Audio-Technica VM750SH or Goldring 1042

A couple of things to consider

• Goldring 1042 - Contact Line stylus
  • this would require a very detailed setup to achieve the best performance
  • it would produce very detailed playback
  • some might consider this stylus type as too analytical
• Audio-Technica VM750SH - Shibata stylus
  • not quite so demanding WRT setup
  • some might prefer this stylus type citing a more musical presentation.

It also depends on your phono stage, tonearm and cables as to the final result.

I have a Denon D103 with a Soundsmith optimized contour contact line stylus on a ruby cantilever (cost around $600) and like it very much, but I needed a much younger pair of eyes to achieve the very best setup.

My next cartridge will have the Shibata profile, just because of the less rigorous  setup required.

But my choice of these two carts would be he Audio-Technica VM750SH because of the cost difference and the stellar reputation AT has and my pevious encounter with a Goldring cartridge left me underwhelmed

Good luck with your choice - Steve

Just to claify my statement about the setup of the more advanced contact line cartridges...

• many people will use a paper based protractor to setup their cartridge, but this is not accurate enough for very fine stylus profiles like those on contact line cartridges
• A mirror protractor has much finer lines and makes the setup process a little more accurate and time consuming. It requires good eyesight, something which is failing in my case, so I had a younger friend with 20/20 vision assist me and we took photo’s to ensure everything was just right
• there was a noticeable improvement over the setup I performed initially using a paper protractor, i.e. once my young friend tweaked the allignment using a mirror protractor

I could be wrong, but I "think" the Shibata profile could be a little more "forgiving"?

• any comments on this thought would be appreciated

Regards - Steve