Raul, agree with your point about resonant frequency but I use mine in a low mass tonearm with a lightweight headshell. Anyway the last thing I’d want to change would be the high compliance of the MC2000, which I believe has a lot to due with its unique SQ. When the day comes that it needs retipping, I’d certainly consider boron, but not at the expense of high compliance.
Received The MC2000 Back From Expert Stylus Today
So I got the Ortofon MC2000 back from Expert today, and Mr. Hodgson did a beautiful job on this service. He fitted a new Paratrace stylus and made a minor repair to the end of the OEM cantilever. Looks as new, and there are no oddities to the stylus assembly. The Paratrace diamond is quite diminutive, barely able to be seen with my aging eyes.
This afternoon I installed it on a very light Fidelity Research headshell, looks kind of like one of the Swiss cheese SME ones. Wired it to a T2000 transformer and then to a Graham Slee Accession.
This is a remarkably detailed and neutral sounding cartridge. I have a few decent cartridges here and this is as good as any I have experienced. My system uses a pair of JBL 4365 speakers and a Halcro DM8 pre amp, so I have to be careful with system synergy as a too clinical component can push it over the edge. The MC2000 comes very close to doing this. I am considering a wood headshell like the Yamamoto boxwood, due to its low mass and its ability to add a touch of warmth/body to the overall sound.
But even as it sits the transparency, the fine detail, the dynamic contrasts are all outstanding. I can tell after an evening of listening this is a keeper for me, and while its been a bit of a drawn out journey to accumulate the bits and pieces and get the cartridge serviced...well...it was worth every bit of effort.
Yes I enjoy my Transfiguration, ZYX, and Ikeda, that is true. But I like the MC2000 every bit as much and I would get rid of a whole bunch of stuff before I ever parted with this cartridge.
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Neon, I asked the question earlier, but what was the damage to the cantilever that needed repair? I ask because apart from damage that might accidentally be inflicted if one were to try to change the stylus without also changing the cantilever, I cannot imagine how to damage the tip end of a cantilever without doing some other kind of damage as well. |
@lewm To be honest I did not ask for detailed descriptions of why the cantilever was damaged or what its likely occurance was. As I mentioned when I first received the cartridge I set it up and cued it down and got rewarded with the sound of no diamond on the end of a cantilever. Now did the diamond choose that moment to separate or was it sent to me by the seller in that condition? That I cannot answer with certainty. What I do know is the end of the cantilever did show damage. Was it a failed mounting point, did the metal fatigue, did it get cued hard down in its life and compromised? No way to know with any certainty. Mr Hodgson was able to make a repair to the end of the cantilever to his satisfaction and install a new paractrace. You look at it with modest magnification and you cannot see any repairs. It passes his quality control checks, and that works for me. I listen to the cartridge and there are no issues to be heard. I went back into my emails, and this is cut from the communication and addresses the issue. The how of this happening is something I cannot pin down. I mounted the cartridge and had the issue right from the first cue down. For what its worth I cannot see any visual indicator of where he made the repair.
The Ortofon MC2000
This particular cartridge received rave reviews and having carried out a detailed examination found it to be in relatively good order apart from the fracture at the end of the tubular alloy cantilever.The fractured piece containing the diamond results in a shorter cantilever and this may be possible to repair by machining an abutment bonded with our ultra low mass Paratrace profile diamond. It is essential the overall mass of the cantilever remains unaltered as any increase will affect the overall compliance. |
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