Yes sir.
The Pro-Ject Pergola - Questions, Answers, Advice & Chat
- Thread starter Joe Mac
- Start date
Yes sir.
Will there be a big difference between the 20 and 30? Which handles (reduces) surface noise best? The Grado gold appears to be a similar price to the OM30. Which in your opinions should I be looking at?
Joe Mac
Well-Known Member
If it’s the second version with the new motor and is working well yeah it’s not bad. If it’s the first version then avoid at all costs because the hum issue with the North American tables.
If you like the sound you have now but want an easy upgrade, get the 20 stylus and call it a day.
If you want something with a warmer smoother sound, get a Grado.
@Captainfog another idea would be an Audio Technica ATVM95ML- that's a hell of a cartridge for the money.
Ooh interested. I'm tempted by the OM20 purely for the ease of plugging it in. Will switching to something else be tricky?
Joe Mac
Well-Known Member
It’s fiddley and requires you to be patient and careful but it is equally very doable. If you take a look at the first couple of posts in this thread I put up a video I found helpful and a couple of tips I learned when I did it for the first time last month.
Selaws
Well-Known Member
Ah this is a fun thread, only just found it.
I have a Pro-Ject The Classic which I added a few additional extras to such as cables (I believe its the 'Connect it – model series C' I went for) and sound dampening feet (the Pro-ject upgrade one). Im currently using the Ortofon 2M-Silver and its great (although I am tempted by the 2M-Red). I used to use a decent vintage pre-amp (with my dads Bang & Olufsen Beogram 1001) but picked up a pair of Kanto YU6 speakers and the built-in pre-amp is fantastic, to the point where a new pre-amp has been knocked down my want list.
I have a Pro-Ject The Classic which I added a few additional extras to such as cables (I believe its the 'Connect it – model series C' I went for) and sound dampening feet (the Pro-ject upgrade one). Im currently using the Ortofon 2M-Silver and its great (although I am tempted by the 2M-Red). I used to use a decent vintage pre-amp (with my dads Bang & Olufsen Beogram 1001) but picked up a pair of Kanto YU6 speakers and the built-in pre-amp is fantastic, to the point where a new pre-amp has been knocked down my want list.
I've been meaning to get my TT a service because it's developed a knocking noise. Can't see any wires getting in the way of anything. It doesn't happen all the time, about 80% of the time, I reckon. Will take a video and upload not next time it happens.
Joe Mac
Well-Known Member
According to Ortofon the 2M silver cartridge is basically a red stylus on a silver plastic bit and with an upgraded cartridge body. It was a special bit designed for project. If you do a stylus swap to the red it should be the same sound. The blue is a big upgrade on the red in my experience so if you’re considering a new stylus I’d be looking at a blue whilst there is still plenty of the 100th anniversary discounted stock knocking about.
Selaws
Well-Known Member
Ah I didnt know that, cheers for the info @Joe Mac. To be honest im really happy with my set up at the moment, for years I had to make do with poor equipment in an even poorer set up - speakers in poor locations, almost touching the turntable etc. I imagine my next move would be a Blue cartridge or (more probably) a dedicated pre-amp. That wont be for a while though.
Joe Mac
Well-Known Member
You don’t even need a blue cartridge, red/blue use the same cartridge, just different styli. As the silver is an upgraded red just clip off its stylus and clip on a replacement blue stylus and in effect you have an upgraded blue! The stylus is arround £110. It’s one of those things that you change stylus roughly every 1000 listening hours (works out about yearly for me) so when your sliver is done I’d replace it with a blue rather than red/silver because the blue is far better than the difference in price!
A phono stage is also a really good upgrade. I was shocked at the difference to the sound it made when I first got an outboard stage last year, they are a hugely underrated piece of gear!
The A/T will be easier to install vs the Grado because the body is threaded. The Grado is more cumbersome to install because you have to use nuts.
The A/T will be easier to align because the stylus sits proud of the cartridge body. The Grado stylus sits slightly underneath.
Maybe? That's my guess. Fairly cheap to replace.
Remove the platter. See if the noise persists. If it does, the motor is shot.
If not, it could be that the bearing needs oil.
I removed the belt so it was just the cog spinning (essential 2 looks like your MoFi with the cog next to the platter) and it carries on making the knocking sound. Then I turned it off and on again and the knocking sound went away. It mysterious! I put the belt back on and it's still not knocking. It'll come back though, always does.
If i do need to replace the motor then do I need another essential 2 one or can I put a better one in? The essential 3 apparently had a better motor, could I, for example, fit that?