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Classic Ortofon Cartridges: The MC2000 MK II or the MC3000 MK II?

So I have owned quite a few Otofon cartridges over the years, everything from the modest OM cartridges to a couple of Cadenza up to an A90. I typically enjoy Ortofon cartridges.

Now one I have never owned is the MC2000. It seems from a bit of reading I have done that owners of the MC2000 felt it was the most accurate of the Ortofon cartridges, and that releases after it were not its equal.

However, when you look at the MC3000 it has a higher output level that would allow it to work with my Esoteric phono stage. The Esoteric is happy running an MC200 on it which has .09 mV output. but the MC2000 is .05 mV. The MC 3000 MK II is .13 mV from what I find.

Has anyone spent time listening to these classic MC 000 series of Ortofon cartridges? I know there is also a 5000 and 7500, but those seem to be pretty rare.

Regarding the MC2000, I wonder if I use a low mass headshell if I can use it on the Dynavector DV505. I don’t think the mass of the arm in the horizontal plane should affect it, and the vestigial arm can be configured to be an appropriate match for the compliance on this cartridge.

I currently have an MC200u on the arm and its very surprising regarding how good it sounds. Its actually pretty neutral, pretty expressive, but just a bit relaxed in the top end. I certainly enjoy it, but I wonder how these statement cartridges from the classic Ortofon line will sound. These would have been from their long time designer who has now retired, so its a different era of Ortofon versus what their current offerings are. Even though we should acknowledge that the current cartridges use design principals that were developed from this earlier time period and engineering team. 

Thoughts?
neonknight
pindac's avatar
pindac
2,864 posts
 
VAS NY Inc now has a Video of a Needle Drop of a MC 7500.
Always contentious listening in this manner, but a rough outline of an  idea can be gathered for the performance, especially when compared to a few other Videos of Needle Drops on other MC Models.

Only hearing any Cartridge 'in the flesh' will be the best practice for a demonstration.
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rauliruegas
13,103 posts
 
Dear @best-groove : "   I use one of them without the body; the sound is much better without a body;  "

I did it with my Allaerts MC2 Finish Gold and you are rigth: betterquality performance.

VdH knew and knows about and that's why the Colibri is an open cartridge design. As almost anything in audio less is more and the best cartridge body is not cartridge body.

R.
edgewear
543 posts
 
Ortofon offers an interesting comparison to answer ’to have a body or not, that’s the question’: the A95 versus MC Anna. A95 has a titanium skeleton, while Anna has a voluptuous titanium body of more than twice the weight. Both (no)bodies were made with additive manufacturing technology (3D laser printing), both have the same boron cantilever and Replicant 100 stylus and they share several other design principles. The only significant other difference is that Anna has a non magnetic armature.

To what extend ’body versus no body’ is the main reason is open to debate, but the way they present music couldn’t be more different. The A95 is all about neutrality and speed, definitely belonging to the ’maximum information retrieval’ school. Anna seems more intent on creating tonal beauty above all else. More ’old school’ in a way that resembles their own SPU sound, albeit on a much higher level of refinement. It also reminds me of the Miyabi’s. Perhaps it’s a deliberate attempt on Ortofon’s part to reconcile the two ’schools’, to ’have their cake and eat it’. Whatever was the design brief, it makes for spellbinding listening.

pindac's avatar
pindac
2,864 posts
 
In a conversation with a Cartridge Rebuild Service, it was intimated that the Bulk of the Body albeit it Stream Lined/Reduced or Voluminous and with Bulk will effect the presentation of the Cartridge.
Also the Cantilever Length was made known to have an impact on the presentation.
These are the wonderful experiments only a few get to compare, and the choices of ownership are a result of the choices of the Design Teams.

Following the Wonderful Work of a Design Team, mere mortals as myself have the pleasure of interfering with the the VTA , Azimuth and Stylus Rake.
That not half as much fun, I like to discuss with a Builder there thoughts on methods to use on a Cartridge and make a 'Road Not Too Travelled' decision.

I am at present enforced to look for a Service to work on my Cadenza Black.     
neonknight OP
394 posts
 
So the MC3000 MK II arrived earlier this week, and I had a chance to install it last night and fine tune the alignment this morning. I have old eyes, and I find that natural light coming through the window is the morning is great for aligning cartridges. 

The first thing I did was inspect the cantilever, and it does appear to be an OEM one that is straight and has no issues, with only a diamond replacement done. The body itself is in nice condition, with no signs of abuse, I did get a stylus guard but no other packaging, but since this is going to be a daily driver cartridge I can live without those other pieces. 

I will say I am very pleased with this cartridge. It is well balanced in terms of tone, excellent detail, dynamically expressive, and easy to listen to. I cannot think of anything I would fault it for. The lower output voltage is not an issue for me as the Ortofon E-03 phono stage has plenty of gain and a low noise floor. Just a lovely performing cartridge all around, and it certainly supports the argument that high performance analog playback for cartridges was achieved awhile ago. The original MC3000 was released in 1988, I am not sure when the MK II was produced. 

I think I will now keep an eye out for a MC7500. But I am going to enjoy using this cartridge as a daily driver. Whenever the time comes it will get a new diamond as the aluminum cantilever is in perfect shape. What would really be fun is to find one with a damaged or replaced cantilever and fit it with a boron replacement and see what the differences are. I guess simple things would keep me entertained. 
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