Age old discussion I know but MM or MC? Benefits?


Some mighty long discussions on this already here but I need a refresher!
Having decided to upgrage my phono amp to a Dynavector p75 mk3 I am now wondering about my cartridge.
At present I have a Clearaudio Emotion 4 table with a Clearaudio Artist v2 cartridge.
What are main difference between mm and mc that I could expect to actually hear?
And lomc and homc? What is all that about?
Sorry if this has been thrashed to death already but just trying to get a laymans understanding if possible.
128x128uberwaltz

Implicit comparisons, ''better than '' imply comparison between

at least two objects. In logical sense this comparison is the same

as ''longer than'' between people because it imply an ordering or

sequence like a>b>c, etc. In Greece for example people are

ordered by an assumed ''average length'' of, say , 170 cm. Those

above 170cm are considered to be ''long'' those bellow as ''short''.

 I myself am considered to be a long guy in my native Serbia

because I am 184 long. In Holland however I am considered to be

''average'' because ''long'' in Holland means above 190cm.

So in Greece , Serbia and Holland the length is assumed to be

an quality or property of an person and this make no sense.

One can't have different properties depending from countries in

which one is accidental present.

Consider now the question ''which is the best cart ?''

This make as much sense as ''who is the longest guy?''

By this question some ''inherent qualities'' of an single cart are

assumed to be ''the best''. But the answer is only possible by

some comparison. Say: among my 5 carts the ''x'' is the best in

comparison with 4 other carts because...

I try to avoid my (young) brother chakster who would like to

answer the question if MM carts are better than MC kinds or

the other way round (grin). For this kind of comparison we need

quantifier ''all'' (''all MM'' + ''áll MC'') while ''all'' is not a name

which refer to peculiar objects. With ''all' we want to express

generality which contradict any specific comparison.

I just bought nearly all top MM cartridges from our "best of the month" list over the years, and i also bought several top quality vintage MC cartridges that our "opinion makers" considered the best only a few years ago. I did the same with the vintage tonearms and turntables. I also have had some brand new 21st century top quality LOMC. I even got reference tonearms like Reed 3P just to make sure that those vintage japanese arms are not bad at all. I’m 41 now, hope my hearing ability is ok, i could live forever with MM cartridges from my own edition of the "best of the month" list. I ask myself why do i need all those cartridges, including MC cartridges, 8 different tonearms, 9 different turntables, different phono stages, SUTs etc ??? It’s an interesting process to compare things, but i always return to what i really liked before - those vintage MM cartridges. I’m not the guy who will invest multy thousands on a single brand new cart anymore, enough for me, the vintage MM is the better choise for many reasons. I do have an MC alternative just to prove it for myself. Life is so much easier with vintage top quality MM carts. The rest for the records, no digital! And yes, i like tubes! 
Dear @chakster :  """   i could live forever with MM cartridges from my own edition of the "best of the month" list """

Well, me too but I'm not talking to live with but to live with the best that's a " little " different subject.

Btw, """  And yes, i like tubes! """.  This is your today limitation, that's why too "" no digital !  """

You are " young " and with many years to come with learning experiences  that will beats your today overall audio level and priorities.

Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS,
R.
chakster
The lowest output (0.6 mv) MM cartridge is Stanton 980LSZ 
I have to agree the low output top MM's of the day are special and getting harder to come by.

A family relative of your Stanton 980LSZ is the Pickering XLZ-7500 and one I recently purchased with a very low output of .33 mv
and 3 ohm rating.
Another interesting Pickering is the XSV-5000 although not a super
low output at 3.8 mv a very nice sounding cartridge with 
a similar stylus.
 




Dear chakster, Your question is, among other, ''am I rational

with this hobby?''  I asked myself the same question but because

I am much older I asked this question long before you. The

answer start with the ''old Greek''. Seneca was the first who stated

''man is a rational animal''. The Greek used an wrong analogy

to judge about people. I call this ''metal  analogy'': ''honest like

gold'', ''iron strong'', etc. So a kind of ''constant quality '' is assumed.

Consider the statement ''copper sometime conduct electricity and

sometime not''. This looks crazy but why? Consider than this

statement; ''humans sometimes  behave in accordance with laws

and sometimes not''. Nobody will consider this statement as

 ''strange''. People know from experience that this is true.

Well your ''error'' is your belief that ''humans are rational '' in

the sense of ''constant properties'' like copper which is assumed

to conduct electricity always. That is why you are questioning

your own rationality and wonder about the amount of your carts,

tonearms, TT's ,etc. The answer to Seneca and as such also to

you is like this: ''being rational is fine but not all the time''.

Our hobby is not rational because passion is a kind of opposite

to rational. I also own nearly all ''carts of the month'' despite the

fact that I hardly use MM carts. When Raul started this thread

experiments with MM carts were for free. Even better. One

could sell his cart for more than he paid for because their prices

increased when Raul recommended them.

This is of course not the case with MC kinds . Alas (grin).