Grado DJ200 v. Nightclub E v. Whitelabel

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Reticuli

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I need opinions from people who have experience with comparing at least two of these before. I am currently using 500al II's at 3.25 grams on a TT200 with strait arm. I am willing to upgrade to the S-arm if I need to. I mix, with only the smallest amount of scratching. For most scratching, I mostly just noodle around on my Axis 8's. So if a given cart is unsuitable for scratching, but is reliable for backcueing and sounds great, then that's fine. I'm also assuming the Ortofon Gold Elliptical Concords are simply gold, integrated headshell versions of the Nightclub OM E's.
 
I have used all three. I have the Nightclub E's, and continue to use them because I do not want to buy new carts, not because they are better or worse than the others. The whitelabels seem like really solid carts. The Grados sound wonderful, but do not hold grooves very well. You have to be gentler than I sometimes am when time is short...
 
Grado dj200 are best suited for recording and sampling. Whitelabels are great all-round but i honestly don't know how they sound againist a nightclub-e.
 
If I don't scratch with the Grados and have them set up properly (with a cart set up tool from disk doctor), will they work for mixing if the weight's at 3-3.5 grams or will they skip whenever I back cue. And by the way, I will be using them with S-arms. I would still have my 500al II's as back-ups for poorly set-up decks, strait arms, and scratching.

Also, I need someone who can compare the Nightclub E's to the Grado DJ200's. Are the Grados that much better sounding? Are there any carts that track better than the Grados but sound even better than the Nightclub E's? Either one will cost me about $300.
 
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I don´t know if this is important for you: on another board (not english) I read that the grado work with the tech´s, but unfortunately not with the ttx´s s-type arm, the poster is currently asking numark for the reason
 
You mean it doesn't track properly on the Numark S-arm? Are you certain it was the DJ200, because the DJ100 has a massive tracking problem.
 
that it was said on a german board - I don´t know if it is true; I know this is pretty strange, but the user had a DJ 200 and was complaining that it didn´t track with his s-arm on his ttx whereas he had no problems on his techs;

after all, I wouldn´t take it too seriously; I never heard of the DJ100 tracking problems either...
 
Grado still hasn't gotten back to me on the topic of the DJ200's tracking on a Numark. So, I don't know. DJ forums seems to think the best sounding cart that definitely tracks well for mixing is the Nightclub E. Do you have a link to the German forum? I could translate it.
 
I don´t have too much experience with a to b comparison of cartridges, but the best sounding ortofon DJ cart should be the broadcast e, the niteclub e is pretty common in Germany and it is sad to be bright sounding and very good for techno and trance, but is not recommended for house music

if this helps: if you buy the whitelabels in the US, you make a pretty good deal, the whitelabels are as expensive as niteclub e and broadcast e in Germany
 
one more:
yes of course: ortofon gold is simply a gold version of the concorde niteclub e, which was introduced to match the sl 1210 gold limited edition
 
I kind of figured on the Golds. Darn, the Broadcast E is impossible to find in the states. I'm sure it'd probably only cost US$300 shipped from an e-tailer in Russia or Denmark.
 
It almost looks like that German guy is saying Numark's S-arm is a different length than the Technics' and the Numark's anti-skate doesn't even work.
 
yes that´s what he´s saying-

I don´t have a ttx; so I can´t tell; I guess there are very few DJ with a ttx and a grado 200 out there, so it´s hard to judge if it is a general problem or just a singular case;

check the waveboard maybe, www.wavemusic.com
 
I have both the Nightclub E and the Grado DJ200s. I have decided to leave the Grados on my decks at home but I do not use them much in live situations. Do the Grados sound better... YES. I originally used the Nightclub Es because I liked the very tight clear sound. The Grados are shomehow more clear and have a much fuller, rounder sound. The bass and lower midrange that was lacking on the Ortofons is there on the Grados without any of the muddiness found in other carts.

Are the Grados usable... it depends. You need a much gentler hand when backcueing and mixing. You need to be very careful about cartridge setup as any missalignment will cause problems. You also need to choose slipmats wisely. If your slipmat causes any sort of "stick, slip" vibration on the record the cartridge may start oscilating. I have found the "Trackmats" type to be the most consistent with the white felt mats a close second. Warped or cupped records are much more likely to skip. If you touch a cupped record it will almost definitly skip even if it on the "center high" side. A very small number of my records (1 in 200 or so..) skip no matter what I do so I have the ortofons at the ready if needed.

For my home use, practicing and recording, the trouble is worth it. Grados sound that much better. Practicing on them makes sure my touch is gentle for those parties where the decks are on soft and springy isolation platforms.

I have used them live a couple of times. Like the old trick of saving the fresh needles for the peak of the night, I have used them when I want to give a record that something extra. After setting up the Grados I taped a penny to the headshell at the spot that gives me the same toearm balance as the heavier Nightclubs. Now I can switch carts very quickly without messing with weights.

I hope this is of some help.. let me know if you have any other quetions.
 
Thanks so much. Well, after reading all the comments about the Grado skipping, Concords having contacts problems, and ellipticals needing to be precisely aligned, I decided to go for the Ortofon OM Broadcast E's. I just bought the Ortofon OM Broadcast E's, 5 replacement needles, the Ortofon protractor, Ortofon needle gauge, the Shure MCC cart case, and some cheap Technics headshell knockoffs. Comes to about $405 (minus shipping), which is a better bargain than just the Twin Concord Broadcast E Set for $350 with only 2 replacement needles, no ability to align the cartridge, and none of the other goodies. I'm surprised I don't have a headache after all the research and trying to decifer German and Dutch. Ortofon should really sell more of their stuff in the states.
 
Aren't the broadcast E's the same as the NC and Gold E's? They are the black cart with the red stylii, right?
 
But how are they different? Other than channel balance, all other specs are identical... I was just wondering how they sound different.
 
From everything I've read, the Broadcast E's have deeper, more resolved bass and smoother, more neutral highs than the Nightclub E and Gold E. They can only take a maximum tracking force of 3-3.5grams, though, because they have a softer needle suspension. I only use 3.25-3.5 grams max on my 500al II's, so I don't think this will be a problem if the Broadcasts are at 3. Ellipticals track better at a given force than sphericals, anyway, as long as you've set them up properly on an S tonearm. Everything I read indicated that the Broadcast was a definite step up from the Nightclub and Gold, and definitely Ortofon's best DJ cart. I wanted the Grado, but my records are not perfect and I can't spend that much on new carts only to have them skip even when set up the right way. Looks to me like the Broadcast E's are the best sounding of the "well-tracking" DJ carts in the world. I'm stoked. Thanks for all the help, Jensx!
 
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