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1305 Review
75 Karma

Review on Numark GTRS - Enhanced Stylus Replacement for Numark's Grovetool Cartridge by Michael Radhakrishnan

Revainrating 2 out of 5

Compatible but potentially dangerous.

I bought two blister packs of these Numark Groovetool needles for my TT1600 turntable with the original cartridge which I have owned for ten years now. I love the spinner, it's fantastic. I've never had a problem with it in the whole time I've owned it, but I'm admittedly not a heavy user either due to various life situations and it's happened in spurts. Then one day I accidentally broke the needle. during its purification. my stupid fault So I had to buy a replacement pen for the first time. Since I found them cheaper than anywhere else, so fantastic! I will order a few and almost forever unless I do something stupid again. After waiting for their departure, they finally made it here. I was pleased! It's been a few weeks since I've had a chance to listen to my Harry Chapin records or anything. That said, I was hooked until I inserted the needle into my cartridge. I noticed that there seemed to be no space at all between the cartridge and the record. I thought I was just seeing things so I went ahead and played a few tracks. It sounded fantastic! Until it hit between tracks and I heard the cassette scratch against the vinyl. I compared what I saw to the video I made before I screwed up and broke the needle. There was definitely a big gap before the replacement and about 1mm gap after changing the needle. Comparing the needle holder from the blister pack and the original I replaced showed that they are actually SMALLER than the one I replaced. Luckily I was too lazy and didn't throw away the old pen holder, but put the new one in my native holder. Everything was as originally. from the original holder. Anyway, I'm not sure I can't just grab a pen somewhere else and stick the needle in what I already have, rather than paying for ones that claim to be compatible with what I have. During my research prior to this purchase I had read that GrooveTool cartridges were not highly regarded and now I understand why, especially when Numark's redesign resulted in possible damage to the vinyl.

Pros
  • A sea of positive emotions
Cons
  • A few little things

Comments (1)

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May 29, 2023
Very good cartridge for the price.