AT33PTG/II upgrade? Compatible?

Hi There,

I've had the PTG33/II for a year now, prior to that had an OC9ML and before that an original OC9.  The 33 is even more neutral than the OC's and slightly warmer than the OCs.  Superb on jazz not as good on rock as the OC's.  In my opinion AT has the best value in cartridges, whether MM or MC.

@dover  thanks I will do that.

@gochurchgo 

Thats great - well done.

Far warmer and supple than I expected.

Precisely why I recommend it over the OC9 series.

You want to set the tracking weight at the upper end, and then a couple of weeks when the suspension has loosened up drop the tracking weight into the middle and play with VTA again.

More to come.

Playing with loading. Went from 100 to 475 and the change was slight.. now running at 1k and man the soundstage width opened right up. It was good before but now….. wow. Wider than the speakers. Great bass and it’s got 5 hours on it. Far warmer and supple than I expected.

So many months later I finally pulled the trigger. Only the 2nd time I’ve mounted a cartridge.

im running the Sutherland at 100 ohms and 58db gain (the next up is 64db). Sounds really good. I raised the tone arm up a bit to get the shell level to the record. It’s higher than I’ve ever had it.

that channel separation is no joke on the AT.

It’s my first MC and my first advanced stylus profile. I hope my records are clean enough haha.

Yes, AT33PTG works well. And A Sutherland is flexible enough to cater to anything and the sound is great. I have done that. 

BUT

Stay will MM

Try the AT 540 Cartridge

Wandering thought: since the PTG is regarded to have less bass than the SA (and presumably the ART9) would coming from the Nag be kind of a downgrade in the bass department?.

just curious.

Ok great. I may aim that direction.

The only thing I don't like is that it tracks at 2.0 grams, but, I prefer it's sound, and 2 gm isn't heavy, it's more an idealistic preferrence.

I am used to:

Shure V15VxMR which tracks at 1g

AT440ml 1.25g

Shure Elliptical 97xe 1.25g

Grado Mono 1.5g

I have my friends Goldring Eroica LX MC here which tracks at 1.7g.

I highly recommend the AT33PTG/II.

My first MC cartridge. I selected it based on 4 things: past AT MM cartridge 440ML, AT33PTG/II’s specs: wide channel separation; tight channel balance, which work together for superior imaging, and advice here which was very favorable.

If you look at the historic or current ART series, their separation/balance specs were superior also. You cannot get those specs without precise control

I recently sent it to AT for evaluation, sure enough the stylus was worn as I suspected. They have a program, check it/return it, or sell you a new one. I bought a new one for half price, very pleased about that.

My prior favorite was MM, Shure V15Vxmr, now with a Jico SAS on Boron. Originally picked it over the AT440ml only because it had the damping brush, no longer needed in this location. I have the Shure on my rear arm to play LP’s that do not have as dynamic content, to minimize wear on the non-removable MC stylus, or to handle an amazing amount of warp.

That’s what I got too @yogiboy  which seemed like a good fit. 

@noromance and @dover  perfect thanks. Might pull the trigger this week. My first MC experience.

The resonant frequency with the AT and the Technics arm is about 9hz. That combination is fine!

http://www.mh-audio.nl/Calculators/RF.html

Adding to what @dover said, its performance will also depend somewhat on your MC phono stage or SUT.

Its a great choice - the AT33PTG/II is a great cartridge - I actually prefer it to the more expensive OC9 series.

Compliance is not low - it is a little bit below medium - so should be fine on your TT.

Gain & Loading are very configurable on your Sutherland via internal DIP switches and from what I can see you should be able to configure it for the AT. They recommend 100ohms minimum, but you can experiment above this and use your own ear.

Best of luck, I've got a Nagaoka - the AT33 will be a significant upgrade.

It is a very smooth cartridge in terms of sound balance.