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.
I believe I recognise in this description Mr. Hogdson from ''Expert stylus''. What i miss by MC 2000 descriptions is its output of 0,05mV. That is to say the ''amount of wire'' used for the coils. This means reduction of mass but also ''reduction'' of suitable phono-pres to ''drive'' the cart. My Klyne phono-pre can't drive my MC 2000. So I own one but can't use the precious. |
Oh Mr. Hodgson had something to say about that, I just did not figure it was relevant to a post about the repair. He did try to caution me about prceeding with a service. At the time I had not acquired the T2000 transformer. I am very glad I pressed on anyways, as it was my good fortune to get the step up about a month later. This is what I was told: "I am sure you are aware, this cartridge has an extremely low output and requires a step up device in most cases. Also the compliance is extremely high and will require a low mass arm. I think you should give serious consideration to spending money on the cartridge, unless you have the experience and equipment necessary to be able to play the cartridge." I have the Dynavector DV505 arm for it, and have a Fidelity Research headshell that is 5.5 grams, so I can meet the low mass requirement from the vertical plane. Actually I am able to follow the example of our esteemed @lewm in this case. The T2000 feeds a Graham Slee Accession, although I also have an input on the Esoteric E-03 phono stage I can feed it to. I have a second DV505 on the Scheu turntable that goes to one input on the E-03 and a SOTA Cosmos Eclipse/SME V that goes to the second input on the E-03. So I am content to keep the MC2000 on the Graham Slee, it sounds very nice there. What I feel very fortunate about is that I have no significant system noise. If you go back and read writings from JGH on the MC2000 and MC3000 it sounds as if back in the day folks had issues with hum and system noise using this cartridge. I have somewhat higher efficiency speakers and large solid state amps, so noise can be an issue here. Thank goodness I have none using this cartridge and I can just enjoy its beauty. I listed to a few albums last night and am quite content with how things turned out. |
Hi neonknight, If you look at new (expensive) Ortofons you will see also pretty low output ( 0,2mV) but the lessons from MC 2000 are still in high regards: only one layer of wire for's 's the coils and (probably) stronger magnets to increase the output. BTW deed Lew try to seduce you with ''hude offer'' to sell to him your T2000, He is desperate to find one. He may try to convince you that phono-pres are better solution referring to Raul's conviction as ''argument''. |
@nandric I am not a vintageophile, but I certainly have a respect for the classic components. The MC2000 is one of them. When I was in college I worked part time in an audio store and the owner was a huge MC2000 fan. I could never afford one, but did dream of it. So when I got a chance to get one, it allowed me to revisit my past in a meaningful way. I will not be parting with this cartridge/step up. I know very well how hard it is to obtain a T2000. I will not be letting mine go. What is amazing is I got the entire MC2000 box, packaging, screw driver, graphs, weight scale, stylus brush, and even lapel pin. with the T2000 i got the box, packing, paperwork, with the only thing missing was the included RCA cables. I don’t think I ever saw a more complete MC2000/T2000 package up for sale. I feel quite fortunate to have lucked into this. |
