Hi. I'm the original poster, and Almarg explained it well. I have had this cartridge for four years and have used three phono stages with it--the phono stage in a pawnshop Amber 17, which had a series of capacitance DIP switches, a Cambridge 640P which has a fixed capacitance of zero, and my phono stage for nearly the last two years, a Jolida JD9A. The Jolida is very configurable, with MM capacitance settings of 0, 47, 100, and on up from there. My turntable's built-in phono cable has a capacitance of 100 pF. I think it's around 40 inches long.
Audio Technica's recommended total capacitive load for the AT150MLX is "between 100 and 200 pF." With both the Amber and Jolida phono stages I was able to experiment with various capacitances, and the most musical, relaxed sound definitely came in between 100 and 200 pF. The Jolida enabled me to try it at 147 pF and I liked that sound the best. Settings above 200 pF tended to sound bright and strident. You can also find testimony from other AT150MLX owners who warn that the AT150MLX can turn bright and sterile if the capacitance gets much above 200 pF total.
In fact, when I was in the market for a phono stage 2 yrs ago, I happened across an excellent deal for a demo Musical Surroundings Phonomena II for around $389. It was very tempting, but the P II's minimum capacitive input setting is 200 pF, which--combined with my turntable cable--would have created a total load of 300 pF. So I had to pass. The good news is that I really like the Jolida and it has so many gain, resistance, and capacitance settings that I'll probably be able to use it with any cartridge that strikes my fancy.
But these days I have even more reason to stick with my AT150MLX. Given that it's four years old and has at least 1,000 hours on it, I called my local LP-knowledgeable stereo store about whether I'm probably due for a stylus replacement or cartridge upgrade. He told me that the MicroLine stylus (which is what the "ML" stands for in AT150MLX) tends to last 4-5 times as long as a conventional elliptical stylus, and that mine should be good for another 3,000 hrs or so. Even though his store doesn't sell AT carts, he was very complimentary of this one and it reminds him fondly of the AT-sourced Signet cartridges from around 20 yrs ago. So I'm sticking with it. In fact, I recently changed my downstream electronics to a tube-based line stage and a transconductance MOSFET power amp, and my analog rig sounds better than ever.
In other words, any downstream changes I make serve to point up what a wonderfully musical, responsive, and great-tracking cartridge the AT150MLX is. It's ridiculously good for the money.
Audio Technica's recommended total capacitive load for the AT150MLX is "between 100 and 200 pF." With both the Amber and Jolida phono stages I was able to experiment with various capacitances, and the most musical, relaxed sound definitely came in between 100 and 200 pF. The Jolida enabled me to try it at 147 pF and I liked that sound the best. Settings above 200 pF tended to sound bright and strident. You can also find testimony from other AT150MLX owners who warn that the AT150MLX can turn bright and sterile if the capacitance gets much above 200 pF total.
In fact, when I was in the market for a phono stage 2 yrs ago, I happened across an excellent deal for a demo Musical Surroundings Phonomena II for around $389. It was very tempting, but the P II's minimum capacitive input setting is 200 pF, which--combined with my turntable cable--would have created a total load of 300 pF. So I had to pass. The good news is that I really like the Jolida and it has so many gain, resistance, and capacitance settings that I'll probably be able to use it with any cartridge that strikes my fancy.
But these days I have even more reason to stick with my AT150MLX. Given that it's four years old and has at least 1,000 hours on it, I called my local LP-knowledgeable stereo store about whether I'm probably due for a stylus replacement or cartridge upgrade. He told me that the MicroLine stylus (which is what the "ML" stands for in AT150MLX) tends to last 4-5 times as long as a conventional elliptical stylus, and that mine should be good for another 3,000 hrs or so. Even though his store doesn't sell AT carts, he was very complimentary of this one and it reminds him fondly of the AT-sourced Signet cartridges from around 20 yrs ago. So I'm sticking with it. In fact, I recently changed my downstream electronics to a tube-based line stage and a transconductance MOSFET power amp, and my analog rig sounds better than ever.
In other words, any downstream changes I make serve to point up what a wonderfully musical, responsive, and great-tracking cartridge the AT150MLX is. It's ridiculously good for the money.