Oh well, all good things come to an end. In this case, the stylus on the K18-II (I wonder if it is one of the last actually in use?).
I've put a Golding Elektra on the deck, so the flow of music is restored, but now it's time to think of the next step.
The domestic context is a household with primary school kids (have progressed from knocking speakers over, to wanting to play records). My taste is round-earth, Quad style i.e. I dislike gear that is ultimately fatiguing no matter how impressive it sounds at first.
System context is a classic LP12 early '90s style with RB300 arm, and Harbeth P3ESR mini-monitors. Assume a MM phono stage. It's a system that tends to punish anything that is a bit bright.
Since the speakers have a bass bump around 70Hz and fall off rapidly below that, a cartridge with fuller bass around 40Hz won't go amiss. This is the main difference between the K18 and Goldring Elektra - the latter is a tad brigher (fake detail) and the bass player might as well not have been present at the recording sessions (though not entirely the fault of the cartridge).
I've put a Golding Elektra on the deck, so the flow of music is restored, but now it's time to think of the next step.
The domestic context is a household with primary school kids (have progressed from knocking speakers over, to wanting to play records). My taste is round-earth, Quad style i.e. I dislike gear that is ultimately fatiguing no matter how impressive it sounds at first.
System context is a classic LP12 early '90s style with RB300 arm, and Harbeth P3ESR mini-monitors. Assume a MM phono stage. It's a system that tends to punish anything that is a bit bright.
Since the speakers have a bass bump around 70Hz and fall off rapidly below that, a cartridge with fuller bass around 40Hz won't go amiss. This is the main difference between the K18 and Goldring Elektra - the latter is a tad brigher (fake detail) and the bass player might as well not have been present at the recording sessions (though not entirely the fault of the cartridge).
