Cartridge recommendations
I think I need to replace my MC cartridge. It's a Madrigal Carnegie. I'm no longer convinced that a replacement needs to be a MC. That was true when I bought the Carnegie but time and technology have changed. I read last night that under $500 you're better off getting a MM. At the $500 point and up, a MC starts to make sense. At the $1,000 point, absolutely, get a MC. But that was one opinion.
I'm setting a tentative budget of $1,000 to $1,500. At $2,000 I become Ukrainian (fierce resistance occurs).
I have a Grado cartridge that I use on my 'other' TT and have a preference toward Grado cartridges. As an aside, I visited the Grado website last night and found it very difficult to navigate. I wanted to start by selecting a price, then go from there. I could not find any pricing in the brief time I spent there. I know it's there, I've seen it. I'll try again.
So I'm looking for suggestions. MM, MI, or MC. I prefer warmish (Grado is known for that), smooth and hopefully detailed. Sound staging is irrelevant.
I've started a second discussion aimed at questioning if the Carnegie is truly dead, as I fear. If you want to chime in on that I welcome your expertise.
try to find Audio Technica AT-ML170 or AT-ML180 used in good condition. I have tried (too) many AT carts, including 160ML, 150MLX, AT24, ART7, ART9, and recently found as ML170 beats most, and does sound very transparent and “airy”. I run ML170 at 1.1g pressure, on Technics ti-armed sl1200mk4 TT. ML170 is mounted on AT MS9 head-shell, which utilizes additional rubber strip on top for dampening resonances. |
"I have tried (too) many AT carts, including 160ML, 150MLX, AT24, ART7, ART9, and recently found as ML170 beats most, and does sound very transparent and “airy”. " Not surprised. My emergency backup cart is the $400 Soundsmith Otello. My ears hear it’s mid/hi performance as "good" my ART9 & Kiseki Blue. The only thing reminding me it’s a $400 cart is its low bass output. SS and reviews remind readers of this. Ledermann isn’t gonna give up the goods without and E ticket. The archives has plenty of positive threads on ART9. It’s also the original version. The latest incarnation allegedly has a little more of the magic SQ for any cart-entry OR uber is of course limited by arm/phonostage along the other bits. |
Thank you to everyone who offered advice or opinion, it was helpful to hear other views. The resolution of this is that I'm going to get a SoundSmith Zephyr Mk 3. Don't know yet whether it will the the high output or the low. My phono preamp can accept either. Two factors drove the decision, one good, one bad. The bad: SoiundSmith never responded to my inquiry if they could repair/rebuild my Carnegie 1. I interpret that as being a no. The good: I had a long and informative conversation with Peter Ledermann (president of SoundSmith). He gave me a cautionary note with physics underlying it, as to why mounting a high compliance Grado on my ET2 could be a bad idea. That convinced me to get the Zephyr. Again, thank you all. |
@listener2 zephyr mk3 is “normal” output, MM cart, any good phono pre should work, - enjoy! |
