suggestions on MM to MC upgrade

Raul,

Bought the Nagaoka MP-50 based upon your write up of MM cartridges (01-15-08) and am most pleased. So much so that I am selling my Sumiko Celebration Pearwood and my Shelter 501 Mono, the Nagaoka is more musical and less harsh. It also costs 1/4 the amount of either. The only argument I propose is that mine, for whatever reason, sounds better at 250ohms rather than 100kohms as suggested. Even at 47K ohms (the most my Loricraft Missing Link is able to dial in to) the sound is muffled, highlights lost. Perhaps as the cartridge breaks in this will change, will wait and see.

Gxleetw,
Like you, I listen almost exclusively to classical music. And while these observations may apply to nobody but me, I'll share them for what they're worth.

The moving-coil carts I have (Shelter 501 MkII and Benz Ace S (low output) are breathtaking in their transparency. It's like looking through a freshly cleaned window. Very appealing. I use both of them regularly. But on many discs (especially those with with heavy violin passages), I find the upper frequencies to be a bit less realistic than with my Grado Statement Sonata1 (0.5mv output).

I won't call the high-pitched violins shrill, harsh or strident, but there is a thin, insubstantial, "pinched" quality to them that I don't hear in the concert hall. My moving-iron Grado does a better job of capturing the woody, rosiny, rich character of the violins.

I probably wouldn't want to be without a good moving coil, but if I had to choose one type, it would be the Grado or something very much like it. As I said, for what it's worth.
-Bob

Dear Danielvrandeburg: Good that you like it, very fine quality performance.

You need to loadd as best in your own system and remember that different capacitance values makes a difference too so you have " play " with capacitance too.

Regards and enjoy the music,
Raul.

Alternatively you can consider keeping the cart and upgrade the phono instead.

More transparency, and added pace. If possible, borrow one to try if it is worth the upgrade. Look at MM phonos from Graham Slee and Whest.

This is an interesting thread. I have a Clearaudio Emotion TT with Virtuoso Wood cart and really do admire its highly organic sound. I have, however, been curious about the world of moving coil. From what I've been reading, it seems like it might take a substantial sum of money to move into the MC world from the high end Clearaudio MM carts if one wants to hold onto that organic sound.