The greatest MM and MI cartridges ....

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 :^)

Dear Professor, There are some 'things' which go togehter.
The Balkan humour is not without implicit premises. On
the Balkans we all are convinced that bigger is better. I always buy there watermelons of at least 6kgr...for myself that is.
Never thought that this 'national nature' will be used against me. There are those who think that showing some vulnerability is a good thing. But one should be very careful with those who quote sun-tzu.

Regards,

I just ordered one of these:

CARTRIDGE-AND-STYLUS-ORIGINAL-PACKAGING-/180733638051?
pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a149075a3#ht_500wt_922>http://ww
w.ebay.com/itm/NEW-ACUTEX-412-STR-CARTRIDGE-AND-STYLUS-
ORIGINAL-PACKAGING-/180733638051?
pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a149075a3#ht_500wt_922

I don't expect it to qualify for the "Greatest" designation, but if
my Azden is any indication, it should be pretty good given their shared
origin. I still don't have a handle on how the 4xx series compared to the
3xx series in the Acutex hierarchy. Thoughts?

Regards, Frogman: IMHO, nice catch. I believe you'll find the 412 has a better grip on the bass than does the very nice Azden YM-P50VL. Mids will be presented with good clarity and the HF's detailed without being worrysome.

BTW Frogman, outcome dependent, either this enthusiast paid too much or another not enough, but recently I was fortunate(?) enough to obtain from your referenced vendor a NOS LPM 415STR. Out of consideration for our thread-host, in a week or two and with a better acquaintance with these carts it might perhaps be appropriate if we continue the discussion of Acutex taxonomy over on Raul's epic thread?

In a sideways recognition of certian comments made above, Nikola would you bring along more of your outrageous Balkan exaggeration and Thuchan, of course, your delicious double entendres? And Henry, you are suspected of hyperbole-- I looked several times and there's no evidence of another room behind my speakers.

Apologies, Herr Tonarm. You've been very patient.

Peace,