SAEC SS-300 solid mat is excellent for Pioneer platter. The best cartridge is Pioneer PC-1000 mk2 with Beryllium cantilrver, but it's very rare, the sound signature is very close to the best Stanton cartridges from the '80s. You can use some of the best classics on Pioneer tonearm: Stanton 881s and 881s mk2 (or Pickering equipment XSV/3000 and XSV/4000).
New Pioneer PLX-1000 Turntable - Need recommendation for MM Cartridge and Mat
Hello A-goN'rs,
I just picked up a nearly new Pioneer PLX-1000 Turntable from a local seller. It came with an Ortofon Concorde MkII Mix cartridge and a Fluance PA-10 phono pre-amp. I set it up in my system, played around a bit with VTA and I've listened to a few records. My initial thought is that it sounds pretty darn good, especially since it is using a $99 DJ cartridge. I'm using the built-in phono pre-amp in my Rega Elicit-R integrated amp, not using the Fluance.
My reason for buying the Pioneer is to have a robust TT that I can take out of the house for an occassional music night with some local friends. It is going to work very well for that purpose. However, given how good it sounds in stock form, with the cheap cartridge, I'm wondering if a couple of minor upgrades might promote it into my main system to replace my current budget-priced belt drive table.
Does anyone have a recommendation for a <$500 MM cartridge for this TT? Also, any recommendations for a Mat that might offer an improvement in Sound Quality? Lastly, I've never owned a DD table. Regarding the platter/mat: do aftermarket mats get placed on top of the stock rubber mat? If the stock rubber mat is removed, the platter has a recess where the stock mat sits, and an elevated ring around the outside of the platter. Curious if an aftermarket mat sits on top of the stock rubber mat, or do I need to buy a replacement mat that fits in the original recess?
Thanks for your thoughts and recommendations...
Showing 5 responses by chakster
It's a shame that Pioneed stopped making cartridges long time ago, their PC-1000 mkII was a gian killer on the reference Pioneer tonearm on this turntable. You may not find NOS Pioneer cartridge, but you could find a NOS Stanton 881s and this great bargain was mentioned in the same TAS article where you can read about Audio-Technics AT-ML170 (one of my favorites MM). Unfortunately the link doesn't work anymore for me: http://www.regonaudio.com/
From the post of another audiogon member about Stanton 881s:
"Relating to the Doug Sax article. I recently got into vintage reel to reel. A 4 track revox B77. A record dealer friend found me 25 7.5 ips tapes. Mostly jazz from the 50’s and early 60’s. I listened almost exclusively to these tapes for a couple weeks. Going back to my mc cartridges there was a distinctly different presentation. But switching to mm (881s) it was much closer. Most noticeable was guitar and piano. MM and even better, tape, gives a fuller, more weighted sound similar to when I hear my guitar and piano in the house. My mc cartridges are all of the more full bodied sound too. But I have to say the piano from some of these tapes was the closest to the piano downstairs that I’ve ever heard in my room. But not in the audiophile sense. The tapes don’t have the frequency extension, soundstage, and air. But wait. Neither does my piano. Or my original 1962 Stratocaster through my assorted Fender amps". -sdrsdrsdr (audiogon)
Check for some nice vintage MM and MC cartridges in my virtual system. |
Pioneer platter is a clone of Technics platter.
This is SAEC SS-300: |
I do NOT recommend used vintage cartridges if you don't know the seller and his reputation. I recommend NOS (NEW OLD STOCK) vintage cartridges, specific models from well know brands, the reason why I recommend them is very simple - the sound quality is muhc better, because MM is not trendy nowadays, but MM in the past was better than MC. You got recommendations from people who acually compared many different cartridges, not from stranges who just recommend what they have without trying many different carts.
Mid or High compliance cartridges is what you need. Do not use a low compliance cartridges on this tonearm!
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Sadly Pioneer cartridges like PC-1000 mkII are not available from Pioneer anymore, it was superb design for their best turntables/tonearms.
In my opinion, after various tests in my system, the best Stanton cartridges are similar to Pioneer. Stanton like 881 and 981 are easier to find NOS. Stanton 881s was mentioned in the same TAS article where you can read about AT-ML170. Unfortunately the link to TAS article doesn’t work anymore for me:
From the post of another audiogon member about Stanton 881s:
P.S. You can check some of those MM carts in my virtual system.
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