Hi all,
This is my first post to the TT forum as I have just acquired a Denon dp-37f in beautiful condition. I was told it hadnt been used in about 6 years. the mechanics of it seem to work as should but the sound is intermittently cutting out channel to channel and can be distorted at low levels. It has a Denon 8773 cartridge which i cannot find any info on. Im thinking it may be a cartridge/stylus issue or interconnect cables. The interconnects look much to be desired and i should soldier some better ones in anyway. Ive tried every phono setting on my pre-amp with no improvement.
I guess my question is what is a good "budget" cartridge i should try? and do you have recommendations for interconnects. I dont want to blow a lot of money into this thing then find out there is something wrong with the internal electronics.
thanks for listening:music:

I own that very same TT, and it´s a fine piece of machinery.

First off, you must try cleaning the contacts between the cartrige pins and tags, then at the opposite end of the headshell leads, between their small tags and the pins at the headshell end.

Proceed with caution and patience. Use a small pair of needle pliers to gently remove the headshell leads from the cartridge side first and apply contact cleaner ( Deoxit seems to be a favourite ), then, after plugging them back in - taking care to mantain the colour code correct - do the same at the other end.

That, in most cases, takes care of that problem. If it doesn´t, look at the RCA plugs, and in doubt, replace them.

Jorge

I have some deoxit, ill do that now and let you know shortly
thanks

well i just noticed something, looking at the cartridge head-on, the needle is twisted, id say 5 degrees or more. not good right?

And if after following Jorge's suggestions the problem isn't solved, then most likely it is the interconnects and you might want to read through this thread:

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=82043&
highlight=petra+interconnects

As to the cartridge, that doesn't sound like a Denon number, so I don't know what you have, but being twisted isn't good. As for a replacement it depends on what "budget" means. There's the Shure M97xE at Amazon for just over $50. That's a bargain. If you want to go real cheap, there's the AT-92ECD selling on ebay for $25 shipped, and pretty decent. It is p-mount, but comes with an adapter. If you can swing the Shure I think it's worth it. You don't know how long that price will hold.

thanks
my cartridge is actually a dl 110. the 8775 # was on the other side... my bad.
And yet i did make another mistake. I did not follow hifi nut's instructions to the tee and had disconnected three of the headshell pin wires before realizing the headshell was not color coded. the cart is. should it just be a mirror image pattern on the headshell? damn im usually cautious about these things. a bit embarrassed i am.

got an ohmmeter?

yes i do

Don't test continuity with the cartridge attached.

okay....no cartridge attached. can you give me the specs?

Sorry I misunderstood. I don't know why he asked if you had an ohmmeter.

Looking at the headshell from the front, the headshell pins are as follows:

White, Red
Blue, Green

you can use the ohmmeter to figure out what is what by measuring from the connectors at the end of the tonearm to the end of the rca jacks

thanks,
you guys are great and this site is awesome.
I guess im going to order up another cartridge since the stylus is twisted. im sure i will need help on the set-up so im browsing forums ahead of time. ordered the petra cables and will install them also.

I have a DP37F, and it has been working very well indeed. The table has an AT95E cartridge on it, but I will be replacing it with a DL160 (on its way to me now). From what I have read, the DL160 is a step-up from the DL110, so if you can swing it, may be you should go for the DL160.

Vinyl Engine has manuals for the DP37F in German and Japanese. You can also find an English manual the DP35F/45F, and they are very similar to the 37F.

yup, just ordered the 160 myself. decided to keep the table all Denon.