MM Cartridge or MC Cartridge

Nandric, your future is as a stand up comic, not in audio. Well, at least you make me laugh.

Check with Soundsmith about repairing your cartridge. The MM/MC debate is endless; the last time I looked a current thread on it was past 3500 posts. I like MC but MM is also good. I have an insane amount of money in audio equipment but have never paid more than $400 for a MC cartridge and yes, I have heard $6000 ones. A favorite of mine is the AT 33 EV at $399.99 from J&R. An internet reviewer also uses it along with a $5000 cartridge and hasn't found much difference between them. You have already found out the best reason for not putting large amounts of money in cartridges ; another is there is a very steep curve in price/performance ratio above a few hundred dollars. I have no doubt that the ultra expensive cartridge sound better but HOW MUCH BETTER? The current Ortofon MMs are also good as are the classic ones sometimes offered; the choice is so wide that being specific is impossible without knowing your taste and system. MC or MM , the choice as pointed out by Bsme85 depends largely on your tone arm as well as the rest of your system.

I am about the same age as Bill and started around the same time and have been a dealer on and off for about 40 years. The big difference between us is that I know what I like and he knows what EVERYONE ELSE SHOULD LIKE. Some like MMs and some MCs; listen for yourself and make up your own mind. Statements like "all moving coils under $1200 are bad compared to MMs" are worth just exactly what you would expect them to be worth.

Bill, what you are screams so loudly that it requires no more comment from me. Our mutual friend insists that you are really a nice guy and only play the part of a jerk on the forum. If that is so I commend the accuracy of your portrayal. I actually am dyslexic to a slight degree, which made my academic life Hell at times while getting my 4 degrees. Dr. Stanley Wallen

A persistent character type I have encountered in Audio over the years is the "Guru" who belittled EVERYTHING he was not associated with or anyone who dared disagree with him. This arises not from knowledge but fear; he [always he in my experience] is so ego involved with his own opinions that he can't stand to hear others expressed and so unleashes a torrent of abuse on others who do so. This narcissistic desire to dominate reveals a basic insecurity on the part of the "Guru". Those of us who are on here to actually try to help others find what they are looking for and not preen in their unique insights find such antics somewhat amusing but ultimately reprehensible. How fortunate there are none of that type on this thread.

If the shoe fits wear it. A review of your posting history will reveal a farrago of insults directed at anyone who has disagreed with you, You would be funny if you were not so pathetic.

I have just received an email from you know who accusing me of personal cowardice. How interesting! Is this intended to make me jump on a plane and travel to the rock under which he resides? I had thought physical confrontation had gone out of style; especially for those of us of advancing years. Perhaps not, AUDIO CAGE DEATH MATCH! We can sell it to ESPN 112. I am on if he is. One thing I will not do is to offer to knock the **** out of him, I don't have that long to live.

Nandric, I took your meaning to be that my conviction that cheaper MCs work well as arising from sour grapes that I could't afford expensive ones. The joke part arises from a glance at the absolutely indefensible amount of money I do have in equipment, even buying used and as a dealer. IF I really thought that ,say, $3000 would buy a SIGNIFICANTLY better cartridge I would probably spend it; $100K? No way but I am glad they are out there so we have something to aim at.

I doubt it; I just got the following message:

No you won't Stan.

You want no part of a physical confrontation. I'm in far better shape than you. You have no idea what you'd be getting into.

Be that as it may, if you really want a shot at the title my address is

9405 Meriul Lane
Clarence Center, New York

I'll get an open room at my gym or I can reserve some time at my judo studio.

That's it. No more talk, yapping, or insults.

He doubtless is in much better shape, I have an irregular heart beat which limits my own exercise; nevertheless, I still do not respond kindly to physical threats or the mentality which offers them. I also spent 3 years in NYC and learned that residents there are quite different from us Midwesterners in trumpeting their abilities. I'll tell you what Bill, why don't you work your way west punching out all the other guys you don't like; by the time you get here I will probably have passed on anyway.

To get back to serious business; there are conflicting notions about what is "RIGHT" in audio. Some, including my esteemed sparing partner, think that all that is necessary to lift the scales from the eyes of the erring is for them to hear THEIR system. If I ever thought this it has been so long age that I cannot recall it. My firm conviction is that if you have a panel of competent listeners [anyone who reads this is qualified] listen to MC vs MM, Tube VS SS , Godzilla vs Mothra, whatever; that there will be a range of opinions, none of which will be "wrong". I do not mean that there is no difference between good and bad gear; I am talking about preferences among good gear. Far too many engage in a protracted search for the "best" instead of looking for what THEY like. In my more active dealer days the first thing I would do was attempt to discover what the person was looking for, not what I wanted to sell him. I was not a terribly successful dealer as most people want to be told what is good; I knew many that excelled at this. All ears differ, all tastes differ, all equipment is flawed to some degree. When my friends, all of whom are longtime audiophiles,and I listen we usually agree on the character of the equipment we listen to but often differ as to which is better. Of course this extends to the music we listen to as well; they may listen to my choices with toleration and I do the same with theirs. I have my personal preferences but I don't expect them to be shared universally. I am not ego involved with my choices to the degree that I become violently upset when these are not shared. I profoundly wish this was the norm.