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Moving coil VS moving magnet/iron

I have an interchangeable  Nagaoka MP500 and a Goldring 2500 on an SME3009R, mounted on a Linn Sondek LP12. These drive a Schiit Mani, Cambridge Azur 651P or a Project S2 Ultra as phono preamps. They all sound very good to my ears.

Is it really worth getting a Moving COIL cartridge AROUND THE SAME PRICE RANGE ? I was thinking some of the Audio Technicas like OC9III and the like. The prices of these are about the same. I listen almost exclusively to smooth jazz (hardly any vocals) and am mostly looking for very tight punchy bass.

Opinions ?

Thanks

128x128cakyol
michaellent's avatar
michaellent
208 posts
 
Do you know if the SME3009R is a rigid or compliant arm?   The cartridge you buy, whether it be MM or MC, must match the compliance of the arm. A compliant cartridge fits with a stiff arm and vice versa.  This is important because it will result in resonance. If your cartridge is too heavy or too light for the arm You will get resonance. After you find a cart meeting your budget and sonic requirements, see if it will meet compliance/mass standards. 
michaellent's avatar
michaellent
208 posts
 
Oh yeah,  I forgot.
 Ortofon’s website shows how to make the calculation and meet the  resonant frequencies that will work for your cart/arm. I’m only saying this because I see different  cartridge manufacturer’s names being suggested. You will need to determine what is the best one for you based on science in addition to  what the MC or MM camps say. If you can listen first, That’s always good too.  I have read here that most of the time, cartridges are not returnable.
chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
Do you know if the SME3009R is a rigid or compliant arm? The cartridge you buy, whether it be MM or MC, must match the compliance of the arm. A compliant cartridge fits with a stiff arm and vice versa.

The arm does not have a compliance, it has a mass
The cartridge damper has compliance and this is important

So the relation is Tonearm Mass and Cartridge Compliance at 10Hz to be correct.

You can say stiff cartridge (damper), but you can't say stiff tonearm




roberjerman
4,319 posts
 
Moving coils have a much lower noise floor (especially when used with a transformer). And superior (faster) transients (far lower inductance). The coil mass is also insignificant in the low-output versions. 
roberjerman
4,319 posts
 
Regarding stylus "jitter": this does not exist! Mc cartridges have a rubber damping block at the opposite end of the cantilever. This takes care of vibrations traveling up the cantilever - so no vibrations reflected back down the cantilever! 
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