Music Hall MMF-5: laid back sound?

I wasn't sure about the Denon's compatibility, but I'd given it some thought. A friend has a Michell Technodec with a 103 on it. Not sure what arm he's using, I should ask him. Sounds superb. The Michell tables are something I'd look at if I could afford to make a move up.

The more I listen, the more I feel like I may have overstated my concerns with the bass. It sounds OK actually, but in absolute terms the mid-to-upper bass seems "fat," and a little too prominent, as if the midrange is recessed in comparison. I have to crank it up to hear the vocals sometimes.

I've begun to wonder if part of the problem with the dynamics isn't due to my passive pre. It's hella transparent, but I know for a fact that the Dynaudios are power-hungry and I think some of the ATI amp's punch is getting lost due to the anemic signal arriving from the preamp. It's a homemade design built around a DACT stepped attenuator and you have to crank it to within just a few notches of "wide open" to get really cracking sound from the Dynaudios. At lower levels the dynamic contrasts suffer. Not as noticeable with digital, but then, love it or don't, digital has that digital "bite."

So many variables, it's enough to drive you mad. Which, truth be told, may be what I love most about this hobby :)

I would like to try a MC at some point, though...considered the Dyna but thought it might compound the laid-back character that other reviews have led me to suspect is somewhat endemic to this table's character.

I've used a Dynavector 10X5 with the MMF5. Very nice combination, and it is a big improvement over the stock cartridge. It's output is a little lower than the stock Goldring cartridge- may need adjustable gain in your phono pre to get the best dynamics.

Origin Live now produce an arm called the "Conquerer" that is better than an SME V.Based on that original RB250 Rega arm tube.Here is a link http://www.tonearm.co.uk/index.htm.Bearings are beside the point right up the Rega line especially to the RB 900 as the modded RB250(Origin counterweight,Incognito rewire)matches it.The facts could be stated this way,cartridge resonance is the most fundamental and important issue.To quote Ladegaard again "...traditional specifications like rumble,wow and flutter and required tracking force are both unreliable and inadequate.Furthermore,they are strongly influenced by the actual combination of motor,arm and cartridge and record,all left to random decisions by the Hi-Fi consumer."The Well-Tempered Classic turntable was a direct result of this paper.I am not being emotional here.Koetsu cartridges were designed on Garrard idler-wheel turtables.I repeat,the Dynavector does not match the Denon.You are wrong about the table needing a more compliant cartridge the Project arm has the same effective mass(11gms) as the Rega.You made the mistake of telling the guy to get a new table,which was probably a slap in the face to him.Anyway idler-wheel turnatables prove that only backward steps have been taken in audio for quite a while.The uphill battle is all yours.

Sorry! But the link doesn't work in my prevous post the Origin Live website is easy to find though.I was referring to "bearings" just after the failed link.One final point that seems obvious is that speed stability and not running at 33 1/3 RPM is crucially important on any table.It effects everything.

Funny stuff stefan LOL!!!!!