Nice gig…! 
SC
I wouldn’t overthink it. In a place the size of Perth there will be plenty of capable people for advice if you need it, even if you need to go “cottage industry”.
Mike - you’ve got the Lingo 4
Remind me what phono and cartridge do you have ?
Cheers
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Yes, okay so.
The cart is the AT-OC9ML/II - the dealer check this with his microscope when he installed the Lingo 4 and other upgrades and it was in very good condition.
My phono is the Heed Quasar, and I am using the larger Heed Obselik PS to power this. I don’t know if I mentioned this, but I was reading some reviews of the Quasar and read that the designer recommends using the low output setting if the cart has a output less than 0.5 mV and the lower sensitivity gain which you can adjust jumpers for inside the Quasar. The OC9 is 0.4 mV, so I made this adjustments, and also reduced the impedance to 100 ohms, and it really did lift the performance. This is what the designer says:
Huszti explained: “The manual is referring to the tendency of many modern integrateds and line-stages to use less gain, which can lead to a sense of less dynamics, unless the input voltage reaches a certain threshold. . . . The ‘High Out’ section indeed has more gain and generally sounds more dynamic, but with a certain sacrifice of transparency and immediacy. Since the Quasar has a lot of headroom before being overdriven, I recommend using the highest gain position of the adjustable gain jumpers (100µV), using the ‘Low Out’ with MC cartridges that have an output below 0.5mV. Listening bears this out pretty quickly.”
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Greatly appreciated Mike
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Approximately, how many records do you have?
DG…
I am new to this forum and I have a question for fordy regarding the Shelter 90c cartridge. I understand its exclusive to Audio Union of Japan. Can you share your experience with this cartridge? Thanks.
My new family member is a 50 year old LP12 that is finally connected and up and running. Gerry Mulligan - Night Lights coming out of the speakers and it sounds wonderful. Aurorasound Vida Prima is backing it up. And what can I say. It still schwiiings! 
And my old original Coltrane records even though this setup is nothing extra ordinary sounds so real. First time I’ve heard a turntable through my 500/552 system too. Fun times 
(must resist upgrade devil…)
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Yes I bought the Shelter 90c in 2011/12 at the Audio Union store in Shinjuku. They told me that it was a model that was exclusive to their chain and it consisted a Harmony generator in the 901 aluminium body. This was also confirmed with some web info I found at the time in Japan.
It’s an excellent cartridge with medium compliance tracking at about 1.8g at loading at about 100ohms and healthy 0.5mV output. Not particularly fussy in terms of tonearm or phonostage. I’ve used it in a number of scenarios over the years and have always been pleased but perhaps the best combination was in a Graham Phantom tonearm. It’s a well judged sound, nice high frequencies but not too hyper detailed (Lyra), not too brash forward or recessed in the mids and not overly warm either. Bass is probably its strongest feature as it always struck me as a very rhythmic cartridge. I’ve always had a lot of cartridges in rotation and this is one that has stayed with me for the long term.
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Very nice 
Flutes are best
And lovely close up photos (again)
R
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Hi Fordy, thankyou very much for the reply. I plan to go to Tokyo this December and want to acquire the 90c from AU. Here’s the odd thing, if you look at AU’s website, the 90c, although new, is sold on the “used hi-end” 2nd Floor whereas the other Shelter is sold on the “hi-end” 3rd floor. I may be thinking way ahead of myself; the 90c could be based on an older model and it looks a bit like the 90x which made its debut in the early 2000. I am looking for something slightly on the warm side and based on my research it should fit the requirement.
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Testing out the camera on my wife’s new iPhone 16 Pro to see what it can do. Pretty fine resolution which makes my standard Linn oak plinth look quite exotic!
… and my DV TKR look quite dusty!
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Oooo… I do like a TKR, love mine in the new system.
Tim
Hi all
Any thoughts would be welcome. LP12, Ittok. Currently with an Ortofon Cadenza Red cartridge which I have enjoyed.
Coming to the end of it’s life and I need to change.
Options - stick with the red, upgrade to a Cadenza Blue using the Ortofon trade in discount or go for a Dynavector XX2 11 which seems to be well regarded. The Dynavector and the blue would be closely matched price wise after the Ortofon discount. Or are there other options out there I should consider. Many thanks for any thoughts.
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Sorry I should have said the blue and Dynavector come in around £1300
Dynavector’s generally do very well on LP12’s but what you really should be concerned about is the cartridge working well with the phono preamp. What phono pre will you be using ?
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Hi I use a Trichord Dino Mk3 and Dino + power supply
Dynavector XX2Mk11 is a great cart. Used one on my LP12 with Ekos 2. Very nice. Will work well with the Ittok based LP12.
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Lovely LP12/Aro and striking looking cartridge! It’s photo’s like this that tempt me back into the fold.
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