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Hear my Cartridges....🎶

Many Forums have a 'Show your Turntables' Thread or 'Show your Cartridges' Thread but that's just 'eye-candy'.... These days, it's possible to see and HEAR your turntables/arms and cartridges via YouTube videos.
Peter Breuninger does it on his AV Showrooms Site and Michael Fremer does it with high-res digital files made from his analogue front ends.
Now Fremer claims that the 'sound' on his high-res digital files captures the complex, ephemeral nuances and differences that he hears directly from the analogue equipment in his room.
That may well be....when he plays it through the rest of his high-end setup 😎
But when I play his files through my humble iMac speakers or even worse.....my iPad speakers.....they sound no more convincing than the YouTube videos produced by Breuninger.
Of course YouTube videos struggle to capture 'soundstage' (side to side and front to back) and obviously can't reproduce the effects of the lowest octaves out of subwoofers.....but.....they can sometimes give a reasonably accurate IMPRESSION of the overall sound of a system.

With that in mind.....see if any of you can distinguish the differences between some of my vintage (and modern) cartridges.
VICTOR X1
This cartridge is the pinnacle of the Victor MM designs and has a Shibata stylus on a beryllium cantilever. Almost impossible to find these days with its original Victor stylus assembly but if you are lucky enough to do so.....be prepared to pay over US$1000.....🤪
VICTOR 4MD-X1
This cartridge is down the ladder from the X1 but still has a Shibata stylus (don't know if the cantilever is beryllium?)
This cartridge was designed for 4-Channel reproduction and so has a wide frequency response 10Hz-60KHz.
Easier to find than the X1 but a lot cheaper (I got this one for US$130).
AUDIO TECHNICA AT ML180 OCC
Top of the line MM cartridge from Audio Technica with Microline Stylus on Gold-Plated Boron Tube cantilever.
Expensive if you can find one....think US$1000.

I will be interested if people can hear any differences in these three vintage MM cartridges....
Then I might post some vintage MMs against vintage and MODERN LOMC cartridges.....🤗
128x128halcro
halcro's avatar
halcro OP
2,664 posts
 
Yes Frogman,
Rita Coolidge's 'Good Old Days' on A&M is one of the most naturally  recorded, all analogue albums I've heard.
No theatrics or 'look-at-me' processing in the recording and mastering stages....this has been my 'go-to' album for 40 years having been played over 1000 times (hence the missing cover).
The whole album will tell me almost everything I need to know about a system or a cartridge or a tonearm or an amplifier or speakers.....

An excellent appraisal (as always) Frogman and it seems that you and Noromance are in agreement on these two 👍

I'm really glad that the Palladian remains the 'benchmark' as I would feel rather silly having forked out the price of admission needlessly....🤔

My aim is really to expose the SLIGHT differences produced by the uber-priced LOMC cartridges over fairly cheap vintage MM ones.
The Glanz 610LX in NOS condition cost me $450......
If some audiophiles can justify those differences to be worth $9,000-$15,000.....who am I to argue?

I'm grateful for your contributions Frogman and am pleased it is "fun" for you because it surely also is for me....😎

Regards
halcro's avatar
halcro OP
2,664 posts
 
Thanks Harold.....
The cantilever looks like beryllium to me.....
But it might be titanium or even aluminium although someone claims it is boron......
There was no box or literature that came with it and the specs page I've seem only lists the stylus as 'line contact' but no mention of the cantilever.
Being familiar with all the beryllium cantilevered styli in my collection....my money is on that 🤗

And as Chakster has repeatedly stated.....the performance of the 610LX is NOTHING like the other Glanz 31L, 51L, and 71L cartridges which are rather dull and mediocre IMO.
harold-not-the-barrel
895 posts
 
Yes of course the MFG-610LXs top them all, I´ve known that for two yrs now, you see I have the former 1980´s edition 610LX w/ boron and it sounded awesome out of the box (was NOS). Fantastic cartridge in my system, top 5 "MM".
My first GLANZ was MFG-310LX (in early 80´s) and also great, the best thing I remember it had no listening fatigue. Now I must point that the former 31L is inferior and mediocre indeed. 51L is still quite enjoyable, tracks Telarc cannons with ease but nothing magical though.
Seems that the darn Palladian is still a few steps ahead ; )
chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
Glanz invented Boron cantilever for one model only in 1982, this model is MFG-61 with PH stylus.

At that time all Mitachi Moving Flux cartridges have had 3 kings of cantilevers, look at my picture: 1) Conventional Aluminum, 2) Rare Boron Rod (in the middle) 3) Very strage huge tapered Aluminum.

The headshell integrated versions of Glanz MF may have slightlyt different cantilevers, but they are all huge in diameter!

The manufacturer clearly stated the Glanz MFG-61 is most prestige model among Moving Flux cartridges . The date on the Bruel & Kjaer individual test for MFG-61 is 1982.07.04

Any Glanz MF models with 3 digits number released later on, not before.
I believe the 610LX was released in the late 80’s or in the early 90’s, the Glanz was closed in 2003.

We have no proof of the cantilever type utilized for their MFG-610LX, but i wish to find a proof!

All we can say for sure is that earlier MFG-61 has Boron Rod cantilever and it’s documented.

@harold-not-the-barrel I´ve known that for two yrs now, you see I have the former 1980´s edition 610LX w/ boron


The cantilever of MFG-610LX is completely different compared to MFG-61 !
The color of 610 is too light for Boron, most likely it’s Beryllium or Titanium (because it hollow). But if you said you have a Boron (and you have a box) it sould be nice to know what’s stated in the manual. Do you have the manual for 610LX ? We could stop speculation about it once we could see a picture of the manual, really. Could you provide it ?

Now I must point that the former 31L is inferior and mediocre indeed. 51L is still quite enjoyable, tracks Telarc cannons with ease but nothing magical though.


I have scanned the manual for all Glanz (2 digit models) and now you can compare the specification for all of them from 71 to 51 and from 31 to 11 , enjoy.

Comparing my 31L, 71L and 61 i must say the worst sounding model is 71L with it’s huge cantilever. My sample was NOS, burned-in and tested. The 31L was much better than 71L in my system.

But they are all too bad compared to the MFG-61

....the performance of the 610LX is NOTHING like the other Glanz 31L, 51L, and 71L cartridges which are rather dull and mediocre IMO.

Good to know, Henry. The rest of the models except 610LX and 61 can be forgotten forever with all ASTATIC cartridges made by Mitachi.

Listening your files and reading your comments i believe more people will realize than Cantilever material does matters when it comes to Mitachi MF cartridges (Glanz, Astatic, Azzurra, Jamo ... ).

More information about Glanz is in the glanz thread

Cheers.












halcro's avatar
halcro OP
2,664 posts
 
Another new acquisition (thanks to Chakster)........
A NOS GRACE SERIES II
Disco version....🕺 though we don't quite know what that means as it has the BERYLLIUM CANTILEVER WITH LINE CONTACT STYLUS just like the normal Series II.
Definitely better than the GRACE F9...the LEVEL II requires careful set-up and probably 50 hours run-in time.
This one only has about 9 hours......
How does it fare in the shoot-out....?

AS PALLADIAN 

GRACE LEVEL II 
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