Chris, I love the Empire. I think it is a terrific cartridge, and have used it long enough to form an opinion. From a technical point of view, I had no performance issues with it in the ET. Tracking was very good, even if not quite as solid as cartridges like my Monster AG2000 (ZYX), and VDH Grasshopper. IN MY SETUP the double spring I beam is a must in order to firm up what can be a bit of excessive fullness. These are some comments I posted a while back in Raul's MM/MC thread. I hope you find them useful:
*****I just received, and installed a NOS Empire 4000D III Gold. I am
VERY impressed. I have been somewhat lukewarm about the whole issue of the claimed superiority of MM's relative to MC's; and still, overall, in the MC camp. I own ATML170, Azden PVL 50, Andante, and while I recognize what they do well (very well, particularly in the case of the AT and Azden), I have still been unconvinced. The Empire could change all that.
I am interested in hearing from you guys about your findings re break-in, VTA, VTF, viscous damping, etc., in order to optimize it's performance.
Thanks.****
****Thanks guys. I have the Empire in a Eminent Technology 2 air bearing tonearm with the high-pressure manifold and pump; on a VPI TNT6 with "the works". So far, initial impressions are: Terrific clarity, with good inner detail. Tonally, a good middle ground between the white/bleached sound of the Andante, and the more romantic/golden flavor flavor of the Azden.
Open soundstage with good placement. Sound is definitely weighted towards the midrange, and so far seems a little bloated. That is why I ask
about break-in, and damping; a hunch tells me that things will even-out (tighten) a bit after a few more hours. But, in general, so far I like it better than the vaunted ATML170, which in my set-up seems a little slow/slightly boring in comparison. I am going to try fluid damping over the next couple of days and report back.****
****Dear Raul, thank you for your thoughts. I find the Empire to be anything but boring. It is, in fact, very alive sounding. That quality (or it's absence) is the most important performance consideration for me. If the component does not allow the music to move as it should, it doesn't
matter how great it's frequency extension, soundstaging, or tonal refinement is. That is what I meant by "boring" in reference to the ATML170. It is clearly an excellent cartridge in most respects, but in comparison to the Empire (and my MC's), it sounds just a little bit slow; rhythmically laid back. The Empire, in the exact same system sounds very alive, and lets the music move as it should. The AT has superior detailing of the soundstage, with more stable placement, but also sounds a little
closed-in in the highs; not enough natural color. I know "color" is considered a great sin by many audiophiles, but music has a tremendous amount of color, and some components seem to "bleach" the color out of
instruments' timbre. Everything then sounds very much the same, with a gray(ish) color; mistakenly referred to as "neutral". I am sure you are correct, and that 100K loading would improve that.****
****That is still my main issue with MM's in general. Until I heard the Empire 4000D III, every MM that I had tried, including the ATML170OCC, has sounded too relaxed to me. Not bad by any means, but compared to a good MC, without that essential quality of excitement in the rhythm of the music; like a coiled spring ready to unwind at any moment. I am still getting to know the Empire, and I am still not ready to say that in the dynamics (micro/macro) department it is the equal of my VDH MC's.****
