Tír Na HiFi

Terry,

Many thanks for the link, I had a read of it... some guys are saying one should own a 103 cart for the simple reason it is a piece of audio history. Seems very well regarded... I suppose that's the reason why there is such a DIY cottage industry around it, that I suppose says a lot.

On another point... one poster suggests best not to be swapping and changing carts..... as it tends to lead to accidents!!!! hahahahahahaaaa.. gave me a good laugh.

@ G.Haystacks.

I had a look at your link to Ard Howen HiFi.... seems a very good site... very well laid out, clear and concise, prices posted and a nice selection of stock as well. Benz Ace cartridge for about 575 stg. I don't think we had have a link from him before.... have we? He even has some Croft gear... including a MM phone stage..... Cybot............ did you read that??????????????????

Adrian wrote:Terry,

Many thanks for the link, I had a read of it... some guys are saying one should own a 103 cart for the simple reason it is a piece of audio history. Seems very well regarded... I suppose that's the reason why there is such a DIY cottage industry around it, that I suppose says a lot.

On another point... one poster suggests best not to be swapping and changing carts..... as it tends to lead to accidents!!!! hahahahahahaaaa.. gave me a good laugh.

@ G.Haystacks.

I had a look at your link to Ard Howen HiFi.... seems a very good site... very well laid out, clear and concise, prices posted and a nice selection of stock as well. Benz Ace cartridge for about 575 stg. I don't think we had have a link from him before.... have we? He even has some Croft gear... including a MM phone stage..... Cybot............ did you read that??????????????????

Indeed I have Adrian :) It's a lovely site too as you've already said. The very best of luck with your search as it's a minefield with so many conflicting opinions to drive you absolutely nuts :) That's why I'm sticking with my bog standard Goldring 1000 series moving magnet for as long as I'm moving ha ha :)

there is a russian man living near london called alex nikitin he trades under a company name called ant audio he makes battery powered phono stages and sells kits for diy phono stage also .
the engineer in enniskillen that i mention called rodney hanna made a phono stage which outperformed tricord dino and a clearaudio phonostage -he is going to make a battery phonostage.
david campbell of kronos hifi uses a triangle battery powered phonostagefrom the 1990s

I wouldn't nromally recommend buying a second hand cartridge, but you may want to have a look at htis:


http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/swap-mee ... idges.html

Anybody using the Ortofon Rondo Blue Cartridge at the moment? Seems well regarded but I was curious about the comment that it is particularly good for small orchestral works?

Any users of this cart on here, or even any Rondo users (Red, Bronze)... would you care to share your thoughts?

Adrian wrote:Anybody using the Ortofon Rondo Blue Cartridge at the moment? Seems well regarded but I was curious about the comment that it is particularly good for small orchestral works?

Any users of this cart on here, or even any Rondo users (Red, Bronze)... would you care to share your thoughts?

I would love to Adrian but I don't have one; though I did read all the reviews to see what all the fuss was about. I'll leave to somebody else to tell the real story ie those who have one :)

Well.... believe it or not... but I managed to get my paws on a Rondo Blue MC cart. Despite not been in production anymore... I obtained a low hours ex demo unit.

What can I say... but this is now currently the best cart I have in my possession.... depth, 3d soundstage, control, tone, resolution, colour, timbre... it is ticking all the boxes... very very good, no disappointments.

A significant step up from my Sumiko BP No2, which I would consider a extremely capable HO MC cart for 270e or so.

The Rondo, I would consider a heavy cartridge, very tall 18.2mm, tracking force 2.3 gm, alignment a touch tricky..... bordering difficult due to the curvature of the body. The Rondo series has now been replaced by the Quintet series.. which is not only cheaper... but allegedly a sonic upgrade as well.

Great stuff Adrian. You seem to be on a cartridge roll at the moment.

Nice one Adrian. Enjoy until the coils burn out :) Incidentally nobody, but nobody, ever says anything about replacing the actual cartridge body be they mm or mc. Do they go off eventually I wonder?

I am also a Sumiko Blue Point No. 2 user and I find it a very good all rounder. I have been pondering what I will eventually replace it with and having recently heard the Ortofon Rondo Blue I started doing some research because I liked it so much but it is now discontinued. Apparently it has been replaced with the Quintet range which is allegedly a "better" cartridge and I will be giving very serious consideration to the Quintet Blue when the appropriate time comes.