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JMW 10.5 tonearm cartridge recommendation

I am buying a used VPI classic 1. It comes with a JMW 10.5 tonearm. If anyone here is using this arm, what cartridge do you recommend as a good match. I own a Soundsmith boheme cart that is on my current table. From the specs on the JMW arm, it looks like it may be a bit too light for the arm. Can anyone calculate tonearm resonant frequency for me. I couldn't find a formula to do it. Specs are below.

Tonearm: JMW 10.5i SE - Mass is 12.3g
Cart: Soundsmith Boheme Mass is 6.8g - Compliance 22um/mN

Thanks for your help

Andy
andyprice44
jmcgrogan2's avatar
jmcgrogan2
6,346 posts
 
I believe that I recall reading that VPI recommends cartridges weighing more than 7 grams and with compliance greater than 10. I think Dynavector's, Lyra's and Sumiko's are popular with VPI tables/arms. I'm running a Sumiko Blackbird with my Scoutmaster/JMW-9 Signature with good results.
jtwrace's avatar
jtwrace
443 posts
 
I'm using a Zu Denon 103 Prime on my recently purchased Classic 1.
andyprice44 OP
133 posts
 
Thanks for the suggestions guys. I talked with Peter at soundsmith. He said my soundsmith boheme cartridge will be a good match. He suggested adding some mass to the head of the arm by using the EZ - mount screws and to add 2 or 3 drops of damping fluid. I am going to try this first and see if it sounds good.
I told him I would be willing to buy the zephyr cartridge if he thought it would be a better match sonically for the 10.5 arm. He said either cart would work great. They are two totally different cartridges. The zephyr will be a bit warmer sounding cart, while the boheme will be a bit more analytical and retrieve a bit more detail. He said the zephyr would be a good match for someone running all solid state gear and the boheme would match better with tube gear.
I am going to stick with the boheme for now as I plan to pick up a couple of Mcintosh MC275 tube amps in the near future. Once I get my amps, if I am not satisfied with what I am hearing I may pickup a lyra delos cart and a good step up transformer.
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