Anyone using a turntable with their 990? Is the phono input able to accept a moving coil or magnetic cart?

thanks

The 990's phono input is for MM cartridges only. There are some folks around here using turntables, so we should hopefully see some first-hand feedback. There should also be some older posts on the subject, as well.

I hooked up my Pioneer PL-530 and was listening to Cat Stevens.. greatest hits.. sounds really good. Very happy about that. sounded best in bypass mode to me.

Cool!

It makes sense that bypass would turn out the best. I think some people had used upsample to good effect, but bypass gives you that straight analog signal path from needle to ear.

If the 990 didn't have a phono input I wouldn't have bought it. Mine is fed by a Grado Red (moving magnet) cartridge mounted in a Mayware IV unipivot arm on an AR XA turntable that will be 45 years old this year. The combination sounds very good (a few more db of gain wouldn't hurt though) but I do wonder how the 2150 would do; however the 2150 doesn't do HT. I've thought of replacing the AR but would have to be convinced, by direct comparison, that the replacement is better.

One phono acessory I haven't found, probably because it doesn't exist, is a remote-controlled arm lifter that would be actuated by a "mute" button when, e.g., answering the phone. Does anyone know of such a thing?

Yes, Skyblazer, the 990 does phono nicely with magnetic cartridges, and high-output MCs like the Sumiko Blue Point series should work well too, but it can't handle low-output MCs, most of which cost more than the 990 anyway. Nor does any other HT tuner-preamp that I know of.

question for you vinyl lovers.. i replaced the Pioneer needle on my PL-530 with the same one it had that was bad. it's a Pioneer PN-50 (also called PC-50) needle... can this head accept different needles?

I know this may be a stupid question.. but i honestly don't know... and if I wanted to move up in quality.. i'd hate to shell our decent bucks only to find out it won't work.

I think this is a question Pioneer can answer better than anyone else, but my guess would be that if a stylus (more accurate name than needle) will fit in the cartridge body it will work. Pioneer apparently made the pickup cartridge you want to upgrade the stylus for. I have no idea how new the design of the Pioneer cartridge is or the size of your budget, but the arm of the PL-530 looks like it would accommodate most cartridges (also called pickups) made today, and there are lots of good ones at prices from $100 up - way, way up in some cases. I use a Grado Red which lists for around $100. The 990 will work well with most pickups that cost less than it does. That leaves out the very expensive moving coils. Have fun.

ok great... i guess i'd probably have to buy a different cartridge body to accept different stylus's. or is it styli?

pysprof1, what did you move from before you got the Grado red? What did you notice right away in the sound difference, both good or bad? but i'd guessing more good in your case. LOL

It's styli, Skyblazer, and you're right that styli fit only in cartridges from the same manufacturer. (Exception: Radio Shack carries, or used to carry, styli for several different makes of cartridges, mostly Shure if memory serves, but the quality is definitely entry level.) As for my cartridge history, the last one before the Grado was an Audio Technica (sp?) of about the same price level. I still have it but I think the Grado sounds a bit better with the music I like, which is mostly classical. The differences are not dramatic.
The February Absolute Sound has an article about the latest model of the London (formarly Decca) cartridge, of a unique design (you'd have to read it), which I'd like to hear sometime, but the thing costs almost as much as five 990s and a complete record player - turntable, arm, and appropriate preamplifier - of commensurate quality for this little gadget the size of the end of your pinky would probably cost around twenty thousand dollars.
Kind of out of the range of us 990 owners.
Back in the real world, if you want to replace your Pioneer cartridge / stylus, good ones to look at would be Grado, Ortofon, or Sumiko but there are plenty of others.

I don't own the 990. Instead, I use the 970 with an external phono stage. That difference aside, I think psyprof1 has given you good advice. I am still a real vinyl junkie and can attest to the Grado cartridges. I currently use the Reference Platinum and have used Grados from days gone by such as the 8MX. They were always solid performers for their respective price ranges. I've also owned the Sumiko Blue point (which is a high output MC) for many years. the Sumiko is now in its second iteration (Bluce Point 2). I only have experience with the first Blue Point, and in comparison to the Grado, the Grado is much more lush in the midrange than the Sumiko and really excels on vocals. A couple other solid manufacturers are Clearaudio and Benz Micro.

Check out www.needledoctor.com; they have an extensive line up from $20 - $10K.

Good Luck!