A review of the Goldring 1042? Oh yes but this video is a lot more, it’s also a Buyer’s Guide…
…when you want to upgrade your cheap and cheerful moving magnet cartridge but you’re worried about the leap to moving coil technology.
So, a 2-in-1 video then.
Upgrading from the certainty of a basic moving magnet cartridge to a more expensive model can be a stressful move.
I hope this video helps to provide some guidance and assistance.
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To see the video, click the image below…
Goldring
16 Comments
Carlos
27th December 2019 at 6:43 pmHello Mr. Rigby
I’ve got a Clearaudio Concept (Satisfy tonearm) with the stock MM cart and I’ve been thinking about upgrading the cartridge.
My amp is a Rega Brio, but I don’t know if the Brio phono stage is good enough to be paired with the Goldring 1042.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Paul Rigby
28th December 2019 at 6:13 pmHi Carlos – the Brio’s built-in phono amp is fine for now but an upgrade to an external phono model is highly recommended as soon as possible. To be honest, I’d recommend the phono amplifier upgrade first and then go for the cart upgrade afterwards. You’d experience better sonic value that way with fewer bottle-necks.
Carlos
29th December 2019 at 2:02 pmIt’s very kind of you, Mr. Rigby. I’ll upgrade the phono but I guess I’ll take the MC route then… Thanks!
Alex
13th May 2020 at 8:55 amHi Paul. How do you rate the 1042 against the 2M Blue, just out of interest?
Alex
Paul Rigby
13th May 2020 at 10:57 amI’d lean towards the Goldring, Alex.
Alex
13th May 2020 at 12:54 pmInteresting, thanks. I actually had a 1042 about 10 or 12 years back, but I’ve realised since that my system was’nt capable of doing it justice in those days (I sold the cartridge). Now I have a much better system, and am using the 2M Blue, which I like a lot in fact. It would be so interesting to have the 1042 now, and be able to compare the two. But, the Ortofon does have the threaded mounting holes, which makes for much easier set-up…
Alex
Paul S.
26th May 2021 at 2:50 pmPaul, I have a Denon DP-30L turntable. What would you recommend as a well balanced cartridge/stylus for it. Would you recommend replacing the tone arm or anything else.
Thanks!
Paul Rigby
27th May 2021 at 2:54 pmHi Paul – An Audio-Technica VM95E is a good all rounder and should work well.
Mark
3rd August 2021 at 6:03 amHi, I have a 1042 fitted to a Rega 3 and the improvement in sound has been superb over the original Elys. Now it’s time to track down a decent phono preamp. I doubt I will upgrade to moving coils at least for the next decade with kids in school so the question is best matches up to say £1000 and then £1000 -2000. Thank you.
Paul Rigby
3rd August 2021 at 9:41 amFor the £1k level, check out the Profono: https://theaudiophileman.com/profono-phono-amp-review-blue-horizon/
Also the upgradable Trichord Dino: https://theaudiophileman.com/trichord-researchdino-mk-3-phono-stage-upgrades-stay-path/
and the Vertere: https://theaudiophileman.com/phono-1-phono-amplifier-review-vertere/
The best phono amp around £2k is the Icon Audio PS3. I use one myself but don’t have a review here. Here’s a company link: https://iconaudio.com/ps3-mkii-pure-valve-phono-pre-amplifier-ps3-mkii
They’re also there for when you do eventually upgrade to MC.
Oh and there’s these too – all excellent: https://theaudiophileman.com/p10-phono-amplifier-pure-sound-review/ & https://theaudiophileman.com/ph-10-phono-gold-note-review/ (you can upgrade it later with an external power supply)
Mark kogos
4th August 2021 at 5:38 amPaul thank you for your considered response. I was particularly interested in your suggestion re the Vertere as the audio shop in Sydney that fitted the Goldring also suggested the Vertere as a possible option. The other option I had been considering was an Arcam Phono as I already have an Arcam AirDAC sitting next to the turntable. Any thoughts on the Arcam?
Paul Rigby
4th August 2021 at 10:08 amYep the Arcam is an option – https://theaudiophileman.com/rphono/
Marcus J. Swift
4th August 2021 at 3:59 pmHi Paul,
I noticed on your contact page that it just says to post anywhere, so I’m posting on a reasonably relevant topic. I’ve got a question for you, that you might want to cover in an article some time. What are the best currently commercially available p-mount cartridges (i.e. not customisation jobs), in both MM, and MC (if there are any)? I ask for two reasons. Firstly, I’ve got four p-mount turntables, and only currently three cartridges, so I would like to find a good option for the fourth. Secondly, because a lot of people like the Technics linear tracking turntables, for obvious reasons (indeed, three of my four p-mounts are these), and people might wish to upgrade from the standard Audio Technica options. As you know, I have a custom VDH cartridge on my main linear tracker, but I couldn’t afford two, hence that started me wondering what else is out there for Technics linear tracker fans. I’ve seen Grado, and a couple of others, but no idea which are any good, and come to that, not even sure if some of these supposedly p-mount cartridges would actually fit. Maybe you could tie up the two topics of the Technics linear trackers and the p-mount cartridges in one article?
Kind regards,
Marcus.
Paul Rigby
5th August 2021 at 9:35 amThanks Marcus – I’ve no immediate plans to cover P-mounts but I’ll certainly makes note and keep an eye open for feature opportunities.
Teo Sirakov
27th February 2022 at 10:10 amI am very happy to read this review, Paul.
I have recently been immersed in the world of vinyl.
I bought my Thorens TD 318 in excellent condition, which came with a Goldring 1042 cartridge. I had serious concerns that this was not a good solution and began to consider replacing it with an MC.
Your article encouraged me not to, at least for now. The Thorens plays beautifully, at least according to my ideas.
Thank you for this thorough review.
Paul Rigby
28th February 2022 at 12:16 pmThank you, Teo. Happy to be of help.