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At33ptg II perfect straight out the box

Wow.
After my experience with the Goldring 1042 and its massive break in period and awful initial tonality I was thinking I was in for another slog of a break in period.
Well the At33ptg II sounds as good if not considerably better from the first minute than the fully broken in 1042.

Just thought I'd share the love.
Such a relaxed but thorough cartridge.
Nothing is missed and nothing is overdone.
Very pleased so far and it has only been 20 minutes.

Only using a project mm/mc little box n all. Not sure what the model is because when I search its name about five come up but it all sounds swell. 

Anyway can't wait to listen to all my records over and over.

The sound is crystal clear with no harshness at all and every instrument is exactly as it should be and there is plenty of sound stage for it all to sit in.

I understand what they mean about forgetting about the cartridge and just enjoying the music now.

Such a relief to not have to worry about what I need anymore!

On a side note. It is a much bigger improvement than 'upgrading' your amp. Though I really feel I couldn't get anything that would beat my JVC relic that is under £1k I have tried all the best reviewed under that. Note I listen at probably about talking volume I don't blast it.

The cart I had before by 1042 was a Lyra Helikon, with my pre amp I think it was coloured though and could sound just a touch on the cold side, very very scooped mids as well with my set up. The At33 is spot on. It seems warmer than the 1042 but I think it is really just because the 1042 could have a bit of a grating upper mids that would override the warmth of it.

My speakers are lowly wharfedale 10.1's which on comparison to my last speakers (q acoustics 2010i) are much better. Much flatter and wider response and they do take a lot to sound harsh in the treble, which I am very sensitive to.
Future upgrade will be speakers if I ever feel the need. Maybe Quad s2's. Their response looks a lot like the 10.1's but better. 

nedhogan
uncleang
123 posts
 

Set up my PTG/II  less than 2 weeks ago (Heybrook TT2/LVX); you're right, break in is almost nonexistent.

Been using AT MC's for 30+ years, specifically OC9 and OC9ML.. These carts required 10-20 hours to break in, and overall sound is a bit leaner than the PTG/II and also a slightly more analytical.

Prefer the OC9's on live rock LPs but the PTG/II on just about everything else.

Despite the PTG/II being rated at .3 mV and the OC9's at .4 mV, output through my NAK CA-7A pre-amp appears to be almost identical.

 

 

sandthemall
544 posts
 

Update: 

Turns out I had been listening to this cartridge slightly ‘tail up’. I took several photos into Photoshop and confirmed it. Dropping the VTA dial to the lowest point (did not know it went that far below zero) on my Technics 1200G was not enough to get the tonearm parallel to the record. Getting a 4.5mm Herbies mat on top of the stock rubber mat got me there.
I had about 20 hours on the cartridge at this point. The VTA change instantly gave the cart a smoother, easier presentation. Then about 8-10 hours later it really opened up. Also turns out that this tonearm position helps to take the edge of of my VM750SH mm cart as well. I’ve always eye-balled VTA against a gridded acrylic plate thinking that this was good enough. Not good enough. 
This is a great cart! Next one will be the AT33SA,
 

sandthemall
544 posts
 

Another update:

I had been running the AT33PTGII at 60db gain. I had tried the 66db gain settings when I initially installed the cartridge and I liked it but worried that it might be too much gain.The 60db setting sounded fine so I left it there. Then yesterday I plugged in this formula (NdB = 20 log V1/V2) and found out that I should be using 70db to get the best signal to noise ration. Luckily my Hagerman Trumpet MC has a 68db gain setting also. Well, It does indeed sound better. Much better slam in the bass…but also subtle details showing up too. Cannot believe I have been listening to this cart for so long at suboptimal levels.

 

 

 

boothroyd
365 posts
 

Listening to a fresh AT33PTG/II running into a Sutherland Loco right now. Works very well as a 10 Ohm impedance cartridge with plenty of gain and drive. With a new out of the box setup, I‘ve got a Jelco TK850S headshell that’s fairly parallel and tracking at 1.95 grams producing stellar results, price be damned. Overall the sound is very neutral. The apparent speed provides resolution while the full, slightly damped sounding low end helps to dispel any dryness to the overall sound. The only criticism is that leading edges of bass notes, say under 500hz or so, are not as articulate as the big boy cartridges. Maybe this will improve with mileage. Fantastic AT build quality. Easy to recommend.

lewm
13,293 posts
 

Sandthemail, Do you own a linestage?  Does it add gain?  What is the input sensitivity of your amplifiers (the amount of signal voltage needed to drive them to full output)?  All these factors and others, like the sensitivity of your spkrs, contribute to the gain characteristics of your particular system.  60db phono gain plus the gain afforded by your linestage, if any, might well add up to about 70db or even more gain.  Also, there is no such thing as too much gain, if you have an attenuator, although purists like to use as little gain as needed.

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