lewm

Responses from lewm

Who needs a MM cartridge type when we have MC?
Dear Raul, As I wrote further up the page, I have bypassed two out of the four mechanical connectors that normally exist when one is using a P-mount adapter in a removable headshell. It is impossible to do away with the mechanical connection betwe... 
Who needs a MM cartridge type when we have MC?
Downunder, I have the Ayre on its lowest gain setting, as you surmise. This gives 44db gain in single-ended mode, but I am using balanced in and out, which is why I bought the Ayre in the first place, to feed my all-balanced MP1 with a balanced ph... 
Who needs a MM cartridge type when we have MC?
Dear Raul, I am not put off or insulted by your remarks on the Ayre. I have no dog in that fight, BUT I really don't think that the "problems" I am hearing, such as they are, reveal a qualitative shortcoming in the Ayre, except as noted the possib... 
Are linear tracking arms better than pivoted arms?
Mepearson, Grounding is a black art, to say the least, but I suggest that a separate wire from tonearm body to the ground plane in your preamp might very well eliminate at least some of the residual hum you talk about. The ground achieved via the ... 
Who needs a MM cartridge type when we have MC?
Dear Raul, I applaud the use of metaphor, but I am afraid you've got me this time. Can you explain your remark? Did you mean to say that the Ayre is not good enough for the Azden? I doubt that. But it may fall down in the respect that it cannot ha... 
Who needs a MM cartridge type when we have MC?
At some point perhaps I will get around to the Empire 1080LT, but at the rate I am able to evaluate these cartridges, that day may never come (as the Godfather said). In my sonic memory dating back probably 30 or more years, the Empire cartridges ... 
The merits of slate plinths or not
Dear Vertigo, Due to your rigorous requirements, the only opinion you are going to come to respect is your own. So try it both ways. I owned a Lenco L75 in a giant Jean Nantais wood plinth. I used it for more than a year and then switched to anoth... 
Who needs a MM cartridge type when we have MC?
Gosh. Everyone wants to pick on the M20FL. What do you mean by "refined"? Yes, the FL is a bit on the Technicolor side, but that's not a bad thing entirely. If we move away from that, we also move toward MC-ville. Been there. Problem is we are sca... 
Who needs a MM cartridge type when we have MC?
Tim, That's exactly what I was trying to do, list the ones that are readily available new or NOS. I think you one can still find an NOS Andante P76, which would be the only one on my list that is indeed open to question as regards its availability... 
Ortofon MC A90 Cartridge VTF
This reminds me of advice that was given me after I got my old Grado TLZ cartridge out of mothballs in connection with the MM/MI craze. Someone wrote that someone else on VE wrote that the one and only "correct" VTF for the TLZ was 1.62 gm. This m... 
Who needs a MM cartridge type when we have MC?
This thread is about vintage MM and MI cartridges. There is no attempt to analyze the relative merits of MC cartridge (relative to each other, that is).Here is a list of vintage and new MM or MI cartridges that you can buy today. All of these have... 
Ortofon MC A90 Cartridge VTF
Just what IS the factory recommended VTF for the A90? And is it really surprising to anyone that the actual optimal VTF might be different for different tonearms? I guess the surprising element is that in all cases the best sound was achieved at a... 
Is There An "Absolute" Best Cartridge?
Raul, As you know, I like what you are doing. And thru following in your footsteps (to a degree but making my own choices along the way), I am having more pure "fun" than ever with this hobby. I will always be grateful that you stimulated me/us to... 
Who needs a MM cartridge type when we have MC?
Dear Wdi, I would like to echo Raul's sentiment. That Lenco looks gorgeous! If you made the plinth yourself, you are an artiste. If not, you still have great taste and acumen. You can go to my system site and see a fairly bad photo of my Lenco L75... 
Who needs a MM cartridge type when we have MC?
Dear Raul, I guess my last question to you did sound like I was agitated. I just wanted to be absolutely clear on what it is that you are according such rave reviews, here and elsewhere on the internet. I foolishly sat still while others gobbled u...