Installed new cartridge, would new shell wires be to anal?

etcarroll · October 18, 2010, 08:24:47 AM

I ask this only partly 'tongue in cheek', as I realize when it comes to vinyl, some can never be anal enough.

Anyway, brought my old Denon DP-52f, (maybe 30-33 years old), tt online a few months back, with the 2nd Denon DL-301 MC cartridge I bought for it way back when, maybe 25 years ago.

Yesterday I installed an NOS Ortofon MC 25E MC cartridge, big improvement in sound.

So this has me wondering, what about the 4 little wires in the tonearm headshell that connect to the cartridge?

Anybody have a thought on the need to replace them, and with what?

BobM · October 18, 2010, 10:29:28 AM

If you replace them you'll have to break them in all over again.

If the old ones are dirty, clean them. If loose, tighten them. Otherwise, unless you're replacing and upgrading all the wire from cartridge to preamp I would just leave enough alone.

rollo · October 21, 2010, 10:07:17 AM

Agree with Bob. Progold works very well for phono leads. Just apply to pins lightly.

charles

tmazz · October 25, 2010, 06:52:21 PM

Quote from: rollo on October 21, 2010, 10:07:17 AM
Agree with Bob. Progold works very well for phono leads. Just apply to pins lightly.

charles

My gut says, clean and tighten them and call it a day. However..... just on a whim I searched the NeedleDoctor site for headshell leads and he has Audioquest leads for only $25 and Cardas leads for $48. Now I'm not really familiar with your TT model or the arm that comes with it so I can't really comment if it has the resolving power to allow you to differentiate among different headshell leads, but for that much money it might be fun to try,

(Cue the scary Jaws music as Nervosa starts to creep in.....

)

etcarroll · May 04, 2011, 05:06:16 PM

Well, had planned to buy a new tt, but about a grand worth of dental work has wiped out that plan.

So - has anybody replaced the phono ICs from tt, mine are hardwired.

I'm thinking of taking off the bottom and checking to see if I can desolder the existing wires easy enough. If I can, then I need to get something new in their place.

Obviously Cardas is out, at $500 I'd just buy a MMF 5.1 tt and call it a day.

What have people done for less than $500 with good results in the past to upgrade their tt phono ICs?

allenzachary · May 04, 2011, 07:01:14 PM

I never took apart a Denon DP52, but did sell a bunch and mounted many a cartridge on them. It is a nice little table and has that servo-controlled tone arm, which worked much better than one would expect.

Replacing the head shell wires is overkill, as the tonearm wires would need replacement as well in order to reap the benefit. Being that the arm has servo motors within, I think you are really asking for trouble if you take it apart.

Most Japanese tables from the 80's had hard wired ICs. Typically, the wires were accessible by removing the bottom panel. Changing wires was easy on most of them. If the DF52 is the same, changing the wires should be self-explanatory. If the bottom doesn't come off easily, you may have a struggle.

tmazz · May 04, 2011, 07:30:49 PM

Have you thought about just mounting a set of RCA jacks on the back of the base? then you can swap in and out ICs to see what works best. I am in the process of doing just that for my son's Thorens 147, which also came with a cr@ppy hardwired IC that becomes problematic with age.

etcarroll · May 04, 2011, 07:47:09 PM

Yup - thought of it, but now you're adding another connection for the signal to pass through, wanted to avoid that if I could.

What are you using for jacks?

Let have some pics when you're done.

rollo · May 05, 2011, 08:24:42 AM

Well, if you do take the plunge Ortofon copper Litz 6N or 7N leads are $50 a set and highly recommended by Koetsu and Goldnote for their cartridges which in itself says a lot.

charles