Review on Numark GTRS - Enhanced Stylus Replacement for Numark's Grovetool Cartridge by Luca Washington

Stanton 500 is dead. Good. Not quite like many of us, LUVERS {LOVE are reserved for human and animals} turntables back it up with regular needles that can sometimes hit or miss depending on who makes them. I just bought four of the $44 MCMs which are still great except they don't have a fluorescent dot on the tips. Nonetheless. For some strange, inexplicable reason Stanton or their parent company Gibson. decided to stop manufacturing all of its pickups and styluses. And just then vinyl is experiencing a huge renaissance. I'm really mad at Stanton for this! Regardless, because Dee Jays everywhere are quickly discovering that this Numark Groove Tool Cart sounds better than ever. The moveable magnetic cartridge arrives on a minimalistic hook card but still maintains a very good, simple yet economical package that includes more than enough of two machine screws and nuts. Proudly designed in the USA and assembled in Japan, this is a good way to go today as Japan seems to be ahead of Switzerland and other countries in terms of needle production. Provided you with all the technical information you could ever want. I will say that the trolley is very light with a total weight of about 4 grams and quite easy to set up. Although the performance is rated at a very low 2.4mW, I feel this is too conservative for Numark. I believe the output is a bit higher, around 4mV. This is definitely due to my all time favorite Stanton 500.V3 which remains the DJ wagon by which all others should be measured. The two GTs I bought here at Revain cost about $40 and work great with my direct drive GLI SL-2500 professional turntables. At this point in the review, I have to tell you that if the bogie is properly adjusted, you won't have any disc release issues, particularly at the entry groove. My guess is that those complaining about this may have misadjusted the "Rake Angle" {side-to-side}. This is usually due to using one of those cheap early 70's style ultra light bayonet heads. If you put this type on the S-ring of the tonearm. he leans to the right. You don't have to spend a lot of money on great headshells, and I found a standard $10 DJ headshell that fits Groove Tool perfectly. Just snap it perfectly straight into the tonearm sleeve and observe the situation. It is also important to ensure that the VTA (Vertical Tracking Angle) is correct, as it should be for Technics guns, and that you are using the Technics range finder by holding the cartridge straight and not turning it slightly inwards , as is the case with the popular two-point alignment tools suggest, or slightly outward as suggested by Stanton to resist skipping. 90s, which produces the most disturbing results. For Pioneer tables and all other types, use the template provided. Even the most basic Rega whiteboard measuring device gives excellent results on these tables, as I experienced on my upgraded Rega Planar 2 with a Pickering XSV-3000 cartridge I used decades ago. When something sounds so beautiful and pure until the end of the record. Why bother with it? You'll be amazed at how dynamic the pickup sounds without the slightest hint of glitches or distortion in the sound image as it approaches the inner grooves of your vinyl LP. As with my 500.V3. I found 3 grams of TTF to be perfect for a superbly made .006 ballpoint pen. It will track slightly distorted records perfectly, but won't be able to handle heavily distorted ones. In any case, you CANNOT play them, and there is little sonic benefit in increasing the TTF. Numark reproduces the signal perfectly. I give my notes a good indication of the third turn despite the high torque rating of the motor at start. You don't want your record to sound like it's coming to an end, because that's extremely unprofessional. I learned this many years ago at AFRN Radio Alaska when I was much younger than a puppy and have been doing it ever since. know your time I can't comment on the scratching as I just don't like it and it can cause problems for singles. I had an earlier Numark Groove Tool a few years ago around the turn of the millennium. It was basically the same as the newer model except the color was purple. Like its predecessor, the new "red" model sounds bright, but hang in there audio connoisseurs, don't scare me here. The sound is by no means tiring. In fact, I find it quite comfortable and brings out the inner details while maintaining excellent sibilant rendition. No hard "C" tones. Incredible dynamic range, tracking capabilities, and extremely wide stereo separation, as well as the most channel-balanced deep soundstage, set this inexpensive cartridge far apart from others before it, not only at ridiculously low prices, but well above that point. Maybe you don't want the more expensive Shure M97xE, Clear-Audio Concept MM or AT 440MLa after all. I'll argue that a cart that works great at or above two grams of TTF will wear significantly less than a cart that tracks less than two grams, but sometimes he's wrong. The GT's higher torque also ensures proper 45s tracking, which tends to build up dirt in the grooves over time. Just keep your records clean with a good drybrush like the Hunt EDA Mk VI or equivalent "Superstat" and your records will sound great with this cart. Except RCA Discwasher D-4. Avoid wet systems if you can, as they leave nasty residue that will do no good or keep your records and styluses alive for a period of time. I. It's very quiet with excellent noise reduction, although