I used to own the Concept Turntable and paired with with the Concept MC cartridge. I thought it was deadly dull and sold it off after a few weeks
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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- 44 posts total
@mahler123 wow, that's surprisingly |
Not really - the Hana ML is tough to beat in its price range if you have a good PS to support it and set it up properly (which is not trivial) and the lower end CA Carts are not as good value for money IMO. I owned the Hana with a Clear audio Performance DC with a Tracer tonearm and it was very good. If you can get a good deal on an Unami Blue maybe go for it but you might be overdoing it it terms of what the TT is capable of. TT/Arm/Cart/PS all need to be commensurate. |
@macg19 I understand. I have good PS I think, Hegel V10, I didn’t try it with MC yet, but I’ve never heared something bad about this PS. In reserve I also have PhaseTech EA-3, just now I can’t use it because it’s in another country, but I’ll bring it someday. PhaseTech do not have any adjustments and do not suit my system’s look but who knows. I read thet Umami Blue is better than ML in terms of accuracy, detail, etc. But it is less "analog". ML is not a precision cartridge but sounds more like vinyl they say. This is what I need more, because it is rather difficult to get that analog sound from my system. So I have doughts about should I buy more expensive cart if I’ll loose this attribute. |
@iad Only so much can be done in making a 100% digital recording sound more analog. The issue/barrier is the preferred music choices not the various phono cartridges. |
- 44 posts total