Resuming my testing of this cartridge.

Some recent listens:

Tears for Fears - The Hurting
Beethoven - Symphony no.5
Eric Dolphy - Fire Waltz
Gang of Four - Solid Gold
Richard Groove Holmes - A Bowl of Soul
Bastard - A Wind of Pain

Some of these records are revealing the limitations of this cart via inner groove distortion (IGD) but that's to be expected for a conical stylus. Also, the GOF LP, which is a notoriously murky recording, (and very bass heavy) is sounding slightly muddy compared to what I usually hear on my other cartridge. Still impressed with this cartridge overall.

I will be trying 1 or 2 more classical LPs, some hip hop, and some reggae records for good measure before I post my final thoughts.

Since my last batch of testing I have reoriented the cart's hardware, fine tuned alignment, and increased the VTF to 2.5g.

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Some more recent test LPs:

Pretenders - 1st LP
Jeff Buckley - Grace
Toots and the Maytals - Pass the Pipe
His Name is Alive - Tecuciztecatl
Oasis - Definitely Maybe
Paul Motian Band - Psalm
Abercrombie Quartet - M
Joy Division - Still
Stanley Turrentine - Don't Mess With Mister T
Ornette Coleman - Song X


The cartridge continues to perform well though it did have some problems with the Pretenders and Abercrombie Quartet LPs. I'm taking another break from the cart and will test a few more albums before doing my final write up.

If anyone has any requests for a specific type of music or specific album, let me know, and I'll see what I can do.

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Final Impressions:

A great, high "bang for the buck" cartridge. While it doesn't excel at everything, for something I bought to use as a backup cartridge this has far exceeded my expectations.

Pros:

-Cost effective
-Inexpensive replacement styli
-Much more durable than most "hi-fi" or "home listening" cartridges
-Warm, engaging sound
-Less noisy in the groove with "well loved" or badly pressed LPs
-Sounds great with a variety of genres of music

Cons:

-Some inner groove distortion with aggressively cut records
-Not a good fit for certain albums that are extremely bass-heavy or recorded with a muddy sound
-Detail, especially in the upper midrange and treble frequencies can be lacking
-Not a good match for some popular lightweight tonearms


Recommended?

Yes.

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+1 for the review good sir, you are an asset and a scholar.

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“Lesser artists borrow... great artists steal.” - Igor Stravinsky
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