thoughts on the Madrigal Carnegie One

Although the Madrigal Carnegie One was TAS HP's reference many years ago, I would take the blue point. Even though the Madrigal was claimed with low hours, but over time the rubber things around the suspension and other parts will get hardened. Thus the sound will be affected. If possible, I would ask the dealer if you can try it first. Otherwise, I will buy a brand new blue point which is quite good. Or better yet, get the Black bird.

I agree with the above poster. That Carnegie 1 has to be older than dirt. Steer clear and buy something new.

Just to confuse you, the Blue Point is the most disappointing of any cartridge I ever owned, in terms of its actual performance vs its reputation at the time I bought it, which was that it was a "giant killer". OTOH, the Madrigal still has an avid following among vinylphiles. I would however agree with the others that age of the Madrigal may be a problem. See if you can audition it prior to purchase, as Audiolui also suggests. If you do, give it a chance to loosen up before you judge it. For example, play a test LP or two prior to listening. Also keep in mind that if your budget eventually permits, the Madrigal can be re-tipped. If the Madrigal is in good shape it should blow away the BP, IMO.

During the reorganization of Benz, a collaboration was arranged between Van den Hul, Mori and Lukaschek. Lukaschek already worked for Benz, and Mori was well-regarded for his contribution in the development of the Sony XL55 cartridge which employed a novel coil. Everyone knows about A.J.Van den Hul, of course. The work of the men resulted in the production of the Benz Silver, the Van den Hul One, and the Madrigal Carnegie One.

Like the Sony moving coil, the Carnegie One has an unusual figure eight coil design. Another feature is that the Madrigal has a layered cantilever made from carbon fiber, beryllium, and aluminum. No other cartridge that I am aware of ever used this exact cantilever composition. The cartridge shares a common tip with Van den Hul models, the true line contact that Van den Hul designed.

Like the Sony, many examples tend to be low-riders over time. That said, if it doesn't ride low in the groove now you will probably be okay with it. If it does ride low, however, take a pass because the body is not easily opened for repair. That is the only mechanical downside that comes to mind. I own two, and one came as a low-rider. Check it before you buy it.

How does it sound? Everyone has a flavor he prefers, but reviewers at the time considered the Madrigal Carnegie One to be one of the most neutral cartridges ever made, and most of those guys ended up with one in his stockpile. I find the sound to be very clean, but not overly exciting. Still, it is a nice cartridge worth owning that is still capable of beating the performance of a lot of today's offerings.

If you get it, it has a Dynamic Compliance of 17 x 10-6 cm/Dyne, so it will work well with a wide range of tonearms. As far as VTF goes, mine seems to like 1.6-1.7 grams. I haven't used it in awhile, so I can't tell you exactly where I used it last, but it in that range.

Hope this helps,
Win