Jan Allaerts Cartridge Experience?


I've heard some good things about the Jan Allerts MC1B and MC1B Mk II cartridges . These seem pretty rare and there seems to be limited fedback on them.

Do any of you have direct experience? If so how do they compare to other top cartridges, e.g., Zyx, Lyra, Dynavector, Koetsu, Clearaudio?

Thanks for the feedback.
aoliviero

Showing 14 responses by rauliruegas

Dear Aoliviero: ( I'm here Dan ). +++++ " Since I've got this setup, I've had no desire to change anything in my vinyl setup. " +++++

This is what Neville posted. I don't know about the whole audio system of Neville, but the fact that he owns a Simon Yorke TT/tonearm ( one of the best/great TT out there: second to none. ) tell me a lot of him and in his statement he is right on target. Btw, the MC1B mates good with your phonopreamp.

Unfortunatelly for you my MC2 Finish has nothing to do with your today electronics.

The Allaerts MC2 Finish is several steps a head not only over the MC1B but a head any other cartridges that I know/heard in my own system ( all the ones you named here ) or in a friend/dealer system.
When this cartridge is right set up your audio system disappears and you have nothing but the MUSIC it self. When you put the stylus on the record and you hear the very first musical notes you know everything is settled and like Neville said: you don't need to change nothing and you don't want to change nothing, you only want to enjoy what you are hearing.
It is a great natural balance cartridge from top to bootom: do you want the best low bass?: you have it, do you want to have the best midrange?: you have it, do you want the best soundstage?: you have it, do you want the best natural musical agressive high frequencies?: you have it. All what you want: you have it. When you are hearing to the MC2 Finish you forgot about it, you forgot about your electronics or anything else: you will be deep inmerse on the full/whole music: MUSIC and nothing but the MUSIC!!!!!!!

Is there any down side with the MC2 Finish?, yes: it is a very low output cartridge and needs a lot of clean gain and an accurate RIAA eq, nothing less. You have to mate it only with the best or almost the best audio devices ( no SUTs here or bad tube designs ): if not " she " will tell you that your system ( some links ) is not up to the musical reproduction task. Here there are no " greys ": only black or white. This is a cartridge for the music experienced people and for the experienced audiophile that loves the music and take care about it and take care about the quality sound reproduction. Yes, this cartridge is in another " league ": I loved it!!!!!!!!! Who don't?

From the objective point of view this cartridge had some incredible specs:

- tracking capacity: 400 umm
- frequency range: from 3 to 100 Khz
- channel separation: 70 db at 20 Khz!!!!
- Total THD%: 0.1%!!!!!!

These cartridges were build 100% by hand by Jan Allaerts it self ( his company is " one man company " ) and it comes with a life warranty and he told me that the stylus is for at least 10,000 hours.
Allaerts is the first cartridge company, that I know, that gives exactly the load impedance that needs their cartridges ( he don't left these parameters to our ears ) and the exactly VTF too: no VTF/load impedance ranges here, this is a serious and profesional people : Jan.

If you want one MC2 Finish you can buy it and have to wait betwenn 4 to 6 months to have at home.

Highly recomended!!!!!!!

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.
Dear Andrew: Yes, for the output voltage: both.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.
Dear Andrew: Yes, it has a similar signature than the MC2.

Btw, the MC2 Finish is not the top of the line in the Allaerts catalog, the one on top is the Formula One!!!!!, the MC2 is very near it.

Can you imagine the performance on the Formula One? WOW!!!!!

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.
Dear Sirspeedy: You already know that the door is always open to you.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.
Dear Andrew: Why don't send an e-mail to Jan and Franck asking for their opinion about Schroeder/Allaerts matching.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.
Dear Andrew: Yes, the 0.7mv Allaerts cartridge will be very confortable with your preamp, almost confortable like you will.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.
Dear Andrew: +++++ " Does it have the "punch"? " +++++

Absolutely, yes it is very good on that area. I don't have any doubt that you will be satisfied.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.
Dear Sirspeedy: Yes, Allaerts is really SPECIAL.

The best you can do to obtain the right structure of prices is asking directly to Jan.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.
Dear Ebarker2: I'm sure that you will enjoy the MC2 Finish when arrives to you: Congratulations for it!!!!

