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Goldring 1042

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IvanM View Drop Down
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    Posted: 10 Mar 2008 at 10:01pm

I wonder if anyone else is using (or has used) a Goldring 1042 and if they are, I wonder if they have found it to be as fussy about VTA and bias as I have?  The bias isn’t a problem but the VTA is doing my crust in.  When I get it bang right the sparkle and presence are captivating but it seems that the difference between a thick record and a thin one is enough to take the shine off.  I don’t know if it’s the nature of the cart or just that I am being allowed to hear the difference that small adjustments make due to the extra info I get from the Reflex.  The fact that I have one of those tonearms that leaves for the centre of the earth immediately the grub screw on the centre pillar is released is not helping much iether.  I am happy that the alignment is correct so I’m beginning to wonder if I’m getting over fussy but the sweet spot seems remarkably small and the difference surprisingly noticeable.

I'd like to agree with you but then we'd both be wrong.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Graham Slee Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Mar 2008 at 1:17am
Hi Ivan,

The 1042 is noted to have a slight hump in the 2kHz region where our hearing is quite sensitive. This may be in part due to its relatively steep high frequency roll-off that I feel is almost an attempt to be CD-like. A steep filter is always characterized by in-band ripple - hence the 2kHz hump IMO. CD is also considered to have a more restricted sound-stage.

A notable cartridge for really room defying sound-stage is the Cartridgeman Music Maker III, which I have heard on two different speaker systems in different locations, and by room defying I mean whole building defying too, as placement of different sounds have appeared to come from the street, people's back yards, etc. The MM3 can be a fussy cartridge (but not in the VTA department in my findings) but Len Gregory who makes them gives guidance on their successful usage. However, for this standard you'd be paying much bigger bucks than the 1042.

There are two affordable cartridges that once stood out for delivering a serious sound-stage: the Ortofon VMS20EII (now out of production), and the ridiculously cheap Audio Technica AT95E. John (John C) may fill you in on our Hendrix experience...

In the 1042's defence, if you forget about the sound-stage, I'm sure you'll agree it's a very musical cartridge, and very engaging particularly in identifying and separating performers, which may be an artefact of its slight midrange hump.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Mar 2008 at 9:33am
Interesting ! How do you set VTA when the arm tapers towards the cartridge, as it does on my Technoarm ( Rega 250 ). I have been running the ERA Gold V solo in for several weeks now, but not had a lot of listening (  work ! ). It seperates the instruments more, is very listenable, can hear more detail ( I think ), makes me want to put on more vinyl, but it appears to me that the vocals are set back in the mix more, not quite so forward. This is with the 1042.
 
Been thinking of asking Ian if he has any technical equipment to help set up my arm properly, he could do it for me when he drops off the power supply LOL  
 
Adrian. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tg [RIP] Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Mar 2008 at 10:42am
Hi Adrian,
I am not sure if it will help you (even less sure it is correct) but it seems to work OK for me.
I use a tecnoarm though not a 1042, I have set the arm as low as is not inconvenient.
By this I mean that with a heavy (thick) record on the platter the stylus will barely (>1mm) clear the surface when raised with the arm lift mechanism.
I am not particularly obsessive about VTA (I also admit that the Denons I use are reputed to be not particularly sensitive in that respect)
I did have one interesting session with a DL103 (which should be the least sensitive due to its conical stylus) - listening to a Pavarotti recording and adjusting the VTA by significant amounts - I did discover the point at which his voice sounded the most natural and others not as much so - IIRC that coincided with the usual recommendation of "between level and a little tail down"
If it is possible to vary the height of the arm lift mechanism on the RB250 I have not discovered it although other arms I have owned allowed this.
One way of testing a few settings with minimal grief is using different thickness mats (if you have a few to try) and listening for the difference and then adjust the arm accordingly.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote IvanM Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Mar 2008 at 3:51pm
Hello Adrian
 

I don't think that you can set the VTA by looking at the arm unless you have both a parallel arm tube and a cartridge that is correctly aligned when the arm is parallel to the record.  In the case of the 1042 the instruction says to set the bottom surface of the cartridge itself, parallel to the surface of the record, when the recommended tracking weight is applied.  When the 1042 is aligned this way in my arm (which does have a parallel tube) it is noticeably higher at the pivot end than at the cartridge end.

