OP, I'm with you on this subject. The tonearm on the table in my #2 system has a removable headshell. I use three different cartridges, each with its own headshell. Two are moving magnet type and the third is a high output moving coil. The two moving magnet cartridges are a Sumiko Moonstone and a Nagaoka MP-200. The MC is a new, not broken in yet Hana SH MKII. I can change up the sound as my mood dictates from soft and round that is very musically involving (Moonstone) to a more fleshed out and rich sound (Nagaoka) to the MC sound of the Hana. It's all fun. Side note - the process of swapping the cartridges is much easier and more exact due to having an Easy VTA adjuster device that I have added to the tonearm. The main system is all moving coil.
Fun with MM cartridge
Greetings,
I haven’t listened to a MM cartridge in over 35 years. Since I bought my first MC cartridge there was no need for me to listen to MM cartridges any longer. They just extract more music from records.
I have 3 turntables in my system, all with different MC cartridges. A few weeks ago I thought it would be fun to pull out one of my MM cartridges from my toy box and give it a listen. I installed a Grado XTZ on the TT. Gave it a listen, it sounded dull and lifeless. It’s a hard cartridge to drive, has a low output. I even move it to my MC input on my phono drive to get more gain. Same outcome. I was disappointed with the sound, since it has very few hours on it. Went to my toy box and installed a Grace F9E cartridge. Put on an album and gave it a listen. It put a big smile on my face. What a nice sounding cartridge. It had a good sound stage, bass was good, had good width, depth and height. Played a few more records, it is a fun cartridge to listen too.
I still prefer my MC cartridges but the F9E will stay on my TT for right now. Every once in a while I’ll listen to it, just to have fun.
Joe Nies