Show us your turntable

Did you play around with the arm? Thoughts? It’s a special one but I like the looks (and idea) of it :blush:

You could also cannibalise your Rega decks for an arm and cartridge for a new LP12 , they can be configured for Rega arms with Linn supplied parts.

More info on this please. :+1:

The cartridge?

The t+a shell. I can’t find any info on it at all. :+1:

It’s just a T+A branded metal mount wrapped around the benz micro cartridge.

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In light of above, can anyone recommend someone to service cartridge?

Though not sure I wouldn’t be better off simply replacing it after 20 years of use…

I think @Richard.Dane may be able to assist here.

The Expert Stylus Company in Ashtead, Surrey used to be one to go to but I cannot see UTD details & contact info for them.

Expert stylus have a good reputation. Otherwise there’s Van Den Hul, Goldring, Northwest Analogue and a few others.

Thanks for that both.

Another vote for Expert Stylus from me. Nice people and workmanship at least on the same level.
The cartridge you see my avatar went through their hands.

I know very little about turntables but I can appreciate the design and engineering in many of these, and the sheer aesthetic beauty of the complete deck and many component parts. A great thread even for a non vinyl guy, some stunning photos…

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So, I took off the Benz and plonked on a Goldring Eroica cartridge I happened to have had hanging around for donkeys (I bought it ‘recommended’ rather than tried, as part of a planned Thorens/Hadcock resurrection which I never got round to completing, so it is brand new in effect.)

It confirmed what I already knew, that the Benz is damaged.

It also confirmed that the Benz is/was a fantastic piece of kit.

By comparison the Goldring is soooooo dull and boring. It does play the notes and they are in the right order but not the way I’d like to hear them. It is ‘new’ so could need playing in but…sheesh.


Dull.

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Funny you should mention how dull the Eroica sounds Jamie. When my Linn Karma got destroyed by a friends child I decided that expensive Carts were out from then on and I was recommended the Eroica as a decent, lower cost alternative. So, in to the Ekos went an Eroica and I thought it sounded fine. In the the course of the next 2 years (early 90’s) I steadily lost interest in Vinyl and went almost completely CD. At the time I thought it was just that CD was showing up the limitations of Vinyl. I was certainly happy enough with Digital music for the next 25 years, but it wasn’t until I rediscovered the wonders of Vinyl a few years ago that I realised what I’d turned my back on. I don’t know if that Goldring Eroica was the only culprit, but certainly interesting to hear your observations!

… you most probably need to adjust resistance load at your phono stage. :wink:

To my knowledge the T+A cart was quite similar to Benz Gold (20 Ω, 0.4 mV, CU 15) what makes it a medium to high resistance cart, that can be compared to a Denon DL-103R electrically.

You newly mounted Goldring Eroica on the contrary is a low resistance cart (3 Ω, 0.25 mV for L version and 7.7 Ω, 0.5 mV, for LX type, both with CU 15), what needs to be loaded differently.

With changing resistive load of the cart tonality as well as rhythm and coherence will behave differently. Furthermore paired with the SME M2 9" there should be some weight beeing attached at headshell position in order to get resonance frequency below 9 Hz (actually and with given cart weight it´s at 11 Hz and consequently far to high). Adding a bronze or other material plate between cart and headshell with about 4 or even more gr might help.

PS.: There were a H (high output 77 Ω, 2,5 mV) and a GX (similar to LX but different stylus) version of the Eroica in the past either

Cheers Don, yep the T+A has an on-board phono stage and I changed switches to suit the Eroica (it is a high output version) when fitting (and indeed then adjusted impedance to try and brighten things up a little…)

Bit of a downside that the switches are under the chassis and it is a rather hefty unit. Though reassuringly solidly made, allowing me to tip it up on it’s backside to adjust!

Surely the high output Eroica will be expecting a load of 47k or thereabouts, you need to connect it to a MM input.

https://www.goldring.co.uk/goldring-eroica-h-cartridge.html#tab2

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I found out recently that Rega 3 and reson mica is a real sweet spot
They really work well together !!

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You’re right, I did get the Eroica for an MM stage in a Creek amp all those years ago! Memory slip ahem.

I mis-read impedance to be 77 ohm…

100% - P3 and Reson Mica is a great combination (and many have noted too with a Goldring 1012/1022/1042 etc).

The great thing is, although I don’t think I can get a Replacement stylus for my 20 year old cartridge, a Goldring 1042 will slot straight on and is widely available.