Audio-Technica's ESCMG29 "Red Ed" Phono Cartridge...Ed Saunders Just Eliminated Your Last Excuse!
Written: Jan 03 '06 (Updated Mar 13 '06)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great sound! Super low cost! Perfect tracking at 2 grams! Durable!
Cons: Plastic case needs more foam to protect the item. Not quite equal to the best.
The Bottom Line: For anyone who feels that their old turntable isn't worth salvaging because of the expense of a replacement needle, you just ran out of alibis. A-T's "Red Ed" rocks!
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| sam-pro's Full Review: Audio Technica Phono Cartridge |
Explore the internet and you will find a handful of phono cartridge dealers selling new cartridges and styli at reasonable prices. I recently requested a family member to purchase a few cartridges that were selling at a ridiculously low price from a vendor on Ebay. The vendor I speak of is one Mr. Edward Saunders who just happens to be located in Cochran, Georgia somewhat nearby family members that live in Atlanta. Ok...they're only 113 miles apart!
Mr. Saunders has a feedback rating of 99.8% which is quite outstanding given the fact that the gentleman has scored thousands of sales on the site. His dedication to customer satisfaction was confirmed when he replaced one of the cartridges free of charge and without me having to return the defective item as proof. I could keep the cartridge and use the stylus assembly as a replacement needle for one of the other three cartridges as I was only charged for two! Not too shabby...eh? My word that the cartridge had a defective right channel was good enough and the man responded to the email in a timely manner.
Although Saunders's business is primarily conducted through Ebay, one can contact him via his website www.edsaunders.com to request information on a hard to find stylus or to make a purchase. Although he prefers PayPal, other forms of payment are accepted such as money orders and personal checks. His shipping is timely and the price for such quick service reasonable.
But this review isn't just about the benevolent Mr. Saunders who seems to be highly dedicated to keeping your old record player and general interest in vinyl alive. No, indeed this review is about a dual moving magnet stereo phono cartridge manufactured by audio-technica as an o.e.m. model for many Denon, Sanyo, Fisher and other brands of turntable coming out of Japan. The fact that Edward Saunders and audio-technica have worked together side by side over the years presented a situation whereas these generic models were made available to him at extremely low cost. So he purchased many...but not an endless or lifetime supply as he so states on his Ebay website.
The burgundy coloured .7 mil. conical stylus assembly attaches to a silver and black cartridge body easily and securely. There is nothing fancy about the cartridge's makeup or packaging as it features no gold-plated color-coded terminals and arrives to one's doorstep in a clear plastic Phanstiehl case {not unlike the old Astatic and GE cases for ceramic cartridges of yesteryear} packed with one styrofoam peanut for security during shipment. However...Mr. Saunders needs to secure the cartridge a bit better with perhaps another styrofoam peanut placed at the opposite end of the cartridge. This will prevent the unit from bouncing around inside the plastic case and keep the plastic stylus guard from popping off. I suspect this was or at least may have been the reason for the first cartridge I received being defective.
This plastic case is well packed itself in yet another box used for shipment through the Post Office. The supplied hardware is located underneath a foam liner but without instructions or an owner's manual. However...all necessary information is supplied by Saunders and A-T itself on their respective websites. I too here will give you all the important info you need to reference during cartridge installation.
Since no model number has been given the unit on his Ebay auction site...I shall hereby refer to it as the Audio-Technica "Red Ed". In actuality...it is an ESCMG29. As stated earlier, the cartridge is a basic conical model which upon first examination by the buyer or audiophile might cause a rather "ho-hum" reaction. Why should one expect anything other than what might be expected out of a cheapy Radio Shack-like unit of the mid 80's? But indeed there is a rather nice and pleasant surprise that accompanies ownership of this two-gram tracking unit that sells for only $9.95!
