Those control the arm satisfactorily and are an excellent match. The best I've found are the Shure cartridges with the damping brush (which wasn't even invented at the time of the Z-100 and in any case are no longer made). Even 2.0g (which the latest Audio Technicas support) works fine. 1.5 to 1.75 grams with a 'modern' cartridge works well. Those sorts of high compliance low tracking force cartridges were not suited for use in the Garrard pantograph tonearm.įrom experience I found that the Zero 100 arm does better with a bit more downward force than was thought 'safe' in those day. Another company, ADC, sold high compliance cartridges with such jiggly cantilever suspensions that buyers complained about high failure rates as the stylus would literally sink into the body, collapsed. It was a ridiculous claim, but that's how it was back then. The American cartridge company, Empire, advertised that their cartridges could track at a tenth of a gram with a suitable arm (i.e., one that was never made). The general idea was that if you were tracking a cartridge over 1 gram you were ruining your records. If the Zero had a 'problem' it was that it came out (early 1970s) when cartridge makers (and the mainstream press) were all gaga over low tracking forces. Nothing like it would ever be made today. It's all metal (steel with some brass, and a few plastic trim pieces). You have to clean up all the hardened grease, but once that's done there's no parts that go bad. It's difficult to obtain idler wheels, but the originals last a long time. That old Syncho-Labe motor unit appears to be foolproof. Here’s some more information about it (in Portuguese): Ĭlick to expand.I use a restored Z-100 in a secondary system. It also came with a little accessory box, that contains a record weight, a level, 45 adapter, and some tools. It’s quite a nice suspended belt-drive turntable, with a Jelco-made straight tonearm that came with a rebranded Japanese high-output MC cartridge (A Glanz GMC-10EH). It very well could be the only one (or one of very few) in the US, as it was produced for the Brazilian domestic market. Imagine my surprise when I found one last year on my local Craigslist in San Diego, California! I, being quite interested in all things Brazil, had to have it. The Gradiente RP-II is one of the latter, being held by many Brazilians as likely the best turntable ever produced in Brazil (It was made in the free-trade zone in Manaus, Amazonas state). Gradiente produced a number of turntables, ranging from quite low-end to quite respectable. This is a very famous brand-name in Brazil in hi-f, being as far as I know, the only large Brazilian hi-fi company. From my understanding, Garrard, in essence, was sold in 1979 to a Brazilian company called Gradiente. I happen to have an interesting piece of Garrard history.
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