MM Cartridge Talk

I abandoned MM carts in the mid 70s when I tried my first MC, the GAS Sleeping Beauty and never looked back. But recently when I pulled a Grace F9R out of storage and ordered Soundsmiths OCL stylus replacement for it I have been very pleasantly surprised, so much so I have found myself comparing it to my MC carts and it seems to be very competitive, and when you factor in the price and the fact I can run it without the need of a head amp in my headphone system makes it a winner. The Shure V15 certainly have their following but back in the 70s it was all about the Grace F9 and the ADC XLM MKII for me. Has anyone tried the Teo Audio CBP MM that is advertised here on the Gon with a money back guarantee? The price is so cheap that I am just looking for a reason to buy one and try it myself, especially since I am so pleased with the Grace and the SS stylus assembly. Enjoy the music

ADC XLMs sounded great - smooooth and far more detail than a Shure V-15MkIv, but had a nasty habit of the suspension just failing - about half the ones we ever sold just collapsed. The other half were wonderful. They were extremely compliant, and favored tonearms like the Grace 707 on a heavy Japanese DD. Never would get the ADC/707/TD-125-II combo to work, although a couple Linn-Sondek LP-12/707/ ADCs I heard seemed to work well. 

well if we are heading back down memory lane for oldies but goodies i would nominate the micro acoustics series especially their ma2002e with their electret conducer - super low mass great tracker nice balanced sound

When I returned to vinyl in the early 00's, I found a nice Philips AF 777 on which I installed a Grado Black. It had been about 25 years since I owned a turntable and I found this humble combination to be very satisfying. I think it worked especially well as the Mission speakers, I had at the time, were a bit forward and the Grado a bit laid back. Synergy

What Chakster said.  The only one of my MC cartridges that is clearly up with the best of my MM or MI types is my Ortofon MC2000.  Other LOMCs I own are also very good, and I do listen to them frequently, but no one of them stands clearly above the best of my MMs or MIs, such as Grace Ruby with OCL re-tip, B&O MMC1, Acutex LPM320, Stanton 981LZ, etc.  I don't mean to say that only vintage MMs need apply; I have a hunch that there is a new generation of MMs or MI types that are also competitive with kilobuck LOMCs.  This is only my opinion, using the only ears I own.