I agree with you, it is difficult to compare to other cartridges because the Allaerts cartridges are really special and " something " different, I can say: a lot different. Like you, I owned the Insider too but the MC2 Finish !!!!!!!!!!! is in another " analog dimension ".

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.
Dear Ebarker2: No one low output cartridge deserve a step-up transformer. This SUTs do a heavy degradation on the cartridge signal.

It will be a terrible mistake if you mate the MC 2 Finish with any SUT: this will be un-excusable/pardonable.

This is one of my several posts about:

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?eanlg&1136759064&openflup&52&4#52

Please, if you have time, read it.

For you or any one can work and " see " the marvelous MC 2 Finish performance you have to do through a high gain phonopreamp with out internal/external SUTs.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.
Dear friends: Here are some facts about why exist the SUTs for LO cartridges ( at least is my point of view ):

- In the fifthies appear the MC LO cartridges ( As a fact: Ortofon invented in 1948. ). In that time all the phonopreamps were designed for HO cartridges MM/MI/etc. No one was in the design of high gain PP because no body need it.

- Ortofon and latter other MC LO cartridges never ask to the PP designers/builders to manufacture a high gain PP for their MC LO cartridges. What I mean is that never exist a cooperation job between the MC LO builders and the PP manufacturers.

- What was the comercial attitude of almost all MC LO cartridges builders?: to put on sale their MC LO cartridges along with a SUTs ( designed for it self ) for those MC LO cartridges.

- I can remember from Ortofon when they design the MC10, MC 20, Mc 30, Mc 2000, Mc 3000 and MC 5000, cartridges at the same time they offer the respective SUT: T 10, T 20, T 30, T 5000.

- Like Ortofon everybody do the same: Denon, Audiocraft, Fidelity Research, Koetsu, Micro Seiki, Accuphase, Dynavector, Highphonic, Audio Technica, Entre, etc, etc.

- In the mid-time what does the PP designers ( SS or tube ) for the development of a high gain PP?: almost nothing, almost all take the easy " cheap road " ( wrong/worst one ): that the customers buy SUTs along with their PP if they want to handle a LO cartridge. Some of the PP designers/builders incorporate in their " high gain " PP internal SUTs, exactly like today ones.

- No body take the challenge to design a HG PP with out SUTs. There are some exceptions: Curl, Levinson, Pass, Klyne, Classé, D'angostino, etc, etc,

- So we all are suffering the " easy road/ wrong road " that almost all designers/builders take it more than 55 years ago.

- All those comercial attitude never take into account us: the audio customers and never take into account the QUALITY MUSIC/SOUND REPRODUCTION. They don't care about in those times and many of them don't care about today.

Fortunatelly, in the last few years, some PP builders finally take the challenge ( others like me designed our self ones ) and we have some very good HG PP, many of them at very high price.

This change of comercial attitude: Bravo!!!!!!, could tell us that the best about is coming because the developtment of HG PPs are really " starting ", it is not a mature industry.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.
Dear Ebarker2: +++++ " I'm having a hard time waiting, and I pester Jan far too often. " +++++

Yes, this is part of the " price " that we have to pay for that kind of quality. You will be extremely satisfied: be patience!!!

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.
Dear friends: +++++ " I think, here it is much more important what Arm you have and what Phonostage to get the details out. " +++++

I almost agree with this Thomas post specially on the phonopreamp subject where not many people give the critical importance that the Phonopreamp has on the quality sound reproduction. In my opinion this analog audio link is ( maybe ) the most important one.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.
Dear Lucy25: I owned the MC2 Gold ( btw, the M.Fremer Allaerts MC2 sample in his review was my cartridge that I borrowed to him because Allaerts never had on hand a sample for review. ) and own the Formula 1.

I ow, owned or heard in my system all the cartridges you mentioned but the ZYX Diamond and my experiences, with out been the same, were around yours.

+++++ " I think best matching for the Formula1 is an active preamp.... " +++++

here I certainly agree, MC2 and Formula 1 needs an active high gain phonolinepreamp to permit that the cartridges can shows you at its best. Speaker/amps is a different matter and IMHO not related with what the cartridges can shows, of course that at this quality performance level we have to have first rate audio items at each audio link in the system chain.

Regards and enjoy the music,
R.