The greatest MM and MI cartridges ....

Dear Professor, thanks for your kindness and technical explanation. May I deduce that the actual situation is/was even more complex than I assumed ? Ie three versions with
nearly the same nomenclature? Those, as you call them 'big
blocks', are still to find on the German ebay. I must confess that I thought that those are better because they are much bigger...What a pity that Acutex needed to quit in 1992.

Regards,

Regards, Nandric: It gets even worse. In 1980, Acutex offered seven carts with (other than color) identical apperance. There were the LPM's (four models) and also the "Standard Series" M206-11 (white grip, conical), the M207-11 (grey, .3 x .7 ellipt.) and the M210-11, (orange, .3 x 7 ellipt., but keep in mind this was not the orange .3 x .7 LPM 310e "Best Ellipt.") These are not to be confused with the big block M3xx carts. It's all so simple---

As to your bigger is better premise? Really, Nikola. As Sun-Tzu might have said: It's not the size of the army but rather the fury of the attack that counts ;^). This is (informally) reflected in that most of the carts mentioned above are relatively low inductance/output impedance designs and of less than 3.6mV output. Mostly. Another needing mention is the Signet TK10ML, 2.2mV and the cart that introduced the ML stylus. There are those who hold the TK10 in high esteem.

Peace,

Dear Timeltel, unfortunately Sun-Tzu ( or Sun-Zi ) died about 1 century before - so he couldn't watch Hannibal's tactics on august 2nd, 216 b.c., which turned the fury of the attack against the attacker ..... but he is certainly in accordance with Miyamoto Musashi.

Sorry - off topic. I find your descriptions and in-deep analysis of the MMs very valuable.
This is exactly what I was looking for.
Cheers,
D.

Dear Timeltel,

having followed the recommendation going for a TK10ML I do not regret my efforts, also organizing a new styli. I do know that Halcro is not the happiest man when he looks on his unit but in my case it makes me really excited picking it out of my collection and running it in a TK9LC body with a FR-66s.

best @ fun only

I also second Daniel's appreciation of the Professor's contributions to this thread.
I have found his encyclopedic mind....and faultless ears.....to be a guiding light for me in this honorable quest for analogue perfection :^)
His recommendation of any cartridge should never go uninvestigated and the recent mention of the Acutex LPM 310/312/315/320 is a case in point.
From the depths of Kentucky.......a well packed parcel arrived chez moi containing said mentioned Acutex :^)
A difficult run-in period (especially on the 315) saw dividends with the 312 eventually singing on the TT-101 turntable.
Mounted on my 'go-to' Yamamoto Ebony headshell in my 'go-to' multiple-adjustable MA-505S tonearm........the Acutex LPM 312 enveloped my room (and within it my ears) with a sound so lush and exciting....it is probably banned in certain states of the southern USA?
That it must be 'coloured' goes without saying :^)
If we emphasise the lower registers so that they 'hit' the guts whilst retaining a tunefulness and tightness more akin to the 'real thing' than any other cartridge I have heard...........we must have a 'coloured' sound?
If....at the same time......the midrange stuns with a realism and three-dimensionality almost unimaginable from a cartridge costing somewhat less than $10,000.......we must have a 'coloured' sound?
Add a high-frequency performance which shimmers and tingles and vibrates and shines without a hint of harshness or distortion and we must have a 'coloured sound'?
Throw in a soundstage that reaches forward and swallows you whilst showing you a room you never had behind your speakers and we must have a 'coloured sound'?
But can it really be 'coloured' when ALL these attributes are combined at the same time?
Can we really be suspicious that one cartridge can be so revealing compared to others when we see that one turntable can be?
Why are we surprised that one component can get it right whilst most others can miss the mark so badly?
OK.....so I'm drunk! But as well as being intoxicated on a fine blend of Scotch.....I am also intoxicated on a sound conjured by a small metal and plastic blob sitting on the end of my tonearm.
Will I persist with the recalcitrant LPM 315? You bet I will......why?.......because the Professor tells me to :^)