MC versus MM. Which to choose.

For one thing, the top MM/MI cartridges when well set up in a good tonearm seem to track piano music better than (my) MC cartridges, to include Koetsu Urushi, van den Hul Colibri, and Ortofon MC7500. The really good MMs capture the overtones and the decay of a piano more realistically, IMO. At least I attribute this to the superior tracking ability of the MM/MI class vs the MC class, and I believe that the hard data from tracking tests does support that. Mind you, there is plenty to like about MC cartridges as well.

If they do this with piano they should also do it with voice and acoustic guitar.
There is an opinion that MMs have more impact and coherence, and MCs are faster and have more resolution. These are general statements.

12-22-11: Inna
So why do some still prefer MM? They must have certain qualities to go after that MC just cannot have or can but at very high price point.

I don't have the quote in front of me just now, but I read the Abso!ute Sound review of the AT150MLX just a few days ago, and the reviewer mentioned that although the AT150MLX doesn't have that last little bit of air and detail up in the highs, it has more musical "body" to the tonal balance, which makes it easy to get lost in the music instead of the details (I'm paraphrasing here).

My own perception is similar. I grew up with live music, have two siblings who made or make a living in music performance and direction, and played and listened to a lot of live music myself. I still play live music in public regularly and get to live orchestral concerts several times a year. The tonal balance, detail balance, and overall timbres I get from my system, sourced from an AT150MLX, never seems to set a foot wrong. The music sounds "right," making it easier to get lost in the art of the music itself rather than being distracted by the artifices that create and play back the recording.

My advice is to participate in some lottery (+10 Mil).
Your chance to win the loterry is approximately the same as
to find the Technics P100CMKIV,AKG P100 LE and Acutex M320
STR. But the difference is: if you win the lottery you will
not care about the rarity of those carts.

Regards,

Dear Nikola, If you win the lottery, as we Yanks like to say, "Money talks". I am happy with what i have.