@sls883 I do stream. The streaming and CDs are great with details and imaging, not that my vinyl is way off these aspects, but the vinyl I find more "organic" and natural. All depends from the material, rock, classical, jazz, etc.
MC cartridge for Clearaudio Concept 1600$
Hello friends! This topic appears once in a few years, the last one similar (but lower budget) was three years ago so it's time! 
I have Sumiko Amethyst MM Cartridge on my Clearaudio Concept (basic) turnable and I want to try MC now and to bring the level & cost of cartridge into line with my stereo system. My budget is up to 1600$. So everybody oddly enough says the best option is Concept MC. Of course. But I would like to explore some other options because there are several interesting models in this price range with very similar tech. specs and that will also suite fine my tonearm with effective mass 9g. Here's the list:
- Concept MC Signature
- Dynavector DV-XX2 MKII
- Hana ML
- Goldring Ethos MC
- Goldring Ethos SE MC
I wonder if anyone has expierence with any of these cartridges to tell something about it's character, sound signature, musicality, accuracy. Will be great if in compareson with Concept MC.
I listen (sometimes with my wife) to music from Billie Ilish to Pantera, from Portishead to Darkthrone, from Cypress Hill to Cannibal Corpse, even from Gabber to Sludge. Sometimes sad and romantic, sometimes evil. But very emotional like me. My phonostage is Hegel V10. Thanks for help
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I had a Goldring Legacy(MC) on a Rega P9/RB 1000 for 5 years. I estimate over 1300 hours on it before the cantilever started to shift. The Ethos/SE is the current replacement for the Legacy. The strength of the Legacy was the Bass and Prat while being very balanced. Treble was slightly dark and not as airy/detailed as my current Phasemation PP 200 which is still in the break in process. In summary the Goldring is less of a finesse cartridge like the Hana which might be better suited for acoustical music not Rock or Hip/Hop which the Goldring excels at. |
So difficult to compare, I use both and had experience streaming was better than vinyl (new pop artists have great hi-res recordings and poor vinyls because they are made just to earn money from nonaudiophiles) or vinyl was better than streaming. It depends on vinyl quality, for example Music on Vinyl presses will beat cd and streaming. And I founded on Tidal some albums that sound awful no matter they are hires. |
@iad I am in full agreement |
@iad As far as comparisons, the Marantz TT-15S1 comes with a Clearaudio Virtuoso Ebony Wood MM cartridge. It's a well regarded cartridge. I found the Hana ML to be considerably better. I've also had a Goldring 1042 MM cartridge. Some of the improvement is coming from the Sutherland TZ Vibe phono preamp. I was using a Sutherland KC Vibe with the MM cartridges. |
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