"Squishynesses"? Surely it's "squishinesses". What are schools teaching these days?
Always check
No question, just some experience I learned the hard way. About two years ago, I bought my definitive turntable: a Goldmund Studietto with T5 arm and Kiseki Agaat Ruby cartridge. I listened at the dealer, and it sounded good. It was complete with extra springs, manual, extra counterweight etc. The cartridge "just had a retip", so everything was fine.
I enjoyed this beautiful TT, both as serious piece of equipment and as an eyecatcher, but always had the nagging feeling it should be able to sound 'better'. It wasn't bad, but...
A couple of weeks ago I saw a Sansui SR-525 TT at the thrift store. Nice looking table, although the antiskating weight was missing an it needed some work. Nothing fancy, but since it was very cheap and seemed like a 'do-able' project I bought it, restored it and fitted a Goldring 1012GX cartridge. Now that's a nice cartridge which I like, but nothing 'high end'. So imagine my surprise (and shock) as it outperfomed my Goldmund in every way...
To cut a long sory short: I checked the stylus of the Kiseki, which was completely worn out. After some consideration I decided to buy a new cartridge (Lyra Dorian). Now I finally can enjoy what a good TT can do.
So the moral here is to check things like needles always. It may be a small investment, but I can save you a lot of time and aggrevation.
I enjoyed this beautiful TT, both as serious piece of equipment and as an eyecatcher, but always had the nagging feeling it should be able to sound 'better'. It wasn't bad, but...
A couple of weeks ago I saw a Sansui SR-525 TT at the thrift store. Nice looking table, although the antiskating weight was missing an it needed some work. Nothing fancy, but since it was very cheap and seemed like a 'do-able' project I bought it, restored it and fitted a Goldring 1012GX cartridge. Now that's a nice cartridge which I like, but nothing 'high end'. So imagine my surprise (and shock) as it outperfomed my Goldmund in every way...
To cut a long sory short: I checked the stylus of the Kiseki, which was completely worn out. After some consideration I decided to buy a new cartridge (Lyra Dorian). Now I finally can enjoy what a good TT can do.
So the moral here is to check things like needles always. It may be a small investment, but I can save you a lot of time and aggrevation.