The Specs:
Frequency Response (Hz) Output
20-20,000
4.2 (mV at 1 kHz, 5 cm/sec)
Channel Separation Channel Balance (dB)
20/15 (dB at 1 kHz/10 kHz)
1.5
Vertical Tracking Force (grams) Stylus Shape
1.0-3.0
0.7 mil conical
Stylus Construction Cantilever
Bonded round shank
Alloy tube
Recommended Load Impedance (ohms) Mount
47,000
Half-inch
Cartridge Mounting:
Before hooking up any tonearm wires to the back of this fantastic low mass cartridge, simply mount the unit using the supplied extremely slim and lightweight screws and nuts to your tonearm's headshell. Then with the cartridge's rear right side up in full view please note the cartridge's four terminals. The two "Left" or "L" terminals to your left are the left side "hot" and "ground". The corresponding right hand or "R" terminals are used for the right "hot" and "ground".
I only state this here because one could conceivably be confused by the rather poor markings on the rear of the cartridge body itself which are quite faint at best. The "L" and "R" markings may be spotted somewhat easily but the "+" and "-" ones might not! At any rate...just remember that the two "hot" terminals are the ones closest to the top of the cartridge and headshell itself. Obviously the two remaining bottom terminals are for "ground".
You can then attach the four color-coded wires carefully using a needle-nose pliers or tweezers using the following color-coding guide. "White" is the left hot wire that gets connected to the top left terminal. "Red" then connects to the right hot located to the right of the "left" terminal. "Blue" then in turn gets connected to the bottom "left" ground terminal while "Green" finally connects to the "right" remaining one.
Please remember that there is no substitution for good clean tight connections and that poor ones can render bad sound quality or no sound at all. At any rate...some pretty weird results can happen because of bad connections. If your turntable is old and this cartridge is replacing another one...you may want to crimp the connectors a bit so they do not slip on too easily causing problems if not right way...possibly down the road.
At the same time, be careful not to crimp so tightly as to cause the fragile clips to break or snap when forcing them onto the cartridge's rear pins. I only state this because it has happened to me {with more than one instance!} over the course of owning more than 100 phono cartridges in my lifetime. Never solder these terminals directly onto the pins as the extreme heat could cause breakage in the cart's tiny OFC internal wiring.
Once cartridge mounting has been accomplished {which is in itself quite easy}, the unit then needs to be aligned properly on the tonearm itself. Balance the tonearm first by setting the anti-skating device and as in some cases the tracking force dial on the base of the tonearm itself to "zero".
Then move the counterbalance weight rearward or forward to the point where the tonearm appears to be precisely level and parallel to the record playing surface...in most cases the needle tip will rest just above a record placed on the platter mat. Then adjust or set the tracking force dial to precisely two grams.
On some turntables this will be via a dial located near the base of the tonearm as with the Duals and PE's while on others it will be via a dial that rotates with the rear counterbalance weight such as the S-shaped arms from Pioneer and Technics. Set the anti-skating dial to two grams also. Since this cartridge features a conical stylus...there is no need to compensate past the two gram marking as might be necessary for an elliptical or microline type.
Regardless of the tracking force range supplied by audio-technica and Ed Saunders, I found that a two gram tracking force to be the optimum setting for both the PE 3048 and the Pioneer PL-518. Increasing the force beyond this point will only make the cartridge sound a bit sluggish while not really improving its tracking ability appreciably. Setting the force to the upper end of the range to three grams will only force the stylus assembly up into the body causing it to hit on slightly warped records.
Conversely...setting the force to below 1 1/2 grams will cause mistracking on highly modulated grooves and will keep the stylus from hugging the record groove properly. If you really feel the need to deviate from my two-gram recommendation...try not to go over 2.5 or under 1.75 grams.
Incidentally...here is where I agree with moving coil phono cartridge enthusiasts. I always felt that companies like Shure and ADC always made too much of unusually low tracking forces below 1 1/2 grams. These highly compliant styli would pick up more debris and dust off of records that might interfere with play after midway of play during a single side of the given record. Yes...I know...you are supposed to keep your records clean and the turntable dust cover down during play but still...I have found that cartridges that track around 1 1/2 or 2 grams to be ideal. Isn't that right in the ballpark for most MC's?
