By
NearTao
Mon Apr 05, 2021 11:25 am
Cartridges are made for different characteristics. So you're probably going to want to explain more what you're looking to do, because sound quality is a factor for sure, but not necessarily the factor.
Most needles are meant to ride the groove of a record a certain way, and will give you a better sound, but due to the alignment of the needle will ruin a record if you plan on scratching. Other needles are designed so that they sit in the groove a certain way so that you can play records that are damaged and prone to skipping. Then you get into the class of needles that are more rounded and sit more perpendicular to the record so that you can use them for scratching without ruining the needle.
So a few things to describe would be:
* Do you plan on using the needle to scratch at all?
* Are you planning on playing records that are damaged or have specific types of damage?
* How much are you planning on playing a given album?
* Are you interested in archival purposes?
* How long do you expect the needle to last?
* Would you want just one all around good needle, or would you get needles for specific functions?
If you try and look into this more yourself... get specs on the shape of the needle, the sharper the better, but the more it will wear out the record over plays. Sharper means it gets deeper into the groove which allows it to pick up more of the vibration and is more likely to stay in the groove when it hits an imperfection like dust on the record without skipping. You'll still hear the noise, but it won't be so bad.
In all seriousness, the cleaning products and proper care/handling of a record will get you much better results than a needle. If you want the highest quality you need to remove all the dust and debris that you can, while understanding that it is going to accumulate. You're going to want to make sure you only handle the record by the edges because even the small amount of oil in your hands can get into the grooves and alter the sound. And when using cleaning products technique is critical because you want to lift up the debris without driving it into the record, and you don't want to apply too much pressure because you can scratch a record causing future pops and skips.
Hell proper storage is really important too. Don't stack your records, you need to keep them in moderate temperature and low humidity. The heat can cause the album to warp or sag, and humidity can cause mold to grow, which you then need to clean up.
Not trying to make this more complicated for you, but I'd expect people to drop cartridge suggestions that are either "meh, good enough" or "stupid expensive", because it's not really clear what you're looking for when you say higher quality cartridge. All that is fine, but there is a lot to do if you really want to keep a high quality and functional record collection.
