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 1 response by gxleetw

Dear all,

Thanks for your gracious comments. Much appreciated.

Dear Rauliruegas,

I am actually very new to analog - too young to grow up with them, didn't believe how good the vinyl sound can be, until hearing a LP-12 with ATOC9 at my friend's place. His system is my only reference now, because there is no shop in town carry analog demo :( On the other hand, ignorance of how it can sound even much better is probably a bless too :)

Music taste is 99%+ classical - instrumental, vocal, orchestra, opera. Compared to my friend's sytem (AC OC9 + Linto), I think mine doesn't have that much of "airy" quality, but sound more "organic" - which I really like. Also, his OC9 seems to deliever more details. However, both may be partially becuase of the table setup - I am still very new to LP-12 and I know my suspension setup is far from perfect.

In short, the sound I am looking for is having more details while maintaining the organic feel as my Clearaudio Virtuoso delivers. Since I got a good Linto deal a while ago, MC route becomes an option. Arm upgrade to Ekos is over budget - plus I don't want Linto sitting idle there.