I was thinking about moving coils as I have a aurum beta s also. I was told by numerous folks that it is the ticket. What sounds better, different? JJ |
i have a clearaudio aurum beta s 11 as well as the dynavector 20x H. the improvement w/ the dynavector was so great that now i'm scheming to get a koetsu. the mc ( or perhaps dynavector) sound is something i'd never heard & wouldn't have believed.
regards,
jon |
Maxgain, I used this cartridge for just enough hours to break it in and than sold due to the desire of more live music from my vinyls.
Maybe I did not provide enough experimentation with it in terms of VTA but the only differences I heard is at extreams of my Michell VTA for Rega arm.
I played with an antiskate which gave me more 3D and tightness applying just minimal for the best results.
I have to admit that mounting and tuning-up with higher-end cartridges is even more complicated since they "feel" any missalignement in setup much more.
I spend pretty large amount of time properly setting up Lyra Helikon cartridge. |
every cartridge is sensitive to VTA. |
I used Sumiko BPS and found this cartridge not realy sencitive to VTA unless you go for extreams and I can assume that the author of this discussion is using mm settings for this cartridge which is entirely right.
This cartridge has everything from analytical point of view except music. It would never sound live no-matter what effort will you apply. It's an entry-level for christ sake.
Linn LP12 deserves a better more musical cartridge and $600 is the right budget for even descent mc cartridge. |
Thin, wooly bass could be a VTA adjustment problem. |
Best MM is the Clearaudio Virtuoso - good price with any trade at the Elusive Disc - check out the site. I own one. |
What was the impedance of your cartridge? What is the input ipedance of your phono stage> You could very easily have a impedance mismatch. Happens all the time. |
Grados and Linns often don't mix electrically. Caution. |
For $600 or less, you can get one of the top Grado Reference models here in Audiogon. Hard to beat, IMO. |
Pbb is right about the Shure, I replaced an $800 high output moving coil with one and it has a believability about the sound that just seems right. |
If you enough gain the ortofon kontrapunkts are a great match for the Ittok$585 here on A gon. The Denon 103 maybe too low output for your system. Also, they are very low compliance artridges, with the 103D being somewhat higher spec. This means the resonance frequency maybe an issue in the Ittok. With the small signal levels involved in cartridges, these are important considerations. |
I heartily agree with Twl. Denon DL 103D is available from Dnon USA for $229 plus $5 shipping. A classic that has survived, and deservedly so, IHMO. I'm on my second, decades after the first, and very happy with it. Output is about .3 mV, though. Enough for you? |
Definitely the Dynavector 10X4 for $350 or the 20X-H for $525 (not $600 as has been stated in a previous post)
In my experience there is no better cartridge in this price range than the 20X-H, and the 10X-4 is quite good for the money too. We always recommend them to our customers when looking for cartridges at or under $500. |
No one mentioned this, but the real answer would be, "It depends on what kind of phono preamp you have". If it can't drive an MC cartridge, you should buy an MM or a high-output MC (or spend even more money and buy a new phono pre too).
Benz Micro Gliders (with a choice of different outputs...the high output models work with MM phono a pre) and available used for much less than $600. I used one on my Linn for awhile and it was a great match. |
Dollar for dollar, I would go with the Shure V15xMR. No snob appeal, just a great cartridge. |
What kind of arm is on the Linn? If it is an Ekos or Ittok, you can use a Denon DL103 MC cart(low output) that will blow the BPS out of the water. If you have some other arm, then the Dynavector 10x4 MkII is a very good high output MC that will work with most arms, and should sound alot better than the BPS also. |
for $600 you can get dynavector 20xH high output moving coil and there you shall see the differences i bet ya.
in this price point this cartridge is unbeatable. |
I have a Garrott k2 mc from needledoctor.com excellent cart for the money! Was surprised how much better it sounded instantly. Price is definately affordable! 300 or so. |
I'd also recommend a good MM: both the Clearaudio you mention and the V15-VxMR are good choices. So is the Reson Reca or the Goldring 1042. |
I believe Full Compass sells the above Shure at a fair price. |
A good moving magnet is the Shure V15VxMR. Excellent tracking ability as well. |
