freQ(*)Oddio
Super Member
Low end cart review sorry about the long intro , First, this LP cart replaced a 80s Digitrac 280e made by Ortofon, that i liked and have replaced the stylus on a few times. A fellow AK friend pointed me to lp gear when i found out the Digitrac stylus were discontinued, and I could not find a replacement. I was ordering 2 stylus for $34 each so i would also have a spare, but at the last second changed to 1 Digitrac stylus , and 1 new CF3600 LE cart for the same price. Soooo the digitrac stylus does not come, and i file a missing order status with lp gear after 10 days, i am glad this happened, The new 3600 cart came and went on my table for fun while i waited for the "real one", and here is my review. I cant even listen to the old cart now. I have tried 2 times, and the best way to describe the old cart (that i have also aligned, and added a new stylus) with the old Digitrac the music is coming at you like a flat dead sound nice highs and lows BUT bad timing and low volume with midrange instruments , slow response, dead no pace , no excitement, the mids and vocals seem to hit the same time and fight with the lows a little, and thats the sound i was always used to dialing my hifi around. This new Cart is so dammm complex sounding with a actual thick sound stage , horns reach you at the right time, while the drums are hitting tight and clean, and vocals have their own space all in a stereo field with a black background, Cymbals are real , subtle sweet, and dynamic , like each speaker is its own stereo if you set in front of each at a time, i am so happy, this may be a throw away cart for some im sure, but it is making my vintage system sound its best, started playing all my favorites again. Thumb pics of each cart.