Technics 205CMK3 Cartridge

I dug out a Technics 205CMK3 cartridge the other day and bought it along to Robs to have a good listen to it. He seemed to think it was worth selling.

It has both the integrated head-shell and body as well as the body for fixing directly to modern arms.

It sounded pretty damn good! Very clean sounding but not as bright as Robs normal Lyra Argo cart. Nice tight bass and a warm tone but as I said, still clean.

The cartridge used to be my Dads but soon after he bought it he got divorced and stopped playing with Hi-Fi, so although it was one of the first ever sold in the UK it is in good condition still - I would guess around 200 hours on it.

Rob suggested it was worth around £200 so make me an offer in that area!

 

Just to add a bit to what I know about this cart - It is MM. It was the first to ever use boron pipe cantilevers. They grow the boron so its crystal structure actually forms a hollow pipe which is extremely stiff and light. It is the ONLY MM cart that Van Den Hul consider worthy of rebuilding.

When my Dad bought it, the shop told him it was a sample given to them by Technics to get some feedback on if people liked it enough to put it in full production (hence is once of the first made).

 

Like I said, make me an offer you may get lucky

This really is a good cart, and obviously VanDenHul think so too.

 

£50?

 

:spank:

 

…was that a yes?

 

lol sorry thats a no.

 

So you're not open to offers? It might have been worth £200 twenty years ago, surely £50 is more than reasonable. It's better than letting in sit unused in a draw?

 

I'm open to offers, but I don't have to accept them. This is a very rare and good cartridge easily worth more than £50 especially since it has the head for modern tone-arms too. It didn't exactly get shown up next to Robs £800 Argo, though it was not quite as quick and detailed.

 

…but you're not going to get £200 for it - even if Rob says that it's worth it. I've got a beautiful pair of Technics speakers that cost £2,000 in 1986 (and a very rare in the UK) that could show many mordern speakers a thing or to and they are not worth much despite being in mint condition. The same rules of depreciation apply - surely?

 

Not in this case. The 205 ih highly sought after in some markets and was probably the best MM ever made - and thats not just IMHO.

Simon, stick them on Japanese eBay - Japanese audio buffs appreciate this is no ordinary MM cartridge.

 

They are barking mad too, which helps (that's not a comment on the cart btw )

 

Yeah I thought I would give it a go here first though!

I will get my brother to stick it on Japanese eBay as you suggest (he is living in Japan at the moment conveniently).

I have no idea what the Jap eBay rules are though, I hope they are not silly (-er)!

DJ, maybe you should put your speakers on Japanese eBay.

 

… I would but they are bloody heavy and I want to keep them.

 

Apparently the Japanese eBay was shut down by the government a while back! I'm guessing they didn't like the way they did business

 

Now that is some sweeping satement. Please define exactly what this old, long discontinued model is best at....

I personally think the Shure V15VxMR is the best MM cartridge ever sold and not just me

anybody else with their own idea's about which is the best MM cartrdige ever sold , it is Friday after all...

 

Why don't you borrow it for a little while and find out?

 

Who knows but the Shure was the best I ever heard. Shame I snapped the cantilever off mine :newbie:

 

If that's true then this was a steal :http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/THORENS-150AB...17873488QQihZ011QQcategoryZ3283QQcmdZViewItem

 

Just goes to show that despite what we often think our cherished items are worth, on the s/h market they are only actually worth what a buyer is willing to pay.

I sold my transcriptors stylus balance a couple of years ago to a buyer for £80 via e-bay. He had wanted a set for years and the bidding was very competitive for mine.
A short while later, (probably after the seller had seen my e-bay sale), another set came up for sale that where actually in better nick than my old one.
I was going to put a speculative bid in for £15 just for a laugh. I wish i had, they sold for just £5 !

I've often had things that I've hoarded for years, but ultimately sometimes i get a better sense of well being by selling it on , often for less than its worth to somebody who will really admire it, look after it and use it.

Cartridges are for playing records not locking away in drawers for a rainy day.....

Simple things please simple minds but so far i have never got bored of watching my xMR drop down into action, it's not a stereo cartridge its an articulated , high tech, machine ! I Just wish the walls of that Boron cantelever tube were just a little bit thicker, having already trashed one....