it still falls short of the Stanton and some 45s can be a little noisy on input compared to the Stanton "500". Only in my headphones when recording on the excellent Tascam 900. I can feel it, but not on playback. When properly installed on the records, there is no noise in the grooves. The bright red, center-notched pen assembly provides extremely good marking visibility, especially when using a pop-up light source. However, I prefer the bright white pen with red "500" dots. This is ideal for DJing in both bright and low light. It works great for everyone else too, as it gently lowers the needle onto the record with a well-cushioned device. Speaking of needles like Stanton "400" and "500". I've never met needles in fifty years! It's more like the famous Shibata or the Stanton-pickering stereohedron used in those great high-end pickups of yesteryear. The GT closely resembles the Pickering XSV series carts, but at a significantly lower price point. I bought this module as a backup for my Stanton 500.V3 but actually used it at one of my shows for comparison and asked my audience. You could hear the difference. I still keep my Stanton 500 in constant rotation but just bought four replacement pens for under $40 here at Revain for Numark. I feel like I get 500 to 800 hours of on-air use for each of these pens. Think about it. It costs less than $10 per stylus for these high-quality "Made in Japan" stylus pens. recently, but is also a favorite for critical listening. Watch out for the brightness though, as it can get tiring. I still prefer my Concept MM and M97xE for superscore records, and my 500.v3 isn't far behind. Think about it, other DJs. Don't you want to sound great in the air? They provide your audience with near-audiophile quality stereo surround sound while proving that vinyl sounds better (despite the occasional click and pop) than pretty much anything the digital world can muster. And yes. Numark Groove Tool sounds equally good in all genres of music, including classical. My performance of Leonard Bernstein/NY Philharmonic "Pictures At An Exhibition" on CBS/Great Performances Records never sounded so alive, natural, sonorous and dynamic! The Telarc Robert Shaw/Atlanta Symphony "Carmina" is great with those clinking cymbals and well-defined orchestral subtleties. The speech reproduction gives you goosebumps. Everything was done without the slightest mistake. I have no reason to doubt the gentleman who claimed to have lit his CD-4 Discrete signal light on his quad receiver as this pickup not only outperforms all other entry-level karts at high frequencies. reproduction, but also in all other phases. It has the unique ability to bring old, worn vinyl records to life with excellent transient response but without the unwanted noise that accompanies refined sound. Because the full vinyl return is just around the corner. The Numark Groove Tool will be the key player for all tables, new and old. studio or changer. And if you don't already have some old Stanton 500AL cases handy. Radio stations that are now going back to records in a massive way. It is unparalleled in its price range. TO UPDATE. 07/21/2014. I've recently started using Numark Groove Tools in my shows and the listening experience has improved. In other words, people, myself included, seem to prefer the Numark sound. It's a great cassette and it's no wonder radios returning to vinyl love it so much. Keep in mind that on the regular FM band the treble rolls a bit and the Numarks do an excellent job of compensating for this while maintaining a flatness with naturally impressive and superb bass! Also, they seem to be very durable. Nothing is planned with the return of the Stanton 500. I would say these Numark reds are the new standard in the broadcast industry right now. They're just as good as the old Stantons, but with a clearer, more modern, high-end sound. These are now my permanent alternatives to broadcast and runners up! UPDATE: 11/25/2015 As the Numark Groove Tool cartridge continues to sell, the price has fallen by as much as five dollars since I first wrote this review. It's simply the #1 choice for broadcast, professional and consumer applications. It is significantly less bulky than the old 45s made from recycled plastic and adapts to many situations when playing records. If you just bought a classic turntable, this is your choice. I find his reproduction of today's newly released records superior to the previous broadcast standard. Stanton 500AL. It preserves the warmth of a vinyl record without straining or overwhelming the powerful high-frequency response inherent in these modern marvels. The bright red needle is easily visible with pop-up lighting or without lighting. BEST BUY pickups of all time. Take one or two or even three. I want to know one more thing. I use them in my SL-2500 desks at my Rolled Gold W/Peter J shows and have never had a reason to swap out my first stylus despite having two GTs running all the time. I have two double packs of replacement probes that I bought over two years ago, they just sit in a drawer waiting to be removed, but it looks like they will have to wait longer as these needles have to be licked off. EN are you kidding me? Fifteen dollars a bullet? Bring your old Christmas records to life with Numark's Made in USA Groove Tool! Merry Christmas and happy spinning. Peter J.UR AFRNDJUPDATE: 12/2/2015 For reference only. I'm using a Numark M-4 STEREO DJ mixer with KnuKonceptz Karma patches from SL-2500 tables to MM phono inputs. I installed my own ground wire.