I have just acquired an old Glanz G5 moving magnet cartridge. However, I cannot find out any details about this or the Glanz range or, even the company and its history.
Can anyone out there assist me in starting to piece together a full picture?
Any experiences with this or other Glanz's; web links; set up information etc would be warmly received. Surely someone knows something!
Had an hour to kill so I just re-read all nine pages of this thread.
Kinda fun. The "distortions" responses were tedious but otherwise fun.
While some of my preferences have changed over the life of this thread, most remain. The biggest change for me is a switch from all tubes to all SS. Never thought that would happen.
I remain solidly in the LOMC camp but the MFG 61 and a handfull of other vintage carts still have my highest respect. Vintage tonearms as well. Have to shake my head sometimes after hearing how different one cartridge can sound from another, yet still enjoy the music.
I see dgob enjoys the Acutex 420STR. I've been a big fan for over a decade. After hearing one properly run-in, I bought 23 more of them. That was 11-12 years ago. That's how much I think of them. Outstanding performer, especially for the money. It takes a LONG time for the 420 to open up so if you find one, don't give up on it. It'll reward you.
To improve the 420 further, I glue the stylus housing to the body. I use a small amount of cyanoacrylate glue(super glue). This makes a significant improvment. All long nose Acutex carts can benefit. I also remove the stylus guard. YMMV
I remain solidly in the LOMC camp but the MFG 61 and a handfull of other vintage carts still have my highest respect.
@xactaudio Mr. Dobbins, is that you ? I did not use my MF-61 for a long time, but 5-7 years ago it was my favorite cartridge, I bought ZYX LIVE-18 headshell for it and this combo is in my vaults ever since. Extremely rare model! It's a keeper.
The Highphonics was actually recommended to me by Jonathan Carr, who described it as the most beautiful cartridge he knew at the time. It does however need a powerful phono preamp to drive its 0.129 mV output.
Yes, of all the high end cartridges that I ever sent to Axel Schurholz, the only one whose performance that he enthusiastically described as "perfect" was the Acutex 420 STR with a nude shibata tip and boron cantilever. I agree with his (and your assessments). A marvellous cartridge in every way.
I should also make note of my undying gratitude and admiration for Axel, who passed away last year. His help and personal advice to myself and many on this forum was kindly given and greatly appreciated.
The world of high fidelity has lost a champion. RIP Axel
Hello dgob, I’ve seen the eBay listing for the Glanz G7 and M7. I think earlier in this thread you said you were trying various arms with your Glanz G5, could you say which ones you tried and which worked best please? I’m interested in trying the G7 but don’t know whether any of the arms I have will work with it. Many thanks.
Dear @dwhistance : The G7 is an integrated headshell cartridge that weigths 19gr. and 12 cu compliance. With this information and your tonearm(s) effective mass you can know which of your tonearms mates better with that cartridge using this resonance calcukator:
In the other side any integrated headshell cartridge models are not really good against the same model in stand alone fashion. Is up to you and over time you can find out the stand alone model or you can find out the Astatic MF 100 or the MF 2500 that came with the same cartridge motor generator.
And congratulations to the successful buyer of the G7. Pleased to hear that you are enjoying it as much as I anticipated. Apologies for not being able to match you to your Audiogon name.
on a point of correction, I recently acquired a second (and slightly damaged) stylus for my Acutex 420 STR. I sent it off for the same revamp as Axel had made and discussed this with his successor (Franz-Josef Schulte) and it transpires that the optimisation carried out by Axel was the nude shibata on an aluminium cantilever.
I am about to receive the adapted stylus with the same adaptation from Franz. This should not only provide me with the joy that Axel's work did, but also afford me an opportunity to determine whether Franz is maintaining the impeccable standards set by Axel. Fingers crossed.
Please report the results. I am very interested as I own the 420STR and feel it is a very under rated cartridge. On my arm of choice (ET2) it has proven to be, in some ways, one of the best that I have owned. Thanks!
Will do, definitely. I've been using mine on the original Moerch DP6 red point, but have just ordered a DP6 mk2 for its return. Very much looking forward to partnering them up and seeing what I get.
Just to let you know, that I am sitting down a little less confused today. I recently bought the Accoustical-Systems Smartractor (a very recommended buy) and it turns out that the Glanz G5 in the Audiocraft 3300 with s armwand is precise on the Uni-Din scale. My state of perplexity regarding the Loefgren A/ Baerwald DIN; Loegren B/Baerwald IEC; Loegren B DIn and Loegren B IEC has (as you can see across this thread) caused me so much confusion,
I wondered why none of these scales matched and why other test devices that were designed around these scales also saw problems AND YET the music coming from the cartridge/tonearm combination was just so stunning! Well, it turns out that the scales were not measuring what was being asked of them. Some might say that this proves that the best equipment for making audiophile decisions remains our own (with time, 'trained') ears!!
Thanks for the suggestion. However, after reviewing discussions with Axel and holding lengthy discussions with Franz, the nude shibata on aluminium cantilever were felt to be optimum resonance and performance combination for my given cartridge (the Acutex 420 STR). So I've repeated that exercise to genuine joy.
I'm not dismissing the possibility that your suggestion of the shibata and boron combination is not valid. It is just that I have no experience in hearing this combination on said cartridge. However, if you can give me more details about how these perform, I will consider taking that option for one of my styli. If you want you can do this off line by email.
I've got the cartridge back but am awaiting arrival of my Moerch DP6 MK2. Apparently, my tonearm has now been produced and is going through testing. And so it is expected to be with me next week.
Will report back once set up and fully auditioned.
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.
I would suggest you talk to. Expert Stylus in the UK or Garrott in Australia.
Both have extensive experience with wide range of cartridges. Expert can rebuild some pretty weird cartridges.
Alternatively if the cantilever/suspension is dodgy have you investigated using a donor cartridge for another stylus assembly and retipping it with the appropriate stylus profile.
You could try Franz-Josef Schulte (the heir to Axel). His email address is: FJS info@tonabnehmerservice.de and he does a range of cartridge types and makes. As you can see above, he mended my Acutex 420 STR and is currently refreshing my Highphonic MC-D15.
While I'm on it, I now need to update my list of cartridges. I have just managed to get hold of a Denon DL-1000A MC cartridge, after decades of waiting!!!
It was the cartridge that Jonathan Carr recommended to me back in the day as the most accurate cartridge he knew of. Whilst he felt the the Highphonic MC-D15 was the most beautiful sounding, he had this Denon as hands down the most accurate. That opinion seemed to be confirmed in John Gilbert's review for Gramophone in November 1983.
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”.
It appears the cantilever carriage is universal across most of the Astatic/Glanz range, but each model has a variation in cantilever material and/or tip.. So if you have 2 assemblies that require a new cantilever, and they cannot be repaired, you might be able to find a worn out Astatic/Glanz cartridge with the correct cantilever ( doesn't have to be the same model ) and replace the tip.
So what I am saying is grab a donor Astatic/Glanz ( doesn't have to be a MF2500 ) with an aluminium cantilever in good nick and try it in your MF2500 - retip if necessary.
My feeling is that given the position of the cantilever is more critical than most MI/MM cartridges to achieve the constant flux as per the Glanz patents, rebulding may be difficult to get right. If you can start with a good factory cantilever assembly you would be more assured of keeping the overall integrity of the design..
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.
You must have a verified phone number and physical address in order to post in the Audiogon Forums. Please return to Audiogon.com and complete this step. If you have any questions please contact Support.
