Advice needed on MC cartridges

Dear @skyscraper : " The 470 ohm setiing is available as the MM phono amp (phono stage) setting on the Luxman 507uX MK II. So I should be good there if I end up going with the Paua. "

You have a big problem and is that your knowledge level is not low but non-existent at all. Your Luxman MM stage has not the gain need it to handle the LO SS cartridge.

I already told you that for that PAUA MK2 can run in you unit a Technician need to change the stock 100 ohms resistor for a 470 ohms. That’s all what you need it.

Btw, how many LP’s do you own?

Sorry to say this but if I was you with your non-existent know how I just be steady with my 2M Black till I learn because analog is extremely demanding in knowledge levels that you just unknow at all. You not even know what to know about.

R.

I.ve never heard the Orfofon. Mt reference for an MM is the Sure V15 RS with a Jico SAS stylus, which is/was quite highly regarded. When I upgraded to MCs I went through the following progression on my Oracle Alexandria MK III/rewired Sumiko Premier MMT through a Musical Musical Surroundings Phomomena II phono stage:

Denon DL-301 II

Dynavector 10x3 (I was just curious)

Hana EL

Hana SL

Audi-Technica AT33PTG/2

The sweet spot for me (and the best of the lot by a large margin) is the Audio-Technica. Cheaper than the Hana SL and just a more profound, realistic, musical device. I recommend it highly and so do all these people.

https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/best-cartridge-youve-never-heard-of-the-audio-technica-at33ptg-ii.329374/

If it's too costly or you feel you need to invest in a phono stage and scrimp on the cartridge for now, I definitely think the Denon is a no-brainer. You'll find more folks in the DL-103 camp, but I went for the 301 for it's balance and refinement, but that was based on reviews I read; not A/B comparison.

Good luck and enjoy the search!

Other question: how much of your daily/week time are you using to listen LP and how much time the digital alternative?

R.

426hemicuda. that sounds very interesting what you accomplished with your Denon 103 plus cost effective. If you were living close by I’d like to see how you did that. I admire anyone with the skill level and. know how to accomplish something like that.

Dover- thank you for your explanations and offering alternative cartridges to consider. This is a difficult subject to understand for an end user not conversant with electronics. So I appreciate you taking the time to try and explain some things. I’ll research all the alternative cartridges you recommend.

Raul, I don’t know much about the nuts and bolts of electronics, but should be able to figure out with some help an appropriate higher end cartridge compatible with the rest of my system. At the least, t am trying to learn so I don’t make too bad a mistake, so bear with me.

I’ve somewhere between 1300 to 1500 vinyl albums. I haven’t counted them in years. It varies, but I usually divide my listening time about equally between vinyl and CD’s. I’ve considerably fewer CD’s but their all newer to my collection and easier to use, so they get more use per capita. I’ll generally play two or three albums or CD;s per day on average.

2channel- thanks for your input and sharing your journey through the cartridges you’ve owned. At this point maybe I should just be soliciting recommendations on cartridges that fit my price point ($3500 range) that would be compatible with my Luxman integrated amps specs and my VPI Classic 2 turntable. I’m a bit disappointed both the Paua and Van den Hul LO won’t work. Thanks for the link too. I’ll check it out.

Mike

I copied the specs from the Luxman manual below for anyone who might be following along and interested and trying to learn about this subject and the specs under discussion.

Luxman 507uX MkII Specifications

Why don't you search out MC carts with a 100 ohm load? Don't  know how many carts are rated that low, but might be worth researching. Im not shilling for Hana ML,  but it is a cart that works nicely with a 100 ohm load. I'm  sure there are other fine carts out there at 100 ohm loading, I just haven't searched for them.

And to Raul. You don't have to tell me my analog knowledge is limited. I already know that...lol