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Received The MC2000 Back From Expert Stylus Today

So I got the Ortofon MC2000 back from Expert today, and Mr. Hodgson did a beautiful job on this service. He fitted a new Paratrace stylus and made a minor repair to the end of the OEM cantilever. Looks as new, and there are no oddities to the stylus assembly. The Paratrace diamond is quite diminutive, barely able to be seen with my aging eyes. 

This afternoon I installed it on a very light Fidelity Research headshell, looks kind of like one of the Swiss cheese SME ones. Wired it to a T2000 transformer and then to a Graham Slee Accession. 

This is a remarkably detailed and neutral sounding cartridge. I have a few decent cartridges here and this is as good as any I have experienced. My system uses a pair of JBL 4365 speakers and a Halcro DM8 pre amp, so I have to be careful with system synergy as a too clinical component can push it over the edge. The MC2000 comes very close to doing this. I am considering a wood headshell like the Yamamoto boxwood, due to its low mass and its ability to add a touch of warmth/body to the overall sound. 

But even as it sits the transparency, the fine detail, the dynamic contrasts are all outstanding. I can tell after an evening of listening this is a keeper for me, and while its been a bit of a drawn out journey to accumulate the bits and pieces and get the cartridge serviced...well...it was worth every bit of effort. 

Yes I enjoy my Transfiguration, ZYX, and Ikeda, that is true. But I like the MC2000 every bit as much and I would get rid of a whole bunch of stuff before I ever parted with this cartridge. 

neonknight
nandric's avatar
nandric
4,086 posts
 

Hi neonknigh,  deed you got also the sapphire cantilever? Try to find

Orsonic headshell. You can't adjust stylus distance nor  azimuth

with an wooden headshell. 

lewm
12,852 posts
 

Why did the cantilever need repair? The original stylus is press fitted. Was he able to do the same with the new one? What tonearm? Thx.

neonknight OP
375 posts
 

@nandric No, I kept the factory cantilever in place, this cartridge was considered among the top of the world when it was produced, I want to hear what it sounds like in stock form. The tapered aluminum alloy cantilever is critical to that sound. The Yamamoto wood headshells allows for both distance and azimuth adjustment. The Orsonic is too high mass to be used with this cartridge. You want as low a mass headhsell as possible, the Fidelity Research I have it on now if 5 grams, the boxwood Yamamoto is 5.5 grams. 

@lewm When I received the MC2000 I briefly installed it to give it a listen, and it performed like there was no diamond. I did look at the diamond was missing. Now I don't know if I received it from the seller that way, or if it separated when I cued it down due to bad timing. The reality is it did not matter because it was already going to Expert to get a new diamond since the cartridge is decades old and I have no idea how many hours were on the diamond. I also wanted the T2000 transformer the seller had, and it worked out well for me as he sold me the transformer several weeks later. When Hodgson inspected it he said the end of the cantilever would need repairs. I did not press him on how he did it, but the cantilever is whole, there is very very little epoxy at the diamond installation, and it in fact looks like a factory installation. It tracks well and has a very low noise floor, so far everything is pointing to a top rate job. 

Tone arm is a Dynavector DV505. I have a pair of them mounted on a Scheu Das Laufwerk No 2 turntable, and an Esoteric E-03 phono stage with 2 inputs. So if I am inclined I can compare two cartridges with the same supporting components all the way down the audio chain. 

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