Well...Shure and ADC had a war back in the day over lower record wear and whose cartridge performed better in this regard. The fact of the matter is that spherical, conical and Shibata type shapes pose less of a threat to the record surface anyway when compared to elliptical or similar types. Lower tracking forces are fine so long as mistracking doesn't occur.
Mistracking at 1 gram {regardless of stylus shape} will cause much more record damage than a proper two gram tracking stylus that does not mistrack! Warp tracking of the Red ED in both of my tonearms was very good but not outstanding like the Ortofons or the Shure models that feature the Dynamic Stabilizer.
Once the tracking and anti-skating forces are set...stylus overhang must absolutely be adjusted precisely via the turntable's supplied protractor or if this is not possible by downloading one to proper scale from www.enjoythemusic.com. I used two classic turntables for testing this cartridge...a Perpetuum Ebner 3048 {which is basically the same as the Dual 1200 Series turntables} and a Pioneer PL-518.
The PE 3048 features a straight low mass tonearm while the Pioneer PL-518 features a higher mass "S" type. Both are high quality low pivot bearing friction units rendering 1 gram or lower VTF capability! The PE uses the dial type tracking force adjustment at the base of the arm that I mentioned earlier while the Pioneer utilizes the more commonly found rear counterbalance type.
At first glance...I noticed the bottom of the cartridge to be not parallel to the record surface and noticeably tilted backward after mounting the unit on the Pio. Thanks to this situation plus the fact that recently when testing a P-Mount/Universal type, I noticed the adapter bottoming out...I then realized that the original PL-518 headshell supplied with the table had somehow been slightly bent or warped upward over the course of twenty five plus years! I am not the original owner.
In fact I purchased the unit over a year ago at an internet garage sale for the staggering sum of $4.25 plus s+h! This of course represented my life's savings at the time...don't laugh...ok, go ahead. I have since restored the bad pitch control, scuffed dustcover and am still repairing the rotted feet. The unit weighs in at a hefty thirty plus pounds.
At any rate...I had a spare universal A-T type headshell which enabled easy sure-fire installation of the "Red Ed". Because of the cartridge/headshell's unusually low mass, I found it necessary to add a small weight in the guise of a shiny copper penny and super glue to the top of the headshell. Otherwise the combo would be out of the Pio's proper VTF range.
I found azimuth to be perfect by ultimately not adding any shims on either turntable and by setting the cartridge hardware roughly midway of the PE 3048's standard-mount headshell slots while keeping the cartridge body perfectly straight but on the PL-518...I had to force the assemby to the right while tightening the collar to keep the cart/headshell from leaning to one side with the cartridge turned slightly inward just barely past the mid point of the headshell's slots. This is in opposition to the sometimes popular myth that proper stylus overhang adjustment is achieved by positioning the cartridge all the way forward.
Hogwash! I hate it when iognorant sales people instruct buyers as such and believe me...plenty of them used to. Every phono cartridge is different. Each must be checked and aligned properly at its own "best" position rendering the least amount of coloration and inner groove distortion possible. No wonder so many listeners complain about the IGD blues...their cartridges are not aligned properly because of this misinformation! You might get away with it to some degree using a cartridge featuring a higher grade of stylus but with a conical stylus...proper alignment is simply a must.
Listening Tests:
Both turntables were hooked up and grounded to a standard Radio Shack stereo auxiliary selector switching box that in turn was hooked up to the single set of "phono inputs" on my Yamaha R-500 amp for quick A-B comparison between the same cartridge mounted in both turntables. This would give me a good idea of how the A-T Red Ed would perform in a wide variety of 1/2 inch standard mount tonearms.
