@hymanroath
none of these cartridges are close to the Glanz 61, because the cantilever and stylus tip on 61 is absolutely different. I’ve owned all of them, when i received Glanz 31L i was very impressed, this model is equal to Astatic MF-200, then i’ve managed to get Glanz 71L which is equal to Astatic MF-100. Those two comes with Line Contact stylus and you can find so many feedbacks about Glanz from audiogon members: https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/glanz-moving-magnet-cartridges But the Glanz 61 kills them all, this cartridge compete with the best of the best (MMs and MCs), so much details, ultimate highs and deep bass, absolutely amazing cartridge and super rare, never turns up for sale! I’m not sure the Glanz 610LX is equal to the rare MFG-61 model.
I have two Victor X-1 and Victor X1II - they are great cartridges!
The Azzurra Esoter comes with spherical/conical stulus and that’s why it is not expensive, but the MF generator is the same on all Glanz models, it’s is probably equal to Astatic MF-300 or MF-400. But Azurra is unknown and that’s why it’s cheaper than Astatic or Glanz. I got one as a present from Nandric last year, i have tested it and i was impressed, mainly because it’s easy to re-cantilever and te-rip them in Germany by Axel to upgrade this cartridge to another level! Axel can easity repair suspension as well (just for about 60 euro, i did it once with my NOS Glanz 71L). Then i managed to find more sampes of Azzurra in original boxes with manuals, but not from Japan (japanese guy selling them without boxes and without manual, unfortunately). Anyway they are great for radio broadcast and for professional use, conical tip is less fuzzy to tonearm/cartridge settings.
Here is what i know about Azzurra Esoter Limited Editon series of the MF cartridges:
In 1983 Italian yacht Azzurra from Sardinia won Louis Vuitton Cup held in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. The City of Newport is located approximately 119 km south of Boston. Azzurra, skippered by Mauro Pelaschier (Yacht Club Costa Smeralda), came 3rd in that competition. The original Azzurra team won 24 of 49 races and developed a large and loyal following in Italy. The largest high-end distributor in Italy (Giancarlo Bonetti) teamed up with Japanese Mitachi Corporation in the 80’s to released a dedicated custom made phono cartridge called Azzurra Esoter! The Moving Flux generator, patented by Mitachi Corporation, has been successfuly used before in Japanese high-end cartridges under the Glanz brand. Those revolutionary MF systems brings together the advantages of the MC and MM technologies. In fact, while behaving sonically as a Moving Coil, its output voltage of 3.5 mV did not require the use of a step-up transformers or high gain. Azzurra Esoter is a mid compliance cartridge, tracks well at 1.75g, comes with a very well polished conical stylus tip. The sound is warm, lush and seductive with its unique Moving Flux signal generator.
none of these cartridges are close to the Glanz 61, because the cantilever and stylus tip on 61 is absolutely different. I’ve owned all of them, when i received Glanz 31L i was very impressed, this model is equal to Astatic MF-200, then i’ve managed to get Glanz 71L which is equal to Astatic MF-100. Those two comes with Line Contact stylus and you can find so many feedbacks about Glanz from audiogon members: https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/glanz-moving-magnet-cartridges But the Glanz 61 kills them all, this cartridge compete with the best of the best (MMs and MCs), so much details, ultimate highs and deep bass, absolutely amazing cartridge and super rare, never turns up for sale! I’m not sure the Glanz 610LX is equal to the rare MFG-61 model.
I have two Victor X-1 and Victor X1II - they are great cartridges!
The Azzurra Esoter comes with spherical/conical stulus and that’s why it is not expensive, but the MF generator is the same on all Glanz models, it’s is probably equal to Astatic MF-300 or MF-400. But Azurra is unknown and that’s why it’s cheaper than Astatic or Glanz. I got one as a present from Nandric last year, i have tested it and i was impressed, mainly because it’s easy to re-cantilever and te-rip them in Germany by Axel to upgrade this cartridge to another level! Axel can easity repair suspension as well (just for about 60 euro, i did it once with my NOS Glanz 71L). Then i managed to find more sampes of Azzurra in original boxes with manuals, but not from Japan (japanese guy selling them without boxes and without manual, unfortunately). Anyway they are great for radio broadcast and for professional use, conical tip is less fuzzy to tonearm/cartridge settings.
Here is what i know about Azzurra Esoter Limited Editon series of the MF cartridges:
In 1983 Italian yacht Azzurra from Sardinia won Louis Vuitton Cup held in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. The City of Newport is located approximately 119 km south of Boston. Azzurra, skippered by Mauro Pelaschier (Yacht Club Costa Smeralda), came 3rd in that competition. The original Azzurra team won 24 of 49 races and developed a large and loyal following in Italy. The largest high-end distributor in Italy (Giancarlo Bonetti) teamed up with Japanese Mitachi Corporation in the 80’s to released a dedicated custom made phono cartridge called Azzurra Esoter! The Moving Flux generator, patented by Mitachi Corporation, has been successfuly used before in Japanese high-end cartridges under the Glanz brand. Those revolutionary MF systems brings together the advantages of the MC and MM technologies. In fact, while behaving sonically as a Moving Coil, its output voltage of 3.5 mV did not require the use of a step-up transformers or high gain. Azzurra Esoter is a mid compliance cartridge, tracks well at 1.75g, comes with a very well polished conical stylus tip. The sound is warm, lush and seductive with its unique Moving Flux signal generator.