marknoir wrote:

Hello Romy I like Shelters as well, so I finally scrubbed-up enough money and began to search. I was always happy with 901, but there were none around. Last night I got a 90X, with (supposedly) around 100 hrs on it, within driving distance. So today I mounted it, and - horror - it sounded EXACTLY like you described your "flat" 901. No bass to speak of, heavy compression throughout the spectrum, and nasty, nasty peak at upper mids/lower treble, hard as hell. Tracking is fine, no distortion on cibilants, rides noemal, suspension feels right etc. Mystery. Right now it sounds so bad, that I will ask the seller to take it back. I don't feel like performing that surgery you did on your 901 :-) I guess this problem is not as uncommon... Back to OC-9ML II

Marknoir, I do not think that what you described is inherit problem of Shelter 90X. Of cause everything might be. Buying cartridges today is a lottery but I do not think that Shelter 90X shall be so bad. Most likely do you got a defective cartridge – that why it was sold to you – take it back to the seller. Which very much brings a question – what the hell you do buying the contemporary production used cartridges? I understand that people buy some vintage needle from 50 years old used. But the cartridges that made today – there is absolutely no need to by them used. I never buy used cartridges, never borrow them and never lend them. Cartridges are the subject of personal hygiene and must be used only by one person. Remember- no one ever will sell you used cartridges that sound good – the only reason why people sell cartridges because they do not sound good. This BTW is very applicable for all sales in audio. Private parties sell anything that they do not need or feel that it does not perform well. Take a look at me – whatever I see I consider not good for me anymore – so, what is the per pose to buy anything from me? So, buy a case a bear, take it with your cartridge back to the seller, make him dunk and he will tell you how he have fucked up his Shelter 90X.

marknoir wrote:

I contacted seller last night ( one day after I bought it) and he refused to take it back and refund the money. There are some real a-holes out there.

Romy the Cat wrote:

I pulled today from my shelf my collection of earliest Denon PCM recordings on LP the Denon record in end of the 78s. I generally do not like this entire series but the first releases where OK, not as good as then might be analog but much better than they were on CD. The Cat