So about this little pre-amp...........
My testing was done on my PLX 1000/Marantz PM-14S1/ ZU speakers, with the grooves being read by a Goldring 1042 MM and a Low Output Grado Opus3 (yes, low output, more later)
One thing I'm avoiding, while relevant to some, is making the comment "for the money", to the point, the Darlington MM-6 is a great pre-amp, plain and simple. This is the bulk of the playlist, it was filtered back through on the cart change.
- Bill Evans – Trio 64 (AP)
- Dire Straits – Love Over Gold (MoFi-45)
- St. Vincent – MassEducation
- Cheap Trick – Heaven Tonight (OG)
- Charlotte Gainsbourg – IRM
- Eric Clapton – Unplugged
- Gorillaz – Demon Days
- Jeff Buckley – Grace
- Ozzy Osbourne – No More Tears
[
Goldring 1042]
The MM-6 is super quiet, much more than I would have thought. The sound is dynamic, spacious and accurate. Instruments have a specific spot, when drum brushes are easily heard and defined, you're on to something. Vocals, male and female, are pretty spot on and bass is what it should be. About the bass, I'm one who likes accurate bass, nothing booming, the MM-6 gets plenty low when the pressing has the information. On Trio 64, the bass was just beautiful, full and smooth. Moving to Demon Days, the bass held it's own without distortion or falling apart into a muddy mess. My OG pressing of Heaven Tonight, while not an overly bass heavy album, brought out what it needed from a "well loved" pressing. I tossed Ozzy in there because metal has a tendency to get a bit shrill on the high end, but no, the highs were well controlled without getting "tinny" or hard to listen to.
[
Grado Opus3]
This ended up being an email to
@krichard2496 since this is a low output cart at 1.0mv. I didn't have to go through with the Opus3, but, as with the PLX, it seemed a cart more in line with the "everyday" users we have on the site. Keith generously offered to have me send in the MM-6 for a tweak if the Opus3 wasn't sounding good. That being said, take all the comments from the 1042 section, add some Grado warmth/detail (Forgot how nice this cart sounds) and raise your volume a bit. Outside of that, the Opus3 performed beautifully. A low output MM cartridge would probably benefit from a quick shout out to the folks at Darlington just letting them know what you intend on running. It seems to be a super easy update they can handle for you. I just didn't think it was needed at this point, during this world tour, since the cart performed so well.
@krichard2496 can expand on this if he likes, I don't know all the the details involved.
Now the hard part, for me anyway, lol. I love my Insight, it has stayed in my systems since I had an Orbit. The reason I'm backing away from the "for the money" comment, the Insight brings a bit more refinement to the overall sound, but the MM-6 is definitely in the same ballpark. If anything I begrudgingly have to say I wish there was a greater difference between the MM-6 and the Insight, don't get me wrong, there is a difference, but it doesn't equate to the difference in price, you know, that "bang for your buck". I've had 9 different pre-amps in my systems, ranging from a Pluto to my Chinook, and out of those 9 I would put the MM-6 in my top 5.
The Darlington MM-6 is a super easy recommendation, an easy listen with no fatigue. For those running an on-board pre or true "entry level" pre, looking to make a big jump at a smaller price, the MM-6 all day long. That being said, the MM-6 is worth putting on ANY short list if you're looking for a new pre-amp.
As with all gear, I feel you need to look at the company as well, customer service is a huge thing in my book and from the few conversations I've had with Keith, and comments I've read from others, the customer service/help and guidance you can expect from Darlington is well worth adding to the Pro's part of your decision making. If anyone has any questions about my experience please feel free to ask or DM me.
Hope this adds some additional information and or variation to the MM-6's capabilities. Thanks again to both
@HiFi Guy and
@krichard2496 for the opportunity to try this "mighty might" out
