NOS Grace F9E question

We have to remember that normally in good recordings the recording microphones are at near field position and from this point of view the LOMC are truer to the recording.

We’re talking about vintage cartridges here (let’s say from the 80s max), and some of the best mastering and cutting engineers have completely different opinion about MM vs. MC. Here is a TAS article about it. All of them prefer an MM over MC. But the choice of MM is very special: The Audio-Technica AT-ML170, Technics 100c mk4, and even Stanton 881s.

"Kavi Alexander, auteur of the remarkable Water Lily Acoustics series of analogue vinyl discs, is monitoring disc production by comparing test pressings to the master tape. What cartridge is he using? Another moving magnet, this time the Technics EPC 100, Mark IV, unfortunately no longer available in the US. But he describes the Audio Technica ATML-170 as very similar, and very close to the actual sound of the tape. In this comparison, he says, virtually no moving coil does so well; most have seriously apparent colorations."

I believe there are an exceptions, but everyone have to compare prices for the exceptional MC to some amazing MM first.

I do trust people from the industry, who mastered and cut some of the best records at the studios like Doug Sax’s The Mastering Lab in L.A. etc https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Sax

A good point Chakster....and one I have read many times.
It's not as if these famous mastering engineers haven't heard the best LOMCs....and their opinions carry far more weight than the average punter.
After all.....they are comparing directly to the master tape and that's a comparison almost none of us can duplicate.
My vintage MM cartridges generally sound more 'natural' and satisfying than any LOMCs I've heard or owned.

Dear @halcro : I was thinking as you and as a fact I was whom brougth to Agon that link. Unfortunatelly we never had the opportunity to ask them directly about and today two of them pass away.

But in other forum with several recording engineers I had that opportunity because they posted there and were gentlemans that made it their work through the best regarded quality recording labels.

Well, rigth there and after different discussions overtime I learned that the main priorities of all of them were different ( many reasons about. ) of the normal audiophile room/audio system priorities because in reality are way different what they are looking for and how each one of them is biased and what system use to monitoring and the like.
There are great recordings and a lot more really bad.

A room audio system LP recording reproduction is a total different " animale " than a recording studio/mastering and each one of us music/sound priorities are different too. Yes, you can think that they and us want it the same: extreme/perfect quality performance levels but that happens only a few times.
. Two different worlds.

If we follow them we just can’t grow up and can’t achieve the real qualituy our system can shows.

I’m not diminish in any way their job that’s a main important subject only that is a different world and not the audiophile world.

Do you think that those ( any ) recording professionals own top audiophile electronics or speakers as the top Magico/Wilson or the like and TTs as the Exclusive P3 or SP10MK3 or top Clearaudio statement TT or top cables and everything we audiiophiles own. Top highgain phonolinepreamps, Cobra tonearms.? Do you think that their system outperforms the M.Lavigne system?   No they own nothing of that level not even what I have in my humble/modest system. ! !

Obviously that each one of us have the privilege to make a choice. As you I did it many years ago but I always say that each day is a learning one and through the time I learned about. Sooner or latter you will learn or maybe not is up to you.

Anyway only a point of view. My main room/audio system music/sound priority/target is stay truer to the recording and I don’t care of other matters. It’s me not what the engineers did it, they already did their job and now I must do mine at home. This is my task no mater what.

Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS,
R.


Btw, I remember when I started in audio: what I wanted is to have the electronics/speakers that the recording engineers/professionals uses, go figure !.

As I said every day is a learning day and time to analize some great sounding LP recording labels where engineers used audiophile systems. This is an exception because normally it’s not this way.

Examples: Wilson Audio where D.Wilson was a recording engineer before started Wilson Specialities. I own some of his old recordings where we can note that he always used subwoofers to monitoring/evaluated his recordings.
Well, we can take any of newer of his recordings under Wilson Audio label ( Center Stage for example. ). He created/designed a dedicated speaker monitor for his self and that was the Watt and latter on added lower bass range and converted in the Watt Puppies. You can read in those recording information that for the final evaluation he used his WAMM 4 towers Wilson 3/4 ton. design nd SS electronics with top ll around gear.

Other is Telarc that has some great recordings quality sound where the engineers choosed big Threshold electronics and biamp speakers made it expressely for Telarc by ADS and latter used the speaker monitors by ADS model L2030 and L1530. Always biamp. Stand alone bass range is a must for top quality recording sound.

Reference Recordings is other very good example where the engineer Proff. Johnson used his full SS Spectral great electronics, with the big Duntech Sorvegein speakers, mated with the Versa Dynamics top TT and using Lyra cartridges. Nothing less !!

But all those are the exception, normally recording engineers has no specific idea of what we audiophile are looking for, that's the way the audio industry educated almost all. Sheffield Labs recordings is a little different because are D2D.

All these gentlemans priorities coincide with audiophiles priorities because they are audiophiles and knows what audiophiles are looking for and that's why their recordings have that astonishing quality levels.

If you compare Water Lily that came from KA is a little inferior to ll those and others like the Rega recordings.

MM/MI are good but the reference is LOMC units.

Again, I’m talking of quality of the sound.

R.