Cheap cartridge help needed

Posted by: i am simon 2 on 21 July 2003

My goldring 1022 has past it, I think a combination of age and over zelous use of fluid type cleaners on both records and stylus have gooped up the stylus assembly, the stylus itself and who knows, maybe the internals as well.

I realy dont have enough money to replace/upgrade it at the moment, but I want to listen to records.

The obvous short term stop gap is a Rega Bias or Super Bias.

I have a Planar 3 with original R200 arm (s-shaped).

Does the Bias fit the headshell on this arm?

Is it worth thinking about either of these cartridges or should I just stop listing to vinyl for the rest of this year?

As it is only a stop gap, is the Super Bias worth the extr few quid over the normal Bias?

All help would be appreciated.

Simon

p.s. I will keep the Goldring stylus and body for an exchange at some point, maybe a 1042, when I can afford it.

Posted on: 21 July 2003 by Frank Abela

If you want to play the records you don't have a choice. I see you have an R200. I'll assume that you haven't had the motor upgrade done.

Personally I wouldn't put too much money into this deck. It'll be a nice sounding deck, a little soft around the edges without the extra pace and definition of the modern variants. It'll still knock any other inexpensive deck of its age.

So, if you want to listen to your cartridges, just take it down to a dealer and get a cartridge you can afford. Personally, I'd steer clear of the Regas as they're possibly noisier than your 1022. I like the Ortofon 500 series a lot more but some people do prefer the Goldrings. An Ortofon 510 is £45. You could look at downgrading to a 1012 or, provided your dealer says the body's intact and the suspension isn't shot, you could replace the stylus on the 1022.

Regards,
Frank.
All opinions are my own and do not reflect the opinion of any organisations I work for, except where this is stated explicitly.