektro carts. I honestly like them. I'm not redonk well versed in carts, but I prefer the concorde design to the standard headshell. I mainly use them with time-code vinyl, so it's not much of a difference either way IMO. I don't have any issues with them, and they look sharp. I also got them for a deal from DJF buy/sell when I first got my tables, so couldn't go wrong there. I had a cheap pair of stanton needles that I got when I initially had my TT's, and I've used the M44-7's on my buddy's setup. Another buddy always seems to have different needles. I just like them, but I don't know enough about different carts/needles to get into the nitty gritty about it. |
| Betsy Orsillo 23.12.2011 | i have a pair of m447s for home use but when i'm on the road i use ortofon concordes with evening
club and scratch stylus... has any one used the ortofon sl-120? ... |
| Nick Kingsley 22.12.2011 | For me its m447s for timecode/scratching and white labels for regular vinyl. |
| Dorie Scelzo 22.12.2011 | M-44G/7. Gs for real vinyl, 7s for timecode. Gs can track just as well as 7s even under heavy scratching according to skratchworx (who are way better than me at scratching) in a review several years ago. And Gs sound better. 7s are marginally cheaper, IIRC, and are a little more resilient to busted tonearms and bad setups. I used Stanton headshells because I was told there wasn't a difference and they were a lot cheaper than Technics. Shure Whitelabels are the best-sounding cartridge I've used. Absolutely loved mine. They're prettier and awesomer than Ortofons, sound better, track better, and have cheaper replacement styli, though they (and replacement styli) are notably more expensive than M-44Gs and only sound a little better. It is very noticeable, but it's not evening & day. I haven't heard a Stanton cartridge that I liked. Not by a long shot. I haven't owned Ortofon Concordes, though I did own a set of the Nightclubs that fit on headshells. I wasn't a huge fan, but they were fine. All of the Ortofon Concordes I've seen in person had a broken arm, which never happened to my Whitelabels. And I've enjoyed Grado HiFi carts, but I don't believe I'd DJ with them. If I were buying today, I'd probably buy replacement styli for the M-44Gs I still have or Whitelabels (which I sold when I sold my decks). I'd probably wind up with both and slightly prefer the Whitelabels for performing out and the M-44Gs for practicing just because of cost. I'd use a 500AL2 despite disliking Stanton carts for practice if I cared about saving money there. And looking at that picture of the whitelabel makes me really miss having turntables and spinning with vinyl. Is it possible that after selling my decks, trying every major DVS, owning CDJs, spinning with Live, and spinning with Traktor |
| Palma Hanslip 22.12.2011 | Currently have Stanton Trackmaster II's that i some how aquired brand new basically. Still have no idea how i got them. But like them a fair bit.. Also got these Craze needles i got with my Tech's but never use them.. |
| Osvaldo Newhall 22.12.2011 | When I began DJing some 20+ years ago, Shure M44-7 with original Technics MK2 headshell was the one I used. I started using Stanton 890SA (packaged with 4 needles and a carrying case) in 2003 as well as Trackmaster II. I still have the Trackmaster II until now but I have sold the 890SA with the head shell and bought a new set of M44-7 last year fitted on MK5 headshells. So it's back to good ol' Shure! |
| Jonathan Chiuchiolo 22.12.2011 | m447's all the way, I had concord pro's when playing vinyl, now I use dvs and have since learned to scratch, they have one of the highest MV outputs, they have the same volume in reverse as they have going forward, and they never skip as long as you don't tap the record. before using dvs they didn't seem to eat through real records any quicker when they are properly balanced. If you don't know how to balance just get a blank peice of vinyl from a white label, play the blank side, then adjust the antiskate and weight until the needle stays on the blank vinyl without you supporting it. when you do this the needle isn't being forced into the wall of the groove degrading the sound over time |
| Romelia Stankard 22.12.2011 | Which concordes do you use and are you using spherical or eliptical needles? I use Ortofon Nightclub Concorde mk1s (spherical) just because I have 5 of them I got in trades and they are pretty looking and are pretty good carts. If I had to buy new carts though I wouldn't waste my money and would just get M447s and some decent headshells (stock technics headshells are fine too). The lift arm on the ortofon concordes is delicate if you are around drunk people and someone broke one of mine which I did a pretty damn good job repairing with a pen cap that looks like it was meant to be there. I also have like 3 of these which are pretty decent that I put on if I'm mixing with friends who I don't trust with my ortofons. I've never had to buy new needles or cratridges myself. |
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