I've heard that the Blackbird could be a bit bright, is that correct?
Best cartridge for Pro-Ject 9.1
I currently have a Dynavector HO 10X5 and would like to upgrade. I've also sold my phono stage so starting fresh. Given that the Project has a low mass (8.5 g) 9" carbon fiber arm, which LOMC cart would you recommend. My understanding is that a high compliance cart would match best. My budget is $500-$1000 used.
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With an 8.5g tonearm, maybe you should consider the Ortofon 2M Black with a compliance of 22. With your tonearm it should have a resonance of 8.6 Hz which is in the "safe" zone. I know it's an MM cartridge, but I think it would be a good fit. It's also been extremely well reviewed, even by expensive LOMC phreaks. |
Johnny Yes someone else also recommended the Ortofon 2M Black and I'm intrigued by it. I currently have a Shindo Aurieges preamp and am hoping to upgrade to the Aurieges MM which has a MM phono stage so the 2M would be a good fit. Until I get the Aurieges MM what phono stage would match well with it? |
You mean something musical but reasonably inexpensive until the Aurieges comes in? There are several good-performing low cost phono stages these days and I'm sure other A-goners with more varied experience will chime in. The Bellari VP129 tube-driven phono stage has good buzz and it's main limitation is that it has only 29 dB of gain. If you go with a 2M Black, however, this wouldn't be a problem because the Black has rather high output even for an MM. Another alternative is the Cambridge Audio 640P, which can accommodate a wide range of cartridges as it's switchable between MC and MM for 58db and 39 dB of gain respectively. It takes a bit of break-in to smooth out, but once it does, it has excellent clarity and detail at the price ($169) but with good speed and great musical coherency. |
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