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Audio Technica AT150MLX finally gets some respect

I've been at this audiophile stuff for over 40 years. At this point I'm pretty confident of being able to ignore preconceived notions and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of a component in my system. Still, once in awhile it's nice to get some validation--a sanity check.

I've been using an Audio Technica AT150MLX MM cartridge for over 3 years. Since getting it I have improved the downstream components and cabling a few times, and each improvement, rather than revealing limitations of the cartridge, has shown it to have a great tonal balance, high resolution at its price point, excellent trackability, low level detail retrieval and excellent dynamics.

Still, when I opened my January 2012 issue of The Abso!ute Sound, I was pleasantly shocked to see that the $449 list AT150MLX had been named Cartridge of the Year! Given that the $5000 Benz LP-MSR and $13,000 Clearaudio Goldfinger were also mentioned on that page, it wasn't that the AT150MLX won in absolute terms, but for performance value.

It's as I suspected from my first listen. If you want to know where the threshold into a high end cartridge is, it's the AT150MLX. I got mine in 2008 when the dollar was strong and these things were going for $250. But even at the currently available $325 they are pretty unbeatable.

Back in the Spring of 2008 I asked the A-goners about what cartridge to move up to from the DL-160. I was considering the AT OC-9 or the Denon 301 II, but a number of A-goners made a compelling case for the AT150MLX. I took them at their word and have never regretted it.

If you want the best out of this cart, you *must* give it a capacitive load between 100 and 200 pF. In fact, my highly adjustable Jolida JD-9A phono stage indicates that the real sweet spot is right around 150 pF.

Anyway, thanks A-goners, and it's also nice to know that when the stylus wears down, I can just send for a replacement plug-in stylus $225.
johnnyb53
johnnyb53 OP
3,510 posts
 
12-09-12: Oatstao
why does the original poster state and I quote -

"If you want the best out of this cart, you *must* give it a capacitive load between 100 and 200 pF. In fact, my highly adjustable Jolida JD-9A phono stage indicates that the real sweet spot is right around 150 pF."

I don't have to do anything esoteric with my 150MLX on technics 1200mkII aside from proper alignment with Protractor and balance and weight.
Nothing else needs to be done in my case.
Why does this person suggest this?
I get the sense that you think I'm overcomplicating installation of an AT150MLX because your experience was a simple plug-n-play. In many setups that will be the case. But it just happens that your turntable rig is a near ideal match. Your turntable has a built-in interconnect that has a total capacitance of 100 pF. Your phono stage most likely does not add any capacitance. So your AT150MLX "sees" a capacitive load of 100 pF, which is near ideal.

That's not always the case, however. Many turntables have RCA jacks instead of hardwired, and the interconnects the user selects may have a capacitance ranging from 50 to 300 pF. And some phono stages have a minimum input capacitance of 200 pF. The very popular Musical Surroundings Phonomena II is one such. Therefore with some rigs you could wind up with a capacitance of 400+ pF and not realize it. Dropping an AT150MLX into that signal chain would not be as satisfactory as your and my experiences. So I'm qualifying my enthusiastic recommendation for those who have setups that aren't as naturally compatible to the AT150MLX as our turntables and phono stages.
dconsmack
43 posts
 
Actually, I think the recommended loading in the manual is wrong for that cart. The AT150MLX is a really bright cartridge and it measures that way with the Ultimate Analogue Test LP. I have a fully modded KAB Technics SL-1210M5G and an EAR 324 phono stage. You'll never get a flat response no matter how little capacitance you with 47kΩ impedance. I've found to achieve a flat response (+/- 1.5dB) you have to load it at 15kΩ impedance (yes!) and around 570pF total capacitance. The 15kΩ impedance tames the treble spike above 10kHz (that spike is around +7dB with 47kΩ/120pF total capacitance!) but introduced a dip in response under 10kHz. Setting the capacitance at the phono stage to total 570pF (including tonearm wire) helps compensate for the dip in frequencies under 10kHz and doesn't roll off the frequencies above 10kHz. After it's correctly loaded, I have yet to find a more musically accurate sounding phono cartridge. It also tracks better than any other and has superior stereo separation. I've compared it to Shure V15VxMR (stock and JICO SAS styli), Dynavector 17D3, Lyra Delos, Lyra Dorian, Sumiko Blackbird, Sumiko Blue Point No.2, Audio Technica OC9 II, & Shure M97xE. The AT150MLX is the best, with the Dynavector 17D3 and Shure V15VxMR (stock) a close second. Good luck finding a phono stage with 15kΩ impedance for MM though. The EAR 324 is the only one I'm aware of that has this kind of flexibility for MM carts.
dave_72
1,399 posts
 
Wow better than the OC9? I never would have guessed that!
johnnyb53 OP
3,510 posts
 

12-16-12: Dconsmack
I've found to achieve a flat response (+/- 1.5dB) you have to load it at 15kΩ impedance (yes!) and around 570pF total capacitance.
Since my phono stage is pretty configurable (Jolida JD9A), I got all excited and looked at the manual to see what all my DIP switch settings are. But alas, I can set a range of small increments from 100 up to 1400 ohms, but then it jumps to the ubiquitous 47K with nothing in between. Maybe my speakers roll off gently enough above 10Khz to work well in my system. What speakers are you using? I can see where if one were to have ribbon tweeters or something very linear out to 20KHz, that your approach would improve the high treble. Or it could be that I've become accustomed to a treble rise and don't know what i'm missing.
dconsmack
43 posts
 
If your speakers roll off above 10kHz, then you likely don't hear the treble rise, or it sounds balanced. I can absolutely hear the difference between 47,000Ω and 15,000Ω. Also, CDs with the exact same mastering as it's vinyl counterpart consistently shows that 15,000Ω is neutral with the AT150MLX (and lots of capacitance: 570pF). Also, I found it to be superior to the OC9 II due to better tracking of sibilants and flatter response. Initially it sounds dull, but that's because so many modern cartridges have a significant rise in the treble. Actually, the only carts I've ever heard that don't are the Shure V15VxMR and Dynavector 17D3. Even the 17D3 has a small rise in the treble, but it's very minor. But, time after time, comparisons with CDs of the same mastering proves to me that the AT150MLX loaded that way is nearly identical in tone. And, it has a noticeably wider stereo image than the 17D3 and the V15VxMR. The 17D3 might be the king of tracking the absolute most difficult sibilants, but the AT150MLX tracked some sibilants that the V15VxMR could not. I really think that the AT150MLX might be the ultimate cart, it's just too bad almost every phono stage on earth can't load it properly. I got lucky.
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