Having been a hen's dentist, I can attest that hen's teeth are quite rare. Which is why I left the profession to become a monkey's uncle.
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Dgob doesn't hang around here very often, if at all. Unfortunately for the rest of us. |
Chakster, This thread was initiated several years ago by dgob, after he purchased a Glanz G5. Apparently that's a cartridge with an integrated headshell. Apparently also there is at least one other integrated headshell Glanz with a single-digit alphanumberic designation, the G7. How do those units fit into the scheme? Are they in the same ballpark, SQ-wise, as some of the others being discussed here, 5 years later? (Not suggesting the G5 challenges your favorite MFG61; I know nothing about any of them.) |
Dear Dgob,
Sadly for me, I had never before heard of Glanz cartridges until you brought them into the discussion, and I have never seen one for sale since then. I take it these products were largely sold and used in Europe.
I am not sure I hear the same qualities in the Azden as you do. Compared to a clinical sounding MC, yes, it is a warmer fuller sound. But compared to other MM/MI cartridges that I have thus far auditioned, I would say the Azden is more about details. What sort of music do you favor? |
Dgob, I am so slow at this business of evaluation that thus far I have only got a feel for 3 cartridges: my own Grado TLZ (so-called because I bought it at least 20 years ago, and it was my one and only cartridge for several years), the Ortofon M20FL Super, and the Azden. So at this point, I am far from naming a "top 3". While the Azden is now much better than it was at first, largely due to correcting my own set-up errors and some break-in time, I am still not blown away, altho it is obviously excellent. This is why I have asked others to share their preferred VTA, VTF, and load resistance for the Azden. I am near to neutral VTA, VTF= 1.35gm, and load R= 47K, no added capacitance. There is plenty of evidence that 100K load or some number between 100K and 47K is better.
Just got my 1000ZE/X stylus from Garage a Records (to install on my 1000ZE). |
Dear Dgob, I just visited your system site. I see that your "other" cartridges are also MM or MI types, albeit some of the very best ones. I wonder what has been your experience with LOMC types, especially given that you own a very fine MC phono stage, inside the 3160.
I think one reason you are so lonely here is the virtual absence of any Glanz cartridges from the marketplace. If I could find one, I would be interested to try it. |
Wait, Nicola, didn't you start out by saying that the Glanz MF51 appeared identical to the MF (FM?) 200?
If so, then Glanz MF51 = Astatic MF200 = Glanz 5. Clearly, something is rotten in Denmark. |
Dear Nicola, I assumed nothing except that I thought it was you who recognized a similarity between Glanz MF51 and Astatic MF200. I have never even seen any Glanz or Astatic cartridge in the flesh. Apparently I was wrong about your opinion. Sorry.
Dgob is a loyal user of Raul's preamplifier. I should think that would trump any disagreement over one particular cartridge's performance level. Thus I do not perceive any animosity on either side, just a difference of opinion. |
Raul,
I have no dog in this fight, but I would point out two things in response to your long post:
(1) In part, It is certainly possible that integrated designs went away back in the 80s mostly because phono itself was on the wane and the latest and greatest tonearms of those days tended NOT to have removable headshells, which would render such integrated cartridge designs unusable by their target audience of high-end aficionados.
(2) It's rather amusing that intrinsic to your argument is the notion that 30-year-old cartridges and the like are "old fashioned" since this is a contradiction of your original mantra (which states in part that attention to quality of design and construction was at a higher level in "those days" compared to the present). I would posit that the observation that rebuilding vintage cartridges typically results in an improvement in performance could as well be due to deterioration of suspensions with time (applicable even to NOS samples) and/or to abuse of the original construct by previous owners of used samples, as to true benefits of the rebuild. For a given cartridge, we can never know the truth in that regard. There is also the fact that after a rebuild one "expects" an improvement; this causes a subconscious bias in favor of hearing an improvement. None of us are immune to that bias. This is why serious science demands double-blind, controlled studies as a qualification for publishing.
It's true that having a choice of headshell, wires, screws, torque on the screws, etc, does allow much more freedom to "voice" a cartridge. Perhaps in your hands, this is a big advantage. For most of the rest of us, we are taking a complete shot in the dark. We could be missing what a given cartridge may have to offer by making bad choices. At least with an integrated design cartridge, one can assume that those variables are not in the equation, and one can hope that the engineers who designed the product made good choices so as to maximize the performance of their product.
I'm just saying' |
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Thanks for the in depth explanation. What I fear is that the suspension has gone bad, but then I wonder why the same would have happened on two samples. Certainly that’s not impossible. I’ll see what I can find for a reasonable cost. Given the mystique that surrounds these cartridges, I’d like to hear a good one.
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Thanks, Dover, and thanks, dgob, for your suggestions. I hadn’t expanded my horizons in the search for a repair much beyond the continental USA. Maybe I should do so. Dover I confess I don’t understand your suggestion regarding a donor. I do have two MF2500 stylus assemblies. Neither sounds “good”.
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Dgob or Raul or anyone, last year I picked up a defective MF2500. It plays music but sounds strident, shrill, and distorted. Andy Kim more or less declined to work on it, either because he didn’t feel it was worth the cost of his effort or because he felt he couldn’t fix it. I couldn’t tell what he really thought. I have two stylus assemblies and neither one works well. Can anyone recommend a repair person with some expertise in these MF types? Thx.
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This is why the Irish wish for the wind to be at their backs. That way, the balls don't usually drop off. |
