MC-MM-MI CARTRIDGES . DO YOU KNOW WHICH HAS BETTER QUALITY PERFORMANCE? REALLY?


Dear friends:The main subject of this thread is start a dialogue to find out the way we almost all think or be sure about the thread question :  " true " answer.

 

Many years ago I started the long Agon MM thread where several audiophiles/Agoners and from other audio net forums participated to confirm or to discover the MM/MI/IM/MF/HOMC world and many of us, me including, was and still are" surprised for what we found out in that " new " cartridge world that as today is dominated by the LOMC cartridges.

 

Through that long thread I posted several times the superiority of the MM/types of cartridges over the LOMC ones even that I owned top LOMC cartridge samples to compare with and I remember very clearly that I posted that the MM and the like cartridges had lower distortion levels and better frequency range quality performance than the LOMC cartridges.

 

In those times j.carr ( Lyra designer ) was very active in Agon and in that thread  I remember that he was truly emphatic  posting that my MM conclusion was not  true due that things on distortion cartridge levels in reality is the other way around: LOMC has lower distortion levels.

 

Well, he is not only a LOMC cartridge designer but an expert audiophile/MUSIC lover with a long long and diverse first hand experiences listening cartridges in top TT, top tonearms and top phono stages and listening not only LOMC cartridges but almost any kind of cartridges in his and other top room/systems.

 

I never touched again that subject in that thread and years or months latter the MM thread I started again to listening LOMC cartridges where my room/system overall was up-graded/dated to way superior quality performance levels than in the past and I posted somewhere that j.carr was just rigth: LOMC design were and are superior to the other MM type cartridges been vintage or today models.

 

I'm a MUSIC lover and I'm not " married " with any kind of audio items or audio technologies I'm married just with MUSIC and what can gives me the maximum enjoyment of that ( every kind )  MUSIC, even I'm not married with any of my opinions/ideas/specific way of thinking. Yes, I try hard to stay " always " UNBIASED other than MUSIC.

 

So, till today I followed listening to almost every kind of cartridges ( including field coil design. ) with almost every kind of tonearms and TTs and in the last 2 years my room/system quality performance levels were and is improved by several " stages " that permits me better MUSIC audio items judgements and different enjoyment levels in my system and other audio systems. Yes, I still usemy test audio items full comparison proccess using almost the same LP tracks every time and as always my true sound reference is Live MUSIC not other sound system reproduction.

 

I know that the main thread subject is way complicated and complex to achieve an unanimous conclusions due that exist a lot of inherent differences/advantages/unadvantages in cartridges even coming from the same manufacturer.

 

We all know that when we talk of a cartridge we are in reality talking of its cantilever buil material, stylus shape, tonearm used/TT, compliance, phono stage and the like and my " desire " is that we could concentrate in the cartridges  as an " isolated " audio item and that  any of our opinions when be posible  stay in the premise: " everything the same ".

 

My take here is to learn from all of you and that all of us try to learn in between each to other and not who is the winner but at the " end " every one of us will be a winner.

 

So, your posts are all truly appreciated and is a thread where any one can participates even if today is not any more his analog alternative or is a newcomer or heavily experienced gentleman. Be my guest and thank's in advance.

 

Regards and ENJOY THE MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS,

R.

Ag insider logo xs@2xrauliruegas

Well, after some research seems that I bought The Empire MC5 at ebay where the seller was Ed Saunders, I think.

 

R.

I'm headed to Tokyo tomorrow morning, so no vinyl for about 3 weeks, for me.

- I will be 70 in 8 weeks.
- My hearing is normal for my age, some mild roll-off above 4Khz.
- I have tinnitus caused by arthritis in my jaw, cervical stenosis.
- Since listening is as much a skill as it is a physiological phenomenon, I don’t experience that much roll off in my hearing capacity. I hear much better than my 63 year old wife, and better than my 42 year old daughter.
- So, I continue to make affordable investments in my audio equipment. Affordable being a fungible term, for example I recently improved my front end: a Koetsu Leopard, and a Pro-ject Tube Box D2 phono stage. They made a huge difference on the bass end.

- I have been using a Koetsu - a MC - since 1985. I now own a Rosewood Signature, an Onyx as well as the new Leopard.

@unreceivedogma As humans surrounded by the forces of Marketing, we at times get the urge to spend.

Your Brand Loyalty for 40 years in relation to the Phono Cartridge must be very satisfying.

I have remained Loyal to a Bespoke Built 845 Monoblock Power Amp' for nearly 30 Years. The EE behind the design remains a friend to date, and even though not regularly met with, receives a Bottle of Southern Comfort for the Xmas/New Year annually.

Not too many years past, I had to have a medical that was inclusive f a hearing test, that got my attention, I made it known about my interest in Audio, the assessment was my investments made in Audio Equipment are still worthwhile.      I take there was much of the listening frequency detected by myself.

I take life neat, no Alcohol, Tobacco or Self Medication.

I have always kept the need to function with a freedom as a priority, keeping needs as the priority and the Ego on a reign, no Stupidly Large Mortgage or Stupidly Expensive Vehicle, or Stupidly Expensive Holidays.

I like to think that the few £'s salvaged through such a practice are OK to have a proportion diverted to my interests in Audio and Photography.

With the Grandchildren now becoming the main enjoyment, the bigger proportion of the funds is being redirected towards their being in my life daily. 

Artificial Stimulus is not what it used to be, when entertainment is once more to be had from interaction with young family.        

God Bless @pindac  I'm still waiting for my first.

Back to cartridges. I finally reinstalled the Soundsmith Hyperion MR in my system and ran it for 20 hours. It is a low output, lowish compliance MI cartridge with a cactus spine cantilever and a very impressive looking microridge stylus which is very small and has diagonal cuts in it I assume to lower mass. It has to be the smallest stylus I have ever seen. Initially, it was on the bright side for my taste, probably because I tend to listen at louder volumes. I have EQ capability now and with a slight high end roll off this cartridge is definitely up there with the best. I have to listen more, but my initial assessment is that it is very dynamic, the bass is wonderful and it does not image the third dimension quite as well as the Lyra Atlas SL. Given that you get one free rebuild by the original manufacturer the Hyperion certainly represents a better value. I would position the MC Diamond slightly behind these two, but that is probably due to the phono stage I use. So, Here you have a moving iron cartridge that can play ball with some of the very best moving coil cartridges. I should also add the the differences between these cartridges are extremely minor. Most people would never be able to tell you changed cartridges.