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Rookie questions - toneam and cartridge

Hi all! I'm fairly new to the analog scene and I'm hoping I can get some good advice. I recently aquired an older JVC turntable. I know that's not a name that inspires any awe in the turntable world, but this model (QL-Y66F) seems very well built and in excellent shape. At any rate, it's just an experiment for me...

My first question regards the tonearm. The unit came with two tonearms - one S-shaped and the other straight. The manual mentions them both but says nothing about why one would choose one over the other. Can anyone give me some insight here?

My second question is about the choice of cartridge. Currently the unit has a Shure M91ED. I have no idea what the condition is, but I have found several place which stock replacement stylii for this cartridge, so it would be easy and cheap enough to freshen it up. The question is whether or not to bother. Is this a decent and appropriate cartridge for the turntable or should I look into another cartridge altogether? And if so (new cartridge), what would be a good suggestion in an inexpensive cartridge? I don't want to over-equip the turntable in terms of a high-end cartridge. If I decide I like analog enough, I'll likely dump this turntable in time and pick up something better.

Thanks for your suggestions,
RLW
phydeaux

Showing 1 response by 6bq5

6bq5
62 posts
 
'S' vs straight, cholcolate vs vanilla, well not quite but....
The big effect of the tone arm is to maintain a geometry across the disk, and to hold the cartridge rigidly and yet allow the 'system' to pickup all the nuances of the groove. There are many great tone arms of both shapes and ultimatly it becomes a preference, and a question of match with the table and cartridge.
W/ respect to the cartridge, I am not familiar w/ the shure; however insofar as you are new to this, re-tip it and try both arms, once you can tell the difference between them, start to look at different cartridges.....
Happy listening!
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