2. analog
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D'oh I killed my cartridge...now what?

My trusty Clearaudio Aurum Beta S met with an unfortunate accident and is no more :(

I've already had a couple Clearaudios and want to move to something different; at any rate, I think the AB was a little too heavy for my tonearm and I'd like to move to something slightly lower compliance to take advantage of the HiFi mod if possible. At the same time, I'm low on cake right now so my budget will be limited. My phono stage can handle output as low as 0.5mV and I am not interested in a step-up transformer, so Shelter and other very LO carts are out.

I'm looking for a great tracker that can deal with less than perfect condition vinyl, less than 15cu, less than 9g, more than 0.5mV output. My tastes are quite varied--all rock genres from all eras, heavy to classic, pop to indie, plus jazz and blues and a hint of classical. I would like a well-rounded and dynamic cart, clean as long as it's not analytical or sterile; a little coloration is OK as long as it suits my tastes and my already warm system.

I'm curious about the Benz M2, ACE medium output, and the Dynavector DV20xH. How much better is the Benz M2 versus the ACE? How do either compare to the Dynavecotr? How would any of these stack up to my poor Aurum Beta S? How about the Lyra Dorian--does anyone know what its ouput is? I cannot seem to find any info on it.

BTW, I might be able to get a deal on the M2; otherwise my budget is under 800. Rig is a Gyro SE/ OL Silver Mk.2. Please click on my system for other details.

Thanks for entertaining another cartridge thread! You guys rawk :)
dirtyragamuffin

Showing 1 response by gregm

gregm
3,411 posts
 
General remark regarding sound re, low & hi output cartridges. It's a bit of a chicken & egg dilemma.

The sound you ultimately get at TT source level is a combination of the phono & whatever signal the cartridge sources into that phono.

Low output cart: the phono's contribution to the resulting sound is more (see below), there is an extra amplification stage involved within that phono.
Hi output: the cartridge's contribution to the resulting sound is higher & the phono's less, vs. the above (in the case of moving coils, the step-up device is in the cartridge).

SO: if, in relative terms, you feel that your phono is sonically superior to the cartridge (i.e. it could handle the sonics of much "better" cartridges, too), it makes sense to go for the low output one, leaving the extra amplification required to the good circuit of your phono. If not, rely on the cartridge sonics instead.

Not very conclusive, I know -- but one way of looking at it! Cheers
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