Other question: how much of your daily/week time are you using to listen LP and how much time the digital alternative?
R.
Advice needed on MC cartridges
I’ve an Ortofon Black 2M cartridge on my VPI Classic 2 turntable, It’s a moving magnet type cartridge with a Shibata stylus and cost about $700 when purchased. I could easily be wrong, but am under the impression that the Ortofon 2M Black is about as good as it gets with MM cartridges and if I wished to upgrade I’d need to be thinking about moving into a MC, moving coil, type.
So I’ve been trying to learn something about moving coil cartridges and what differences or improvements in sound quality might be obtained by using one. My integrated amp, a Luxman 507uX Mk2, has a built in phono stage and can play either type,
Generally speaking, how much more would need to be spent on a MC cartridge before a noticeable, or significant improvement, might be heard in sound quality over the Ortofon 2M’s performance? What improvements in performance might you obtain using one a better quality MC over the Ortofon 2M Black? And third, what MC cartridges might you recommend that would fit in performance and budget wise with a system composed of the above equipment plus Magico A3 speakers. My other equipment is a Marantz Ruby CD/SACD player and a Shunyata Denali Hydra power conditioner.
I’ve never heard a MC cartridge in use so would be interested in following your advice and recommendations to see if I can find a dealer or someone that might be able to demo one so I can hear what the differences might be in performance. Thank you for any responses or suggestions
Mike
Showing 13 responses by rauliruegas
Dear @skyscraper : " The 470 ohm setiing is available as the MM phono amp (phono stage) setting on the Luxman 507uX MK II. So I should be good there if I end up going with the Paua. "
You have a big problem and is that your knowledge level is not low but non-existent at all. Your Luxman MM stage has not the gain need it to handle the LO SS cartridge.
I already told you that for that PAUA MK2 can run in you unit a Technician need to change the stock 100 ohms resistor for a 470 ohms. That’s all what you need it.
Btw, how many LP’s do you own? Sorry to say this but if I was you with your non-existent know how I just be steady with my 2M Black till I learn because analog is extremely demanding in knowledge levels that you just unknow at all. You not even know what to know about.
R. |
Dear @skyscraper : You have really short memory. When I touched the unipivot issue I gave in the same post the VP 3-D bi-pivot option and way before that I posted a warning with SS cartridge due that can't be handled directly by your Luxman and now you are thinking in the LO PAUA MK2 that needs at least 470 ohms as loading impedance when your Luxman has fixed 100 ohms and if you want that SS cartridge you or a technician needs to change that stock resistor inside the Luxman. R.
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Dear @skyscraper : " But I am certainly no expert... "" Certainly you are not but neither those gentlemans that posted is ok with unipivots, no matters what . I posted why unipivots are wrong tonearm design and @mijostyn that understand perfectly the why's posted too about. This is not if what we listen through we like it or not that's not the main issue the main issue is deeper than that and has to do with the task that any cartridge must does at microscopic and macro levels and that unipivots are unable to hold the cartridge to fulfill its needs at those levls. Yes, unipivot can works but in wrong way and this is the issue. The matters is know-how and common sense not if we like it. Btw, the Graham was a copy-cat of Audiocraft unipivot AC3000: @tobes do you know Audiocraft changed it by the 3300?
R. |
Dear @safebelayer : Any cartridge advise needs that the OP change his today tonearm for the cartridge can shows at its best and that change could means to spend between 3K-5K in a decent tonearm and when he has it could be better to go for the Umami Red or the Kleos or Colibri. The ART can't take out per sé the OP of that average big sea. Yes, only an opinion. R. |
Dear @skyscraper : Why so many posts about Hana cartridge? Like almost everything the audiophile world moves inside what in stastistics is knowed as a Normal Distribution Curve ( a " bell " curve ". ). According that around the 80% of audiophiles live somewhere near the center of that " beell " live in the average/mediocrity space. So you will always find out thousands of advises around that average audiophile world that through our audio life we were there or still we are and nothing wrong with that: is a reality.
Now, unfortunatelly in analog is not easy to go out of that mediocrity/average world. We need money important money to do it but money is not enough we need high whole analog knowledge levls and certainly a very good know-how/experiences with live MUSIC events. The audio world function inside that " bell " distribution. You already arrive to that conlusion with the Hana cartridges and other " average " advises here that only permit that you " swimm " more time in that average/mediocre world till you decide you are already prepared to go out.
R. |
@skyscraper : because unipivot designs are totally unstable and unaccurated to handle the cartridge tracking needs to the cartridge can pick up the recorded information in the LP grooves and avoid developed added distortions for that tonearm unstabilities. probably unipivots is the worst kind of tonearm design not even for entry level cartridges. VPI has gimball tonearm designs. R. R. |
Dear @skyscraper : Options on TT/tonearms are almost endless and every one has his own preferences in TT and preferences on tonearms.
With those kind of LOMC cartridges what you will need is to change the unipivot tonearm design by a VPI 3-D bi-pivot one.
R. |
Your Luxman has very good design and canhandle that level of quality performance with no problem. Obviously that in any room/system always exist weak links in the system audio chain and yours is no exception. Example; is it your TT/tonearm the optimum for any of those cartridges?. No, it's not but can works and latter on you can make the up-grades need it.
What's clear is that with your today system you will know for sure the high quality differences for the better.
R. |
Dear @skyscraper : "" on a MC cartridge before a noticeable, or significant improvement, might be heard in sound quality over the Ortofon 2M’s performance? "" If you really want to make a true " differences " for the better you need to invest money through that LOMC you are looking for. Not for an entry level in that MC world. "" $3000 figure for a good cartridge. For my current system with a VPI Classic 2 turntable do you think a cartridge costing that much might be overkill for my system? ""
No, it's not and around that money figure you can really say: I'm in a different " league " and you have really good options around that budget: https://www.lyraanalog.com/kleos.html
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@mijostyn : rigth, a warning on LO MI and the warning comes because the op is thinking in MC cartridges and the SS advise came from a MC cartridge owner that changed to MI. Of course HO SS can works through the MM stage. Prolem with dover is that has a way different commonsense than you and me or it like to " hit " me every time he " can ". Thank's for your post. R. |
Dear @skyscraper : So, your MM cartridge world ended with the Ortofon Black? In reality that world only started with your Ortofon and you have a great " land " to discovery down there.
Please do it a favor and try any of the very good options that a high knowledge level audiophile as @mijostyn already did it, including the new Ortofon top fligth Black: LVB 250.
Btw, "" so will go to the Soundsmith site to get educated about them...""" Be carefully about, your unit can't handle the impedance need it for SS cartridges.
Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS, R. |