Music Hall MMF-5: laid back sound?

Having the best system and having a good ear are 2 different issues. He doesn't like Zyx cartridges either. I disagree with him.
The fact of the matter is that Rega arms, the 900 nothwithstanding, have very poor bearing design and consequently will not track medium-high end cartridges to their optimum level. Let's not get emotional about this; facts are facts.
Regarding Mark Baker making a living off of Origin. Good for him. General Motors makes a lot of money selling Chevrolets every year but is it the best car you can buy? Hardly.
You're fighting an uphill battle here my young friend.
Thank you.

Stefanl, we're talking about a Project arm here that just is not that outstanding. It is adequate, but nothing more. I know and love the 103 (mine is a 103R mounted on a Basis Vector) and I agree that it is an awesome cartridge for the money. If we were talking about a Rega arm on this Music Hall I would be in complete agreement with your 103 recommendation. I really believe that this arm needs a more compliant cartridge.

Judy, have you tried a Rega 250 with the HiFi mod? Really does wonders for the performance of that arm.

Dan,
No, only the bone stock 250 and 300. I have not heard any of the modded versions. Thanks.

I wasn't sure about the Denon's compatibility, but I'd given it some thought. A friend has a Michell Technodec with a 103 on it. Not sure what arm he's using, I should ask him. Sounds superb. The Michell tables are something I'd look at if I could afford to make a move up.

The more I listen, the more I feel like I may have overstated my concerns with the bass. It sounds OK actually, but in absolute terms the mid-to-upper bass seems "fat," and a little too prominent, as if the midrange is recessed in comparison. I have to crank it up to hear the vocals sometimes.

I've begun to wonder if part of the problem with the dynamics isn't due to my passive pre. It's hella transparent, but I know for a fact that the Dynaudios are power-hungry and I think some of the ATI amp's punch is getting lost due to the anemic signal arriving from the preamp. It's a homemade design built around a DACT stepped attenuator and you have to crank it to within just a few notches of "wide open" to get really cracking sound from the Dynaudios. At lower levels the dynamic contrasts suffer. Not as noticeable with digital, but then, love it or don't, digital has that digital "bite."

So many variables, it's enough to drive you mad. Which, truth be told, may be what I love most about this hobby :)

I would like to try a MC at some point, though...considered the Dyna but thought it might compound the laid-back character that other reviews have led me to suspect is somewhat endemic to this table's character.

I've used a Dynavector 10X5 with the MMF5. Very nice combination, and it is a big improvement over the stock cartridge. It's output is a little lower than the stock Goldring cartridge- may need adjustable gain in your phono pre to get the best dynamics.