02-15-2007, 06:21 PM
Yep, "Yoyodyne" comes from that great movie (and a Thomas Pynchon book before that). "Yoyodyne ArtWorks" is the name of a graphic design company I founded many years ago; the company was retired but I kept the name.
Back to audio...I second deckeda's recommendation of www.needledoctor.com. But first I would contact Grado Labs and ask them which current replacement stylus is correct for your cartridge. Depending on how old your current cartridge is, it might make more sense to replace the whole thing, if you are comfortable with the procedure. Taking care not to damage the cantilever, not over-tightening the mounting bolts and getting the alignment right are the main challenges. If you're not comfortable replacing the cartridge, installing a new stylus is as simple as pulling the old one off and plugging the new one in.
The Goldring Elan is a solid budget cartridge, and I'm also quite partial to Rega (the Bias 2 is $125), though the latter only delivers its best in Rega tonearms. If you've been happy with the sound of your Dual/Grado setup, I would suggest sticking with Grado cartridges. A Grado Blue Prestiege or Red Prestiege would keep you in the $100 or so range. The Dual is indeed a solid budget table, but not up there with the likes of Rega, Linn, Roksan, VPI, SOTA, etc., so it wouldn't make sense to spend too much more on the cartridge. Your original table/cart combo sounds very practical and cost-effective, so I would try to stick with that balance when addressing your cartridge issue. If you have any other questions I'd be glad to help out.
Back to audio...I second deckeda's recommendation of www.needledoctor.com. But first I would contact Grado Labs and ask them which current replacement stylus is correct for your cartridge. Depending on how old your current cartridge is, it might make more sense to replace the whole thing, if you are comfortable with the procedure. Taking care not to damage the cantilever, not over-tightening the mounting bolts and getting the alignment right are the main challenges. If you're not comfortable replacing the cartridge, installing a new stylus is as simple as pulling the old one off and plugging the new one in.
The Goldring Elan is a solid budget cartridge, and I'm also quite partial to Rega (the Bias 2 is $125), though the latter only delivers its best in Rega tonearms. If you've been happy with the sound of your Dual/Grado setup, I would suggest sticking with Grado cartridges. A Grado Blue Prestiege or Red Prestiege would keep you in the $100 or so range. The Dual is indeed a solid budget table, but not up there with the likes of Rega, Linn, Roksan, VPI, SOTA, etc., so it wouldn't make sense to spend too much more on the cartridge. Your original table/cart combo sounds very practical and cost-effective, so I would try to stick with that balance when addressing your cartridge issue. If you have any other questions I'd be glad to help out.