YOU RAAAAAAANG?
Phono Cartridges - Your favorites and least favorites?
- Thread starter imajindat
- Start date
kvetcha
Well-Known Member
I’m gonna run this MT until it’s worn out, but y’all have me considering a Hana down the line as a backup for my Zephyr.
With the ML being threaded, I seriously considered foregoing the SL + food for a month just to avoid the migraine-inducing struggle with those stupid little nuts. It sucks getting old.
I can say I think I’m done on cartridges with the Gold3 and ME+. They sound amazing on the G. Bought a Funk Firm Achromat to get VTA set right. Tweaked the alignment and VTF and I’m set. Yes, looks weird on paper- $420 combined in cartridges, $180 in headshells, $125 for some Funk….on a $4k table into a $4k phono stage.
Weird but it works.
Weird but it works.
Sebastian
It’s Wool…
dansomeone
Well-Known Member
Herb Reichert reached a similar conclusion, that a cheap cartridge on an expensive deck can sound great.
What I learned from this unusual investigation is that the difference between a $100 cartridge and a $10,000 cartridge is not nearly as big as I previously imagined. Also, the difference between a $1000 turntable and a $10,000 turntable is much greater than I thought it was.
Gramophone Dreams #44: Audio-Technica, Goldring, LP Gear phono cartridges
Someone once asked me, "If I buy your $90,000, 25W amplifier, what will I get that I am not getting with my $2000, 200W amplifier?" My answer was simple: "Goosebumps, tears, and smirking." Great, well-tuned audio systems, at all price levels, give their owners less of the annoying and...
www.stereophile.com
Good article. He probably couldn’t mention that Grado introduced the Prestige series in 1968. The current styli fit the oldies too.Herb Reichert reached a similar conclusion, that a cheap cartridge on an expensive deck can sound great.
What I learned from this unusual investigation is that the difference between a $100 cartridge and a $10,000 cartridge is not nearly as big as I previously imagined. Also, the difference between a $1000 turntable and a $10,000 turntable is much greater than I thought it was.
Gramophone Dreams #44: Audio-Technica, Goldring, LP Gear phono cartridges
Someone once asked me, "If I buy your $90,000, 25W amplifier, what will I get that I am not getting with my $2000, 200W amplifier?" My answer was simple: "Goosebumps, tears, and smirking." Great, well-tuned audio systems, at all price levels, give their owners less of the annoying and...
Angsty
Well-Known Member
For anyone who likes Moving Iron/Fixed Coil cartridges, I came across this that shows how they work and why they inherently have the lowest moving mass.
AnthonyI
Well-Known Member
I think this article should help a lot of people digest the fact that you don't "need" to spend a lot on a cart to get an enjoyable listening experience......................and seeing the E3 on the list just made me grinHerb Reichert reached a similar conclusion, that a cheap cartridge on an expensive deck can sound great.
What I learned from this unusual investigation is that the difference between a $100 cartridge and a $10,000 cartridge is not nearly as big as I previously imagined. Also, the difference between a $1000 turntable and a $10,000 turntable is much greater than I thought it was.
Gramophone Dreams #44: Audio-Technica, Goldring, LP Gear phono cartridges
Someone once asked me, "If I buy your $90,000, 25W amplifier, what will I get that I am not getting with my $2000, 200W amplifier?" My answer was simple: "Goosebumps, tears, and smirking." Great, well-tuned audio systems, at all price levels, give their owners less of the annoying and...
Angsty
Well-Known Member
It's actually pretty hard to get to a justifiable $10,000 cartridge based on fabrication time, materials and industry margin. Easier to do so with a $10,000 turntable. Both are well beyond what is needed to get to "Top 1%" specs and performance.I think this article should help a lot of people digest the fact that you don't "need" to spend a lot on a cart to get an enjoyable listening experience......................and seeing the E3 on the list just made me grin
It's a good article but I still have to snicker a little bit when I see his Dr. Feickert TT used for testing described as "not free".
It's roughly $10,000.
If you attached a stuffed animal to the end of that tonearm I'm pretty sure you'd still get decent sound.
AnthonyI
Well-Known Member
HayesWeighsIn
Well-Known Member
The E3 is a fantastic match with the PLX-1000, @AnthonyI! All boogie. Oh I gotta update my signature!I think this article should help a lot of people digest the fact that you don't "need" to spend a lot on a cart to get an enjoyable listening experience......................and seeing the E3 on the list just made me grin
Angsty
Well-Known Member
I may be going through a similar trajectory as @AnthonyI and @HiFi Guy on higher-end turntable/phono, lower-end cartridge. I had heard a lot about Nagaoka cartridges for a while and got a MP-300 for my PLX-1000. I've found it to be a bit better than my 2M Blue, but much less so than the retail price multiple would suggest.
AnthonyI
Well-Known Member
There's a lot of trial and error in coming to this conclusion, at least it has been for me. Over the last 5-ish years I've been through 15 cartridges, 4 turntables, 4 amps, 10 pre-amps and 6 different sets of speakers.
Through all of that my focus has always been "bang for your buck" and what really brings differences to the chain. Not to mention, the things that "worked" before, don't always work the same as you move different elements in and out, from carts on through, and how they play with each other is something you can speculate, but until it's there and you're using your ears, it's hard to completely go with someone's review of ABC.
Opinions and gravitating to people with the same preference in sound is better than any review. @HiFi Guy and I share that, we both like the same sound signature, and while we kind of gravitate to the same end results, the path, endgame and budgets will vary..........but it makes for some great discussions
Angsty
Well-Known Member
Now that I think about it, I wonder how much of the change I hear in the Nagaoka is due to my switch to a Baerwald alignment versus the "54 mm" alignment I used with the 2M Blue on the same headshell. Hmmm...
Trying not to go down that PLX -> GR -> G path that has been blazed!
Trying not to go down that PLX -> GR -> G path that has been blazed!
HayesWeighsIn
Well-Known Member
Not to mention the fact that a different headshell with the same alignment can also yield different results! Sorry, this is not helpful!!
Angsty
Well-Known Member
Yeah, my Jelco/Nag combo is really too heavy for this arm. I think that is impacting the sound negatively. I’m getting a lighter headshell in this week.
Mr Moustache
Well-Known Member
So, I thought it was time to change my cart today, the 2M Bronze that actually worked pretty good in my system. About a year ago I made the plan that my next cart would be a modded Clearaudio Virtuoso ML. I bought a cart with a bent stylus and removed it. Clearaudio doesn’t advertise their carts are stylus replaceable, but with a bit of work they actually are. I bought a ATVMN95ML stylus, that actually fit in the cart with a bit of trimming. I decided today was the day I finally try the modding.
I actually used a nail clipper to trim the excess of plastic, et voilà: a brand new modded Virtuoso ML. I have been spinning all afternoon, and while I feel I was lacking on the high end from the start, it started opening up after a couple hours. I am pretty happy with the results, this will be a long term cart for me I think, with just replacing the stylus when necessary.
I actually used a nail clipper to trim the excess of plastic, et voilà: a brand new modded Virtuoso ML. I have been spinning all afternoon, and while I feel I was lacking on the high end from the start, it started opening up after a couple hours. I am pretty happy with the results, this will be a long term cart for me I think, with just replacing the stylus when necessary.