 

There are apparantly special tools to set VTA using a mirror arrangement (I think - I have read descriptions but haven’t actually seen one) but I don’t have one.  So what I do is fold a small piece of white card into an inverted V and place this behind the cartridge on a record that is A. flat and B. doesn’t have a raised outer edge.  It is important that the edge of the card is parallel to the side of the cartridge body and that you view from 90 degrees off the cartridges other side.  This sounds more complicated than it actually is and does allow you to see, quite easily, if the bottom of the cartridge is parallel to the record.



Edited by IvanM - 11 Mar 2008 at 7:16pm
I'd like to agree with you but then we'd both be wrong.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Mar 2008 at 7:21pm
Thanks for your advice guys.
 
I'll try the white cardboard trick this weekend Clap but the bottom of the cartridge has 2 slightly different planesConfused and my eyesight is getting dodgyLOL 
 
I have heard the rear end up theory before.
 
Adrian.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote IvanM Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Mar 2008 at 11:41am

Graham 

 

I am intrigued by the Music Maker cartridge it seems to offer the quality of output usually associated with costly MC's but with the benefits of MM (according to reviews at any rate).  The thing is though that my original plan was to take a lower cost route back in to vinyl.  However, since reviving the LP12 with the Reflex I have played just 1 CD.  I have now decided that upgrading my vinyl replay system is a good way to spend my hard earned. The first thing to go will be the 23 y/o LP12.  It has served me well but is, with the best will in the world, not worth spending more money on, especially the latest stupidly priced Linn mods.  The Ekos arm will go next, then the cart. 

 

My heart’s desire is a Michell Orbe/Origin Silver/Music Maker 3.  I have briefly heard the Orbe/Silver set up with an Ortofon MC and it sounded very, very good.  Haven't been able to hear much else yet though but I am going to try to and get to hear the new Clear Audio and Origin Live decks too.

 

It has taken me some time to come to this decision or more accurately, come to terms with this decision.  I had thought my romance with vinyl had pretty much come to an end or at least would be an on/off, low rent affair.  The Reflex is largely to thank/blame for my change of heart but this has been a positive influence and has actually rekindled my love of hi-fi gear and music (unlike some I will admit to taking pleasure from the kit as well as the music).  Another big influence on this decision happened a few weeks ago, when I had the opportunity to listen to Ivor Tiefenbrun espouse the wonders of Linn’s latest digital offering and listen to the actual kit in a system costing around 60 - 80k about 25% of which went on the digital source (NB best guess didn’t get exact prices).  

 

As a long term Linn user and fan, you can imagine that I listened to both his words and the sound of the kit with eager anticipation.  The fact that neither his words nor the sound rang true was a genuinely bitter moment for me.  I was hoping to be astonished, I was but not in a positive way.  I won’t try to review the event or the sound but even allowing for a poor room, it was, to my reasonably practiced ear and practical mind a huge disappointment for a ridiculous amount of money.  The whole thing revolved around the fact that the new bit of kit sounded better than the old one.  The fact that was overlooked though, for me at least, was that at this price it should have been astoundingly good: it wasn’t’.  It wasn’t even the best Linn set up I had heard, not by some way.

 

When I got home that night I put on my old LP12 with new low cost Reflex phono stage and MM cartridge and was more delighted than ever.  Although it didn’t strike me at the time, I have come to conclusion that vinyl replay hasn’t’ survived because of die-hard fans or even because it is ultimately the best sound you can achieve: I think vinyl replay remains popular because it is in fact the best value for money route to a truly satisfying, hi-quality sound.

 



Edited by IvanM - 20 Mar 2008 at 12:09pm
I'd like to agree with you but then we'd both be wrong.
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