Installing new Ortofon 2m red cartridge in the Technics SL-1900

Yesterday I received my new cartridge: the Ortofon 2m red. It came with a brush, some screws and a little screwdriver. All in the package for €84,-

2M Red Verso hifisiteI couldn’t wait for a day off to try it so I installed it yesterday evening. I have never before installed a cartridge, and I must admit the thought of doing so was a bit daunting.

I had read a lot about installing and adjusting phono cartridges in the past few weeks so I understood the basics. I had downloaded the Technics protractor from vinylengine.com, printed it and checked the scale of the print. But now it was time to put the theory into practice.

headshell_old

My old-style head shell

I soon realized that this new cartridge wouldn’t fit in the headshell I had designated for it. This is an old style Technics head shell with one screw on the top.

Although only one screw is visible in the picture, it has an additional mounting bracket underneath that should fit the 2 screws necessary to mount normal cartridges. But my Ortofon needs to have the heads of the screws on the topside and that is not supported in this headshell.

But fortunately I have two headshells, the other one is the newer type which has the normal two screwholes at the top. Using the screws which were provided in the package I was able to quickly attach the cartridge provisionally to the headshell.

 

new style headshell

new style headshell

So that was fairly easy. Next was the task of adjusting the ‘contraption’ 😀 I took my protractor and put it on the turntable on top of a record.

I soon learned that when I moved the cartridge all the way to the front of the shell that the needle followed the ‘arc’ on the protractor perfectly. Yes!

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using the protractor

But when I tested the alignment of the cartridge on the two gridline patterns on the protractor, I found that it was not perfect in line. So I adjusted it very slightly to the point that it was in line on both patterns and then secured the screws. Pfew! Job done!

 

 

yes-90125

Yes – 90125

 

Then came the testing. I must admit I was a little but afraid, or better anxious. I tried it out with a record from Yes – 90125.

I put the needle down very very carefully.

I put on my headphones.

But as soon as the first tones from the song (Owner Of A Lonely Heart) were played, I relaxed. It sounded very very good!

IMG_20131219_212756

The Ortofon happily playing in my sl-1900

There is a lot of definition in the sound. There is also a lot of ‘punch’, which I like. HF tones are also ok. Bass is tight and well defined. Overall, I have never ever heard a record sound so clear. True, in the past I have not had good quality turntables. In fact, they were rubbish. But I never thought a record could sound like this. It is so close to a CD. I’m also very glad that I treated my records carefully in the past, I didn’t play them a lot (I immediately recorded them onto tape) so that I now have old, but ‘like new’ records that sound wonderful!

I continued to listen to albums from ELO, Marillion, Tchaikovsky and 12-inch’s from Chaka Khan, Unique (What I Got IS What You Need). Those were the first records I found for grabs. It was a good experience. I am pleased. In the coming evenings I will listen to some other albums.

I was surprised how quickly and how easily an inexperienced person like myself could do this task. It took me a little over an hour including the adjustments. I can recommend it to everyone.

Coming up next: cleaning the records with a LP cleaner

7 thoughts on “Installing new Ortofon 2m red cartridge in the Technics SL-1900

  1. Pingback: New arrival: Technics SL-1900 turntable | Tapehead

  2. Pingback: New arrival: Technics SL-1900 turntable | www.reeltoreel.nl

  3. Joel Turner

    The picture at the top of your post is for the 2M Red Verso (bottom mount model). But it looks what you have installed is the standard 2M Red (top mount).
    I have the same turntable and bought the 2M Red and am wondering if the Verso would actually mount on the SL 1900 standard tone arm.
    Alternatively, I’ll need to go down the path you did, which is to use a top-mount headshell.
    Can you let me know which cartridge you actually used?

    Reply

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