The PE 3048 is a rubber idler wheel drive unit while the Pioneer PL-518 is a direct drive type. These two turntables represent the analog portion of my reference stereo system which includes two Polk Reference 30 cherry towers and a cherry Yamaha Reference 500 stereo receiver that sports the best magnetic phono preamp I've heard! In the final analysis, both turntables sounded equally outstanding with the A-T.
Yes, there were a few subtle differences that only I could recognize from extended ownership but yet the results were surprisingly close as each tonearm has its own sound and damping causing similar cartridges to perform differently. For example the high-tracking Shure M70B does a noticeably better job in the PE as compared to being mounted in the Pio. Yet the Pio's tonearm makes the Ortofon OM5E sound better than the PE's. Go figure! But the A-T Red Ed sounded equally great in both tonearms. But what really surprised me was that the A-T outperformed the M70B in the PE tonearm! My copy of Duane Eddy's "20 Terrific Twangies" on RCA International confirmed this observation.
I tested hum rejection by turning the amp's volume all the way up with no record in progress. On the PE 3048 the cartridge's hum was very good as only a slight trace could be heard while on the Pioneeer PL-518 the cart's hum rejection reached outstanding proportions as only the faintest trace of hum was detected if at all! This no doubt was also in part due to the Yamaha R-500's outstanding phono input stage.
Speaking of low frequency stuff...sometimes my beloved Ortofon OM5E is criticized for being bass shy by more than a few critics. I heartily disagree with this assessment as I found the OM5E to be very detailed on bass...just not phonied up as some others would prefer. It is what I consider to be quite discrete.
However...having stated this...I will tell those of you who agree with these critics that you will no doubt find the audio-technica Red Ed to be the cure for these so-called bass-shy blues. Don't get me wrong...this warmth does not indeed overshadow the cartridge's ability to keep things in balance and detailed...but to me...it's just not as perfect as the OM5e or the OM10.
I have several recordings in my vast repertoire I use for testing phono cartridges but the bulk of my testing is via the "Professor Johnson's Astounding Sound Show" record printed in 1979 on Reference Recordings number "RR-7"at 45 rpm. The three tracks on Side A of the record represent just under fifteen minutes of splendid musical entertainment with enough tonebursts and dynamic range to give any cartridge a hard time if not up to snuff! The recording is very useful in determining timbre accuracy, channel and frequency balance, soundstaging, subtlety and tracking ability without suffering through long and tedious technical stuff in abundance on other more commonly found test records like the Shures and audio-technicas.
The A-T Red Ed breezed through the entire side of the LP with nary a trace of harshness or mistracking. The opening number features "The Battle Hymn Of The Republic" {Fanfare} with climatic finish. This phono cartridge displayed solid bass and dynamic range on both turntables. Track Two displayed superior transient response for which audio-technicas have been particularly famous! Accuracy of musical timbre was first rate while channel balance and high frequency tracing were very good but not equal to the best. Detail amidst complex musical passages was excellent to outstanding especially toward the inner grooves where lesser conical and spherical styli cartridges fall flat on their shells!
I decided to break out two old recordings that I had not listened to in years...the original 1967 Andrew Lloyd Weber/Tim Rice "Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat-A Rock Cantata" on Scepter records #SPS-598 and a great Russian Folk LP that my dearly beloved late Aunt May had given me as A christmas gift back in 1978 entitled "Ivan Rebroff-At Carnegie Hall" on Columbia Masterworks #M33364. The ESCMG29 Picked up some surface noise but behaved famously on the Pioneer Pl-518! Ivan's voice has quite a range and the cartridge gave it such an effortless clarity without any stringent harshness. Track 4 on Side 1..."Traditional-Woina" features Ivan's mandolin with a lightening fast attack that the A-T reproduced with the utmost "in your face" precision! It made the hairs on my back stand on end and my spine tingle like no tomorrow! This is an emotional involving cartridge for sure.
