Audio Technica Phono Cartridge

I've been wanting to transfer special lp's but was unable to
for lack of the specific cartridge for my old turntable.
Thank you for having the connection available so that I
may do so, especially children's lp's for my granddaughter
(Captain Kangaroo, Peter and the Wolf; Dennis Day, Johnny
Appleseed; Danny Kaye, The Little Fiddle). What fun times
my granddaughter and I have to enjoy.

This Audio Technica cartridge, like one I've bought before from them, sounds decent on my old Sony turntable. I'm not looking for hi-fi sound, just something to play my old records on my old turntable, so this cartridge suits my purposes.

However, I do have one major gripe: the bottom white part of the cartridge sometimes rests on my records, dragging across them at the same level as the cartridge needle. I've adjusted the tracking of my turntable and the tonearm weight to fix this, but I have to adjust the settings fairly often for different records to make sure the finicky cartridge isn't dragging on my records. The tonearm weight and tracking settings must be very finely adjusted, or else the cartridge rests atop the records, or skips off the edge of the record. I haven't had this problem with cartridges before (except for a similar Audio Technica cartridge bought a few years ago), and am not sure why they designed this one so the cartridge base is almost as low as the needle.

If you don't want your records scratched, I would recommend buying a different cartridge (perhaps one of the longer, ink-pen-shaped cartridges, but these are more expensive). However, if you're simply looking for a decent-sounding cartridge to play old records that are already warped or scratched, and if you have the patience to adjust your tonearm and tracking once in awhile, this cartridge should suit you fine. \

It would be nice, though, if Audio Technica would throw out this design and create a new base cartridge model, because they've had this one for at least several years, and it doesn't work well.

This is an excellent all around solid performer. When compared to a Shure 92E, this Audio Technica 92ECD stands head and shoulders above the Shure in terms of high frequency response-cymbals etc. I'm sure the narrower elliptical stylus helps. No, it's not as "neutral" sounding as the Shure, but, to my ear anyway, is much "brighter" but also balanced. This is a good basic upgrade cartridge. It's not an "audiophile" contender but reproduces music nicely, well beyond most basic cartridges. Good "universal" value especially in that it can be used as either a P mount or standard. Have a listen, you can't go wrong for the price.

This particular Audio Technica cartridge will suprisingly enough yield very crisp and clear audio quality. Bass response is tight but not overwhelming nor weak. The wonderful thing about this type of cartridge is that it's basically a plug and play set up (just have to tighten a screw to hold it in place with most P-mount systems). The elliptical stylus or tip is designed for better contact with the stereo groove walls in a record resulting in better frequency response and clarity. The user does not have to worry about how much stylus pressure,weight, or anti-skating to provide to get the most from this cartridge;that's the beauty of using this cartridge on a P-mount tonearm instead of as a standard one...This cartrdige will perform admirably when used for regular record listening conditions. This is not a DJ stylus to scratch with as you may damage the needle and the record ("burn"). Also, it is more suitable for playing any kind of music except classical or jazz where a high end audiophile cartridge/needle would be needed. Such a high end cartridge and needle would bring out extreme musical detail as well as the ambiance or "air" of the instruments. Also, that would allow for better stereo separation as well... This is only a better than average cartridge meaning that you will only get about maybe a little over a year's worth of use from it (if you played one or 2 records a day or every 2 days respectively). That is also the difference between a basic low priced cartridge/stylus versus an audiophile grade one (those can usually go for about 5 years---but you would be talking anywhere from hundreds to maybe thousands of dollars).