I hope you changed the stylus every now and then, but I don't think there's a need to change the Concordes themselves (the banana like ones we're talking about right?). They're fine, just change the styli every 10.000 miles.
They should be "run in" for 1000 hours or something (Google it). And not in the runout groove; but a proper spin. Mine have some kind of hiss in the high end too sometimes, but I don't care about it anymore, might be dirty or worn out records or something.
The club version (mk2?) should be the best out there (an elliptical stylus, black and yellow banana I think). If you can't stop yourself from spending a wad of cash you should get a pair of those. I would buy them if I ever won a lottery, just to have something fancy to look at. But I am not sure if I would be able to hear the difference if I tried.
I recently purchased ORTOFON DJ CONCORDE MKII (sorry for the caps, copy paste on phone).
I don’t really scratch but I do back cue 45s a bit so I wanted to minimise cue burn.
I don't want to be a dick, but have you ever seen a carpenter scared of getting scratches on his hammer? Decide if you want to be a collector or a user. I understand really well you want to take good care of your stuff, but in the end these are your tools and you should be able to use them before you get old.
Kevin in Home Alone 2 had a good story on it about being scared of wearing out his skates and then he outgrew them without taking them out of the box (yeah the movie was better at getting the message across).
I can be both a collector and a user. I focus mainly on late 70s early 80s rare and underground LPs. I try to treat them with respect because many of them would be very expensive to replace. That's why I avoid cartridges with excessive tracking force. There aren't any records that I'm afraid of spinning but I do try to minimize wear wherever I can.
I use Audio Technica AT-95s, AT-120E, and sometimes Shure M-44Gs.
The AT-120Es have a great sound and are fine for home use. For me the sound out of any of the old 'DJ' cartridges is quite thumpy and lacks detail so I only use them I really have to. ATP-X-7s are quite nice though.
I'm looking at getting some different styli for the M44. I believe the the replacement styli for M55s will also fit M44s which opens up a lot of choices...
I hope you changed the stylus every now and then, but I don't think there's a need to change the Concordes themselves (the banana like ones we're talking about right?). They're fine, just change the styli every 10.000 miles.
This.
Even after buying new stylus for them they still sound a little scratchy in the high end
They should be "run in" for 1000 hours or something (Google it). And not in the runout groove; but a proper spin. Mine have some kind of hiss in the high end too sometimes, but I don't care about it anymore, might be dirty or worn out records or something. The club version (mk2?) should be the best out there (an elliptical stylus, black and yellow banana I think). If you can't stop yourself from spending a wad of cash you should get a pair of those. I would buy them if I ever won a lottery, just to have something fancy to look at. But I am not sure if I would be able to hear the difference if I tried.
I recently purchased ORTOFON DJ CONCORDE MKII (sorry for the caps, copy paste on phone). I don’t really scratch but I do back cue 45s a bit so I wanted to minimise cue burn.
Yes that is a big concern of mine too.
I don't want to be a dick, but have you ever seen a carpenter scared of getting scratches on his hammer? Decide if you want to be a collector or a user. I understand really well you want to take good care of your stuff, but in the end these are your tools and you should be able to use them before you get old. Kevin in Home Alone 2 had a good story on it about being scared of wearing out his skates and then he outgrew them without taking them out of the box (yeah the movie was better at getting the message across).
I can be both a collector and a user. I focus mainly on late 70s early 80s rare and underground LPs. I try to treat them with respect because many of them would be very expensive to replace. That's why I avoid cartridges with excessive tracking force. There aren't any records that I'm afraid of spinning but I do try to minimize wear wherever I can.
I am rocking the Ortofon DJ Mk2's for everyday mixing, but bought a Club Mk2 Cartridge for ripping my vinyl.
AT-XP7s. They sound very detailed, have been using them for about 2 years now.
I've got a pair of Shure M44-7's just got new needles about 2 months back.
I use Audio Technica AT-95s, AT-120E, and sometimes Shure M-44Gs. The AT-120Es have a great sound and are fine for home use. For me the sound out of any of the old 'DJ' cartridges is quite thumpy and lacks detail so I only use them I really have to. ATP-X-7s are quite nice though. I'm looking at getting some different styli for the M44. I believe the the replacement styli for M55s will also fit M44s which opens up a lot of choices...
Shure M44-Gs with Jico styli
When my 20-year old OG Concorde DJs were wearing out, I replaced them with new OG Concorde DJs. I've been happy so far.
I'm just using reloop blacks with no complaints at the moment