How to improve a Pro-ject P 1.2 turntable

Thanks for your welcome Brian on the 'Welcome Newcomers' thread. As I mentioned there, I'd like some advice on how to improve a Pro-ject P 1.2 turntable without spending too much money. Besides getting better amplification (and I've ordered a Croft pre- and power-amp) or replacing the turntable, my guess is that a new cartridge would be the next step. Presently it's fitted with the original cartridge/stylus, an Ortofon OMB 10.

It plays well but could always be better. There's some rumble and I have no idea whether a cartridge could help this or if this is more related to the turntable mechanism itself.

Is it worth upgrading the cartridge? Suggestions anyone?

Cheers, Iain

 

Looking around at what's available to me in moving magnet cartridges, I found the following:

Shure M97xe – this is affordable –

Slightly cheaper is the Ortofon 2M RED

the Ortofon 2M Blue may be available and is presently at my upper price limit.

Any views on these options? Do you think any of these will make much of an improvement?

Thanks

 

The 2M Blue will be a decent performer, but a Denon DL110 high output MC will better it. The Denon is superb in all areas and competes above its class.

If you want to stay with MM the AT440MLa is the stand out cartridge for reasonable money. Prefers lower capacitance loading (<200pf). Will track any record known to man

 

Thanks Rob. The Croft preamp only works with MM cartridges. That AT440MLa looks good. I did find one online here but it's R$1299 (Brazilian real) and more than twice the price of the 2M blue. Found the earlier model though (AT440ML/OCC) for sale at R$200 second-hand but it needs a stylus. Getting complicated...

 

Although the Denon is MC it's designed to work into a MM input. Croft phono stages are quite sensitive so the slightly lower output of the Denon will match very well.

 

That's great, thanks. There's one available too and it's back within my budget, I'll probably get it.

I have another question: I've never fitted a cartridge before and there's a lack of technicians in this city. Do you know of any good tutorials on how to set a cartridge of this type? Do I need any special equipment to align the cartridge?

 

The cartridge will come with mounting bolts, and luckily the Denon has a flip down stylus guard so protects you against accidents

You will need an alignment protractor. If the Project didn't come with one you can buy them online very cheaply. It's just a cardboard strip with some markings. It does need to match the arm but virtually all arms conform to one of two protractor types. I'll see if I can find which type suits the Project later today and report back.

 

Thanks very much Rob. I've been scouring through my boxes looking for the protractor - found the manual and an old 50hz pulley but no luck yet. Sent an email to a local hi fi dealer asking about technicians in the city. He said he didn't know of any that are good with turntables but that he has a Decca Blue cart for sale for us$800. This is again over budget but looks interesting, though finicky because of the lack of a cantilever (so I read). Any opinion in this cartridge with the pro-jet? I replied to him asking for more info but may not hear back until Monday. He's a very reliable dealer and I imagine the cart is in good condition if not reconditioned. Cheers, Iain

 

'Rumble' on Pro-ject is more to do with the motor suspension. I can't remember how yours is suspended, but there is an update kit for the old Debut models at least that may work with yours as well. A new belt may help too

If you share US voltage and frequency, many of the US styli sites stock Music-Hall/Pro-ject (Jerry Raskin's Needle Doctor is one I think) and may be able to supply updates such as acrylic platters, mats etc..

The 2M Red is popular with Pro-Ject models in the UK as was the cheaper OM range on earlier models, which can have stylus upgrades by the way.

 

Hello, I'm returning to my old thread - as I've still not yet upgraded the cartridge on the Project (nor the belt etc.) and my pre-amp has changed. Unfortunately I was unable to buy the Croft pre-amp I'd wanted, instead I was able to purchase a Quad 34 coupled with a pair of mono-blocked Quad 303s. Happy with these. The 34 came with the MM phono input module (3mV 47k/220p). I'm in the process of trying to acquire a moving cartridge module rated at 200 micro-volts, 100ohm, 22nF. If I can't get a hold of one of these in the near future - I'll go for Rob's suggestion of the Denon DL110 cartridge, as these are available in Brazil. If I do get hold of the moving coil module, can anyone please suggest a good cart in a similar price range to the Denon DL110?

Thanks!

 

a little more detail to complement my post from yesterday: The project 1.2 tonearm has a length of 8.6" (218.5mm), an overhang of 18.5mm. It accepts carts between 3.5 and 5.5 (which rules out most MCs) however an alternative counterweight for carts between 6.5 and 9g is available (i've written to the local distributor to ask about availabilty). Doing more research I see the high prices of moving coil carts, however the Denon 103 or 103R might be a possibility. These are both 8.5g. Worth the effort on the 1.2 tonearm?

 

Hi Ian,

The Denon works into the standard 3mv/220p card.
You don't need the MC card for this cartridge.

Can't think of a low output MC cartridge I'd recommend at the same price as the Denon 110.
You really need to be looking at something like the AT33PTG2 but that's around £350.

 

Thanks Rob. This MC card, if I get it, is cheap, so I can store it until something good comes along. I'm waiting to hear back on a price on a 103R. Would you recommend the 110 over the 103R or 103 in any case?
Iain

 

Just adding to my last post: found a dl 110 for sale here at R$750 (£192) and a used dl 103 with <50h of use for R$600 (£153) - same dealer.

 

And given the taxes here, the 110 is priced pretty well