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best recorded 78rpm to look for, also cartridge...

Hi folks,
I've recently started spinning 78's and realized that some of them especially ones in the great shape sounds awsome on my recently restored secondary turntable Empire 598 with empire 980 arm with currently mounted Pickering D750 NOS cartridge. This cartridge is a very light tracker, but for 78's I have to overload it's actual specified tracking force 3x times to get it stable on the wide grooves. Please recommend me the best available within $$.
Which great sounding 78's do you have in your collection?
czarivey
dopogue
1,767 posts
 
Audio Technica, Grado, Ortofon, Pickering, and Stanton all make (or made) 78 rpm carts that are safe recommendations.

I'd stay away from the current Shure 78 cart. Its sound quality isn't in the same league as the others, IMHO.
mapman's avatar
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mapman
15,679 posts
 
78s are a lot of fun and most all can be an interesting sonic treat albeit of a much different flavor than most recordings since.

I use an old Admiral multi speed player with cert cart and 78 needle to record old 78s to digital on my music server. It cost $10 at a yard sale when I was digging for something to play 78s on and works great!
andysf
131 posts
 
One of the best periods for 78s is 1928 to 1934. Especially OKeh, Columbia and some Victors. After that, records got cheaper and quality went down. Look out for the Blue Wax Columbias!
It is worth investing in a good stylus for 78s. With a little care, they can sound very nice.
czarivey OP
4,494 posts
 
Thanks for all your great input!
I realize that 78s aren't high fidelity, but some of them, not most sound great weather it's high fidelity or not. The music for me is the main driven factor and I don't mind listening to any recorded media weather it's CD, MP3 or 78 rpm. As long as I hear musicians I like and music I like, I don't care about neither format or even recording/playback quality.
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