georgejonestown Posted June 29, 2021 Posted June 29, 2021 G'day all. I have a Strathearn SMA-2 turntable which, all things considered, works mostly like a cheap turntable is meant to. However, the Sony VL-32G stylus the previous owner put on it is wearing out and looks to have had a fairly hard life. So this forum looks like a valuable group of people that can provide some high level advice on a replacement styli/cartridge. Budget is <$100 preferably - the whole thing is probably only worth twice that at most. I believe the headshell is fixed so that can't be replaced. Welcoming any input!
mkaramazov Posted July 1, 2021 Posted July 1, 2021 Interesting turntable... Something like an Audio Technica AT VM95e is a reliable replacement, and should sound better than that old Sony cartridge. But I am not sure whether your tonearm allows for adjustment for different cartridges, so this is something to investigate - I think there is manual for your turntable here.
georgejonestown Posted July 2, 2021 Author Posted July 2, 2021 21 hours ago, mkaramazov said: Interesting turntable... Something like an Audio Technica AT VM95e is a reliable replacement, and should sound better than that old Sony cartridge. But I am not sure whether your tonearm allows for adjustment for different cartridges, so this is something to investigate - I think there is manual for your turntable here. Thanks for replying! I'm much obliged. It's definitely unique. It does the job, but it's not going to win any awards unless it's for turntable most likely to be found in a dumpster in 1990! I'm still a novice at the technical side of TT's, but I was even more of a novice when I purchased this thing. The VM95e looks good, however you are right that it appears that the cartridge is fairly well fixed so it would need to be a stylus replacement only. Do you have any suggestions of something in that vein that's 'sans'-cartridge?
mkaramazov Posted July 2, 2021 Posted July 2, 2021 Well, the most important thing is that this turntable is doing the job for you at the moment! Ok, lets assume that there is limited scope to adjust the tonearm on this turntable to fit different cartridges; or at least, you are still learning so would prefer not to fiddle around at this point. One option is to simply replace the stylus on the Sony cartridge. You can buy a non original replacement stylus for this cartridge - here is one available in Australia, but there are many available online internationally if you look (PM me if you want links to some sales). This cartridge was not necessarily a high end item and had a fairly rudimentary conical tip stylus. I noticed there are some options for higher end stylii online; however I would suggest it is not worth going down that route without making sure that things are set up properly with your turntable - so you may need some expert local advice, or you might need to do some more detailed reading on your turntable and on turntable setup before you go down that route. BTW, your turntable is an unknown quantity to me, so I was genuinely interested. I read this review, which wasn't very charitable, but I personally like to keep an open mind when it comes to hifi - hope you are enjoying it. And when you are ready, lots of great advice on these forums for upgrades. 1
georgejonestown Posted July 5, 2021 Author Posted July 5, 2021 Thanks for your in depth response! I think a like-for-like styli replacement makes sense for now. The turntable itself is not bad by any stretch, but it's not top of the line. The history is quite bizarre and I've never seen another one in Australia so it's got that going for it at least!
Guest Mr Thorens Posted July 6, 2021 Posted July 6, 2021 (edited) Doesn’t look like a low end turntable to me. Good arm, direct drive, heavy at 7.5kg, quiet. anyway the brochure days arm is light and suitable for high compliance cartridges. And is replaceable due to standard mount. That makes the Ortofon OM5E the right candidate for the job. And sounds pretty good too for a $109 cartridge Not sure after market stylus will necessarily have the right compliance, this does vary. But you can usually get them for around $50 at Wagner Electronics plus shipping But for an extra $60, personally I would upgrade. Edited July 6, 2021 by Mr Thorens
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