Headshell + Cartridge for Control Vinyl on SL12000 MK2

[aseckel]

I'm looking for some good recommendations for Cartridges & Headshells / Concordes for my new techs. I currently just have a single Stanton headshell and a Shure SC35C that I picked up from my local shop to test the decks. I mix control vinyl (don't scratch) but I also use them to listen to a small record collection.

What would you guys recommend? What are the advantages of Concorde needles over Headshells?

[the_bastet]

I have always prefer headshell and cartridge over banana style needles. THey just track better and give room for more adjustment. You can never go wrong with shure.

[mostapha]

The advantage of concordes and the like is that they're easier to set up. Headhsell+Carts can deal with weird setup issues that don't actually come up for a DJ (e.g., using the wrong tonearm) and are cheaper.

I'm not convinced there's a sound quality difference other than the differences inherent in them just being different cartridges.

And, yeah...can't go wrong with shure. I've used m-447s for timecode and whitelabels for actual vinyl basically since I bought my first turntables. Now, I only own the m-447s and don't really use them.

[Andy71]

I went from Stanton's to Concorde DJ's and thought they were the dogs danglies, trouble with the Concorde or similar is that when/if they develop a fault as a sealed unit there isn't a lot you can do to get it sorted.

When one of mine went wrong I decided to go to Shure 447's and the output is fantastic, I can't see me going back to the Concorde/Reloop variety.

I do however prefer the aesthetics of the Concorde flavour!