Hana sl works fine in my Aro.
Probably more important to find the tonal balance you prefer than worry about a millimetre
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I could add transfiguration, there’s probably no point now but replacing a 17D3 with a proteus gave the same overhang.
Bunch of answers here of stuff that works well, but to your original question, the only current production carts that match the 7.5mm stylus-to-mounting hole distance would be the Linn MCs (Krystal and Kandid) and the Denon DL-103.
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That’s great to know, I have a couple of friends who run the Hana Sl on there decks, really good sounding cart In imo. Great bang for the buck. In fact jaw dropping at times.
Thank you, ‘twas what I was looking for. I had forgotten about the DL 103. Intriguing choice at that price. Any users on here?
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Yup, I have used a DL-103 on the Aro, albeit mostly one with an ESCO re-tip. It’s a nice inexpensive choice and works surprisingly well in the ARO, but it’s not the panacea that some will have you think. It is “musical” but coloured; very “widescreen” in presentation, but coloured too (improved greatly by removing and replacing the plastic body); It has firm and weighty bass but can also come across as somewhat slow unless balanced elsewhere (suits a strong idler drive TT well here). In most modern turntables, more modern and more expensive MC carts will likely show it a clean pair of heels, but in the right setting, the DL-103 can surprise for very little outlay.
Thanks, that’s very informative.
I have a Troika on the way back from NWA, Dom has given it the once over for me after many a decade in storage. He has fitted some linking pins. What is your method for handling the excess wiring that will result from attaching to the Aro’s flying leads? Looks to me like the cart will ride quite low and all that wire will need to go somewhere!
Probably worth having a look through this thread;
I actually like the aluminium-bodied Zu-DL-103s on the Aro, especially the R version (I had the regular one as well). It gives it a bit of a modern edge without losing the inherent fun in the design. You do need the heavier counterweight, though.
That said, I preferred the OC9-ML/II to it at a much lower price point, despite the “wrong” geometry.
I tried - hard - to live with a Zu 103 on my Aro, but it just didn’t work. End-of-side distortion was a deal-breaker, though I heard and appreciated the nice “tone” the Denon brought to things, especially jazz. The Dynavector 20x2L was a significant improvement, to these ears.
Funny you’d mention that. The DV is not one I particularly rated for its tracking ability (I had one on the Aro at some point). I had 3 different Zus over the years (one standard mk1, one R mk1, one R mk2) and none of them were particularly good or bad at tracking - I would say about on par with the DV I had, if not slightly better.
It was ultimately one of the reasons I moved on from them, but again not because they were bad, but rather just average at it. I also consider it a deal breaker, but that is why I’ve moved on from many DVs, Linns, etc., not just the DL-103.
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You mention the AT OC9MLII; I found it was very adept at minimising end of side distortion. It could also play shallow cuts and long LPs sides really well.
I have an AT OC9MLII and it is a super tracker. Great sound and great value too at the upper end of MM money.
I thought Transfiguration were discontinued? But they were superb!
Hence my comment about there being little point in adding it but someone my buy a used one. Mine has had it but Ana Mighty Sound have told me they can rebuild them so all may not be lost, I’ve yet to test their services.
I currently have a London Decca maroon on my Aro , it seems to line up OK according to my Feickert and I’ve had no tracking issues but it’s configured for mono at those are the discs I’ve mainly used it with. Feeding a stageline N it’s surprisingly good, except for a bit of hum now and then.
I quite like the OC9MLII, and that family in general. To be honest, I think being good at tracking is the number one job of a cartridge:
- mistracking is the worst sound a system can make…
- … And it damages records
As such, many popular options don’t really work for me. It was also the reason I moved from the Aro to the Ekos SE despite loving the sound of the former: it was quite clear the Kandid tracked better on the latter.
Eventually I went to the ART1000 and found something that not only tracks everything but sounded better than any other option at a comparable price point to me, so quite a happy outcome. Interesting that it would again be an AT cartridge for me - they seem to value the same design requirements I do.
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so it should be, just found the price!
Plenty of cartridges at that price point couldn’t do the same, so…
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Granted!
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