MC-MM-MI CARTRIDGES . DO YOU KNOW WHICH HAS BETTER QUALITY PERFORMANCE? REALLY?
Dear friends:The main subject of this thread is start a dialogue to find out the way we almost all think or be sure about the thread question : " true " answer.
Many years ago I started the long Agon MM thread where several audiophiles/Agoners and from other audio net forums participated to confirm or to discover the MM/MI/IM/MF/HOMC world and many of us, me including, was and still are" surprised for what we found out in that " new " cartridge world that as today is dominated by the LOMC cartridges.
Through that long thread I posted several times the superiority of the MM/types of cartridges over the LOMC ones even that I owned top LOMC cartridge samples to compare with and I remember very clearly that I posted that the MM and the like cartridges had lower distortion levels and better frequency range quality performance than the LOMC cartridges.
In those times j.carr ( Lyra designer ) was very active in Agon and in that thread I remember that he was truly emphatic posting that my MM conclusion was not true due that things on distortion cartridge levels in reality is the other way around: LOMC has lower distortion levels.
Well, he is not only a LOMC cartridge designer but an expert audiophile/MUSIC lover with a long long and diverse first hand experiences listening cartridges in top TT, top tonearms and top phono stages and listening not only LOMC cartridges but almost any kind of cartridges in his and other top room/systems.
I never touched again that subject in that thread and years or months latter the MM thread I started again to listening LOMC cartridges where my room/system overall was up-graded/dated to way superior quality performance levels than in the past and I posted somewhere that j.carr was just rigth: LOMC design were and are superior to the other MM type cartridges been vintage or today models.
I'm a MUSIC lover and I'm not " married " with any kind of audio items or audio technologies I'm married just with MUSIC and what can gives me the maximum enjoyment of that ( every kind ) MUSIC, even I'm not married with any of my opinions/ideas/specific way of thinking. Yes, I try hard to stay " always " UNBIASED other than MUSIC.
So, till today I followed listening to almost every kind of cartridges ( including field coil design. ) with almost every kind of tonearms and TTs and in the last 2 years my room/system quality performance levels were and is improved by several " stages " that permits me better MUSIC audio items judgements and different enjoyment levels in my system and other audio systems. Yes, I still usemy test audio items full comparison proccess using almost the same LP tracks every time and as always my true sound reference is Live MUSIC not other sound system reproduction.
I know that the main thread subject is way complicated and complex to achieve an unanimous conclusions due that exist a lot of inherent differences/advantages/unadvantages in cartridges even coming from the same manufacturer.
We all know that when we talk of a cartridge we are in reality talking of its cantilever buil material, stylus shape, tonearm used/TT, compliance, phono stage and the like and my " desire " is that we could concentrate in the cartridges as an " isolated " audio item and that any of our opinions when be posible stay in the premise: " everything the same ".
My take here is to learn from all of you and that all of us try to learn in between each to other and not who is the winner but at the " end " every one of us will be a winner.
So, your posts are all truly appreciated and is a thread where any one can participates even if today is not any more his analog alternative or is a newcomer or heavily experienced gentleman. Be my guest and thank's in advance.
Regards and ENJOY THE MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS,
R.
Btw, I owned or own all those top vintage cartridges that I named. That Technics MM cartridge can’t be overall beated for any MI design including the AKG P100 LE however the MM AT ML180OCC or the AT25 are a true challenge for it. As a reality exist several great MM/MI/HOMC/LOMC that came from those old times. Lyra and VDH designers know it.
R. |
Dear friends: The world of cartridges is really fascinating specially if you experienced the whole one over the years like me. I don’t know if any of you has my first hand wide cartridges experiences ( perhaps @dover but I don’t know for sure ). My MUSIC knowledge levels other that the live MUSIC experiences comes from that cartridges world and it’s from here when that so critical MUSIC characteristics as Transient Response has a true meaning and you know for sure it’s the way it has to be and when you already had those experiences with the best of the best year after year for years it’s nothing but outstanding and fascinating as I said. Now, imagine a pair of two different LOMC cartridges that runs at 0.7grs and 0.9grs with a wide FR of 110khz and very low output at 0.12mv and that can reproduce with high aplomb and true fidelity the Telarc 1812, go figure !. Yes Highphonic and Denon. Yes, both high compliance at around 26cu, there is no other way ( Physics Laws as mijos said. ) That MM Technics EPC 100CMK4 is not only the one with so low effective moving mass ( the world lowest. ) but with the widest FR range of any cartridge from 5hz to 120khz where only 2 SUTs I know ( one vintage I own and other today design. ) can shows off/brag that kind of wide FR range. Exist a cartridge that runs as low as 0.25grs VTF with out mistracking that comes with a nude miniature diamond with 1 mil tracing radius.
I’m way fortunate to have all those years opportunities/experiences and that I still today can share with all of you other than the long MM thread.
R.
lewm: could be so what? Now I see that you trust in those 2 different models that shows exactly same specs?. which one was measured? or were measured both? Never mind, who cares, not me.
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As stated in a earlier Post "I would suggest a Cart' with a Cantilever produced from a Two Layer Boron Tube, has the ultimate Boron Type Material as a Cantilever. The Technology required to go to the lengths to create the Boron Tube was quite a feat in itself. The Techies' in the hey day of Cart' R&D had some very interesting moments probing where to go next. Need a Bake Off, Boron Tube vs Gold Plated Boron". Interesting how my Posts are not read, but my subject content is at a later date referenced as the Cornerstone of another claim.
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