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suggestions on MM to MC upgrade

Current setting is Linn LP12 (pre-cirkus, valhalla) + Ittok LVII + Clearaudio Virtuoso Wood + Lehmann black cube, sounds wonderful - may be a bit on the rich side, but it sounds great to me, plus Virtuoso seems to track on anything. I am thinking to go to MC route and already obtained a Linto from the bay. However, I am bit concern how much should I spend on the MC cart so that it won't be just a lateral move. Here are the list of a few carts that I am looking at:

Audio Technica OC9
Audio Technica AT33PTG / EV
Ortofon Kontrapunkt
Ortofon Jubilee
Ortofon Cadenza
Clearaudio Concerto

The price range is pretty wide, and I don't know too much about other carts anyway - in fact, among the list the only one I listend to personally is ATOC9. Any suggestion is much appreciated.
gxleetw

Showing 3 responses by danielvradenburg

danielvradenburg
3 posts
 
Raul,

Bought the Nagaoka MP-50 based upon your write up of MM cartridges (01-15-08) and am most pleased. So much so that I am selling my Sumiko Celebration Pearwood and my Shelter 501 Mono, the Nagaoka is more musical and less harsh. It also costs 1/4 the amount of either. The only argument I propose is that mine, for whatever reason, sounds better at 250ohms rather than 100kohms as suggested. Even at 47K ohms (the most my Loricraft Missing Link is able to dial in to) the sound is muffled, highlights lost. Perhaps as the cartridge breaks in this will change, will wait and see.
danielvradenburg
3 posts
 
No, 250 Ohms on the Loricraft missing link phono stage. The sound is much better on my system at this setting than either of my moving coil cartridges (which weren't cheap). I think Raul did us all a great service by buying and trying out all these cartridges. I am so tired of the hi-fi rags extolling the virtues of whomever it was that paid their fee. Raul is one of us who put his own money down on the line, he heard and reported his findings and I, for one, find that his insight was right on. Believe him, as he speaks with honesty and is a man worth respect. My hat is off to you Raul.
danielvradenburg
3 posts
 
Sorry for the delay, family illness has had me pre-occupied. I don't know, to answer your question, as to the capacitance of the phono system in total, sorry. I'm certainly no engineer. I do know that I really like the sound of the new cartridge loaded as stated. The recent 45RPM set of Nat King Cole by Accoustic Sounds sounds wonderful with this cartridge, (on SME 3009 tonearm, Loricraft 301 turntable, silver interconnects, Loricraft Missing Link Phono stage, Audiable Illusions Modulus 3 Preamp, F3 First Watt JFET amp, BD Design Quasar II speakers with sub-amped bass and Lowther PA5 silver coils without hi-ferric for top end, Tara Labs Reference cables.
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