BitLess

My custom Thorens TD-160 Super from Vinyl Nirvana finally arrived last Friday, and I spent most of the weekend doing nothing but listening to records. I'm very pleased. Sorry for the crappy quality of the photo; I snapped it quickly this morning in pretty low light.

My custom Thorens TD-160 Super from Vinyl Nirvana finally arrived last Friday, and I spent most of the weekend doing nothing but listening to records. I'm very pleased. Sorry for the crappy quality of the photo; I snapped it quickly this morning in pretty low light.

No, it's the 103 that you're thinking of. It does have a conical stylus, but you would never know it with how much detail and tight bass it pulls out of the grooves. The non-replaceable stylus is what has always kept me away from MC carts as well, but the 103R is so reasonably priced for its performance. I was debating between the 103R and a 2M Bronze, but replacing the stylus alone on the Bronze would cost more than the 103R. Plus, I know a lot of people get their 103Rs re-tipped with better styluses; so that's always an upgrade option.

Actually you can fit a Bronze or Black stylus on the Red/Blue cart. However, the cart body on the Bronze/Black are different from the Red/Blue body, you need the Bronze/Back cartridge to get the full performance of those styli. There is a review of the full 2M line here, including putting the high-end stylus on the lower-end carts:
 
http://www.theapplechap.com/TheAppleChap/Blog/Entries/2011/7/13_Upgrading_to_the_Ortofon_2M_Red_or_Blue.html
 
http://www.theapplechap.com/TheAppleChap/Blog/Entries/2011/7/28_Upgrading_to_the_Ortofon_2M_Bronze_or_Black.html

I upgraded from the Red to the Blue, and it was a big improvement. One piece of advice: don't replace the whole cartridge, just buy the Blue stylus. The Red and Blue cartridges are exactly the same.

Shortly after I bought my AR turntable, I knew that getting it off of the Kallax bookshelf that sits on a bouncy hardwood floor was an absolute must. I didn't like any of the purpose-built options for turntable wall mounts, and I didn't want to go the low budget DIY route, so I asked my dad if he could design a custom wall shelf for me, that included some record storage. This is what he came up with, and I could not be happier. 
 

Shortly after I bought my AR turntable, I knew that getting it off of the Kallax bookshelf that sits on a bouncy hardwood floor was an absolute must. I didn't like any of the purpose-built options for turntable wall mounts, and I didn't want to go the low budget DIY route, so I asked my dad if he could design a custom wall shelf for me, that included some record storage. This is what he came up with, and I could not be happier. 
 

Shortly after I bought my AR turntable, I knew that getting it off of the Kallax bookshelf that sits on a bouncy hardwood floor was an absolute must. I didn't like any of the purpose-built options for turntable wall mounts, and I didn't want to go the low budget DIY route, so I asked my dad if he could design a custom wall shelf for me, that included some record storage. This is what he came up with, and I could not be happier. 
 

A few pages back I posted that I recently purchased an AR EB-101 in new -- as in never used -- condition. Well, it finally got delivered the other day, and I figured I'd post some pictures of it.
 

 

Read the stickied thread. This isn't a cheap hobby. Records are expensive. A turntable that actually plays decently is over $200. Save your allowance. Buy something worth while.