JVC Z1-S with aftermarket elliptical stylus

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fredeb

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I own a number of "vintage" cartridges , one of which is the JVC Z1-S .

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I scored the cartridge with a JVC QL-A2 turntable I picked up at the charity shop in Somerset West , with broken stylus .

I proceeded to order an aftermarket elliptical stylus from turntableneedles.com after reading some good reports on the net .

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Wow! I've got to say , it must be one of the best moving magnet cartridges I've heard thus far . Amazing !

Most solid bass I've experienced from any cartridge . That must be the most pertinent characteristic of this cartridge . Mid and high range are perfectly clear and balanced with the bass , simply superb . Soundstage is super , with Sonic Youths "Goo" it feels as if I'm in the studio with the coolest mofo's of rock .  ;D

Other vintage cartridges I own I'll list in no particular order ( they're all pretty cool in their own way ) :

1. ADC 660XE ( have elliptical and spherical styli )
2. Goldring G900E ( with aftermarket H/E )
3. Empire 1000Z/EX ( with aftermarket fineline )
4. Ortofon VMS 30 Mk2 ( with original stylus - Thanks Supergrand ! )
5. Elac STS444 ( with aftermarket elliptical )
6. Shure V15 Mk2 Imp. ( with aftermarket elliptical )

I also own/ed various popular contemporary Audio Technica , Shure , Ortofon , Technics and Grado MM or MI cartridges from the lower to middle tiers , and none of them touch sides with the above mentioned cartridges . The only problem is finding replacement styli - but one obviously can find these .

I currently have the JVC cartridge mounted on SME 3009 S2 Imp. w. removable headshell , tracking at ~1.25g with anti-skate at the lowest setting , on a Kenwood KD500 .

Please leave your thoughts on experiences with any MM cartridges you have experienced .

Cheers  :dop:
Ari
 

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