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Micro Seiki BL91

I have a BL 91 with a MA505 (I think MKII) arm and wanted to get some cartridge recommendations.
I have a Leben CS-600 integrated and an Antique Sound Labs Phono Lux DT phono pre-amp. One day I was thinking of upgrading(?) to a Fi Yph or the Leben phono pre-amp. But that is down the road. And, I listen mostly through headphones, Ultrasone 780's. Proac Tablette 2000's for speakers.
It has been suggested in some quarters that the Dynavector 20XH would work nicely. I've been wondering about the Sumiko Evo III and the Ortofon Black too. Or maybe a step-up and a Shelter 301 or 501 MKII....
Thoughts or suggestion kindly appreciated.
I listen to all kinds of music but mostly jazz and rock and opera and French chanson and country and punk and blues and Dylan.....
128x128oldsalt
hevac1
812 posts
 
I miss my BL-91. I used a Carnagie 1 and 2 at the time but my arm was a SME.
oldsalt's avatar
oldsalt OP
17 posts
 
Nealw-Thanks for the info. I'm glad to hear you like the Leben phono. I'm looking forward to auditioning one once I get this TT set up.

Stanwal-Thanks for your advice about arm mass and cart compliance. I've been poring over the numbers and they make me dizzy. I'm not sure I have the clearest grasp of what it all means. Maybe I should rely on professional assistance.

Hevac1-The nice gentleman I purchased my BL91 tells me he misses it too. Unfortunately I haven't had a chance to get it going since I bought it in February.
stanwal's avatar
stanwal
3,147 posts
 
There is a chart on Vinyl Engine but it is fairly simple: high compliance= low mass arms, low compliance= high mass arms. There is not the range there use to be when compliance ran up to fifty or higher and down to five or so. In general, MM have had higher compliance than MC but this is not a rigid rule. The point is to keep the resonance point of the arm- cartridge system from going too high or too low. Check for that chart and if you don't find it email me and I'll look it up, glad to answer any questions. I have been setting up tables since 1962 and selling them for a good part of that time so have considerable practical experience. If the mass of your arm is in the 15 gram range it is useable with most current cartridges, Denons are good , the 103 and 110 are excellent bargains. I am not a Denon dealer. Stan
siniy123
166 posts
 
it took me 6 month to get excellent sound from MA-505 II tonearm.
I think that main culprit was the headshell. Not the original Micro Seiki, not Technics and Sumiko 12gr worked fine. Until I found the Audio Technica 12 gr headshell from 80s (current closest product is Audio Technica AT-LH13/OCC). With this headshell Signet TK10ML II gives robust, complete sound with great soundstage and resolution.
royj's avatar
royj
151 posts
 
Have a look at the latest cartridges from Soundsmith (www.sound-smith.com). They work wonderfully in my BL-91/MA-500II and seem more musical, more fluid in their dynamics than most other cartridges I have used. Also, they are extremely quiet in the groove, and have proper tone balance.

Best regards,
Roy Johnson
Designer
Green Mountain Audio
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