Hi again Raul,
In response to your 05-05-07 post, I do not have direct experience with simultaneous play of MM/MC cartridges on the same track. This is a nice feature to have and it would be interesting to hear a cartridge/stage combo in this manner. However, I can see some being concerned about the effect that one cartridge/arm combo has toward the other during simultaneous playback -- adding still one more variable to account for.
The author of this thread asked a question about using MM cartridges and going back to doing so after trying MCs. This question and the replies posted can potentially be misleading and may be better interpreted by clarifying that the preferences expressed by members involve more than just the sonic performances of the cartridges alone.
As to the test CD idea I did say that what I proposed is a long shot and that I was just thinking out loud. Of course this process requires some inverse RIAA step prior to routing the signals to the preamp. The set-up you suggest -- MM and MC cartridges with a multi arm tt through separate MM and MC stages in one chassis -- is a good one. However, this still does not allow one to separately determine the sonic contributions of the MM or MC stages. Although, not perfect, the test CD idea is more ideal than even the convenient set up you suggest when one wants to first evaluate the sonics of his MM vs. MC phonostage.
Here is yet another (admittedly expensive) idea... a TT using laser technology to extract music from the grooves may serve as a source to be able to compare the a MM vs MC phonostage. If such a unit already puts out line level signals, then it would be easy to add a well designed inverse RIAA to feed the phono sections being compared. Despite the need to have to also apply a neutral attenuation/gain stage to equalize the signals, this approach had one advantage over the test CD idea. It does not require an AD/DA conversion as all signal processing is done in the analog domain.
As you and Frankm1 already posted, ultimately and as far as day to day use is concerned, it really does not matter. In fact, I also hinted similarly near the end of my second post to this thread. Although obvious, it is easy to overlook that a comparison of a MM and MC cartridge is one that involves an evaluation of a specific cartridge/phonostage combo vs. another. In such a setting, we have to accept that we cannot conclude that a MC is better than a MM, or vice versa, as the differences heard is partially attributable to the performances differences between the phono sections used.
So the attempt to investigate how one can characterize the sonic differences between MM and MC phonostages is consistent with trying to keep all other factors equal. Once accomplished and an equivalent performing MM and MC stage (with identical sonic signatures) is found, it can serve as a great tool. THIS IS ONLY IMPORTANT if one aims to truly and definitively determine the real differences between a MM and a MC cartridge.So it would still be interesting to hear excellent, creative, or crazy suggestions on how one can compare (purely from an academic point of view) the sonics/performance of a MM vs a MC phonostage. It would be great to have a way to factor out this variable so it does not cloud a MM/MC cartridge comparison.
Regards,