The former was also a pleasant surprise with the widest most in-depth soundstage I have ever heard while listening to this recording...and clean clean clean with magnificent stereo separation to boot! I thought to myself that "Joseph" never sounded better. This is not what a conical stylus is supposed to do but where the stylus gives itself away a bit is on the innermost of grooves where the soundstage just barely commences to break down...still...not to the degree as other low cost elliptical types and is quite tolerable.
In fact...in many cases where some of my vinyl had been damaged by mistracking from marginal cartridges of both the past and present...these tracks seemed to come to life verifying the fact that some owners of the Red Ed have observed the stylus tracing or contacting undamaged parts of old worn groove walls!
Stereo separation is much better than anticipated but not quite equaling Ortofon's OM5E or Super OM10 which I recently reviewed. While the Ortofons reach a mark of 20/25 db at 10 KHz and 1 KHz respectably...the A-T Red Ed falls just short of their mark coming in at 17/23 db. But then again...the Ortofons are five to six times the price! Certainly the cartridge outperforms its published spec of 15/20 db.
Soundstaging was very three-dimensional but admittedly not the equal of the Ortofons or more expensive units. It does break down slightly on the inner grooves which I would expect of a conical stylus anyway. Nonetheless...it is quite impressive! Cymbals and brushes sound clean clean clean...without smearing...quite a remarkable feat for such an inexpensive transducer!
The third and final track on the Professor Johnson recording features an African ensemble with some pretty mean bells and percussion A bad or even fair cartridge will show signs of buzzing, crackling or even abnormal ringing in the form of clanging but not this little audio-technica!
However...I have a couple of recordings in my collection that present a real obstacle to phono cartridge tracking of sibilants...you know...those harsh sss-sss-ssounds that seem to splatter all over the artist's microphone and the listening room itself when they occur? "Danny's Song" from Loggins And Messina's "Best Of"is one while Smokey Robinson And The Miracles "Save Me" from their "Away We A-Go Go" album is the other. These highly modulated ssss-ssounds can be downright annoying and reveal just how good a cartridge's ability to reproduce high frequencies is or how well placed the cartridge's high frequency resonance is.
Although many more expensive cartridges exist, only a handful of top moving magnet cartridges can handle such sibilants effortlessly. The Shure V-15 V, ML-140He, Ortofon OM Super 40, Stanton L847S, 881S, Pickering XSV-3000, 4000 and 5000 are certainly at the head of this elite group. The little Red Ed hung in there but did indeed mistrack slightly. This showed the cartridge's frequency limitation above the audible range as its resonance frequency is placed just above 20 KHz while other more expensive models like the ones mentioned have their peak well above 20 KHz. But wow am I being picky here!
I mean this little $10 cartridge sounds great and certainly does a considerably better job in this respect than anything even remotely close to its ridiculously low price tag! No...it does not outperform the better Ortofon OM's but does beat out Ortofon's $40 OM3E. Even the popular low priced Empires, Stantons and Pickerings of both today and yesteryear that are notorious for sandpapery quality in this respect and some lower cost Shure Hi-Tracks of yesteryear to a notably lesser degree along with the modern under $300 Grados cannot hold a candle to the Red Ed. However... I believe the Hi-Track Shure M75ED T2 and M95ED to be better focused on voices.
I guess you now know why Shure "was" my favorite cartridge manufacturer back in the day! The bottom line on this matter is that the little audio-technica while not perfect is certainly an improvement over former lower cost models when it comes to handling sibilants with much less sandpapery-like quality and with emphasis placed more on sheer musicality than ever thought possible at this price level!
For those of you who have found endearment with the co.'s former AT 10, 11E and 12E excellent models need not long for their return as this Red Ed is everything and better than they ever were! And that famous transient attack and A-T sound is all there. Yes folks...even though each component in a well designed sound system is not supposed to introduce coloration...they all have their own sound.
While this is less apparent when comparing top-of-the-line models...they each maintain a certain sound characteristic which gives various manufacturers an identity making audio loads of fun! The Red Ed is no different in this respect. However...its stereo separation is noticeably better than its published spec would suggest while its frequency response has to be considered quite exemplary for a cartridge in this price range...20 to 20KHz plus or minus 1db {non-published real-world spec}.
I only state this because many audiophiles well know how modern-day phono cartridge manufacturers are now making models with basic low performing conical/spherical styli in abundance while paying less attention to their more expensive elliptical models. Apparently with the need for these lower priced spherical types...audio-technica and Ed Saunders have developed enough technology to take this basic stylus shape to the max. So much so that this low cost well designed generic cartridge will eat up a much more expensive Grado Reference "Sonata" that features a so-called advanced elliptical shaped stylus!!! So please do not be put off by the stylus shape of this "Red Ed".
Dee Jays will no doubt find its precise surefire backcuing to be a huge plus while leaving little or no backburn on the vinyl's surface. As a matter of fact, I was just thinking how perfect this cartridge would be for "On Air" use at FM radio stations although I don't know of any that still have analog equipment in use. I was thinking of ways to improve this already low cost impressive performer and thought that perhaps adding a white or florescent line to the middle of the red plastic stylus assembly would aid its visibility while backcuing. Then I realized that this was unnecessary as the stylus cantilever and tip is highly telescoped and quite visible as is!
Even so...the cartridge is not appropriate for scratching purposes. Others are. Audio newbies that are getting their turntable feet wet for the first time may very well be shocked by its performance level and windup questioning why they ever put up with the digital compact disc and its shortcomings along with their cd players just folding after only a few years for no apparent reason.
In Conclusion:
Seasoned audiophiles will be pleasantly surprised if not indeed shocked at just how musical this cartridge is for the money and realize the virtue of having this little guy as a spare while their top-level moving coil model is out for re-tipping. Even owners of top-rated Shure V-15's and Pickering XSV's could certainly keep this model as a spare as we audiophiles like to tinker just a wee bit...do we not? Transcription is certainly not out of the question either.
The cartridge will perform well in most turntables of classic well-made design...the original AR Xa come to mind as they had no anti-skating device and cuing lever. So...this cartridge with its conical stylus and two-gram TTF would render a rather good feel here. However...by the same token...it is not ideal for older cheapy Garrards and BSRs that require 3 gram or upward tracking forces. There is where a more h.d. but sluggish ADC QLM, Pickering PAT. XV-15 AC or Shure M3D or Stanton 505SK come in.
Although no fancy packaging accompanies this unit, I really believe that at $9.95 plus a small shipping charge...the audio-technica "Red Ed" has no peer! As for do-it-yourselfers who have indefinitely procrastinated and postponed the project of turntable restoration because of expense and availability...I really do believe Mr. Saunders just snuffed your last excuse for not restoring your classic turntable indeed.
Mounted properly and securely, the cartridge should give an indefinite number of years of pleasurable service to its owner. This cartridge would be a great buy if it were selling at the more commonly found price of $30 to $40. A best buy at under ten bucks?. Now honestly...you tell me!...PJS2
Author's Note:2/27/2006
Recently Mr Saunders has adjusted his Tracking Force Spec to be from 1 to 5 grams for this cart. Oh no! Bad idea, Ed! Here is where Mr. Saunders and I disagree. I realize that the unusually low cost of this cart will be an attraction to classic record changer and jukebox owners but if a force of 4 or 5 grams in an old changer is used...the stylus will be pushed up into the cartridge body possibly causing damage to the record and stylus itself...rendering the whole business useless. Please DO NOT use a VTF higher than the three gram setting.
Please see this important follow-up...http://www.epinions.com/content_4691173508
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
sam-pro
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 - Top 500 |
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Member: Peter J Sammon II
Location: The Bloomfield Burying Ground, USA
Reviews written: 218
Trusted by: 121 members
About Me:
Every once in awhile something great arrives at relatively low cost to you...Priceless!
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