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MM Cartridge Comparison

Have an old turntable I'm firing up on a newer system. Don't know how involved I want to get into vinyl again, but definately want to give it a try. Using the McIntosh C-2200 tube preamp with built-in Moving Magnet (MM) tubed phono stage. Have an old Yamaha YPD-971 turntable (pretty good for its day) and am looking for a very good, but reasonably priced MM cartridge. Oh yeah, have a bunch of vinyl. So far have come up with the following candidates.
1. Ortofon OM30 MM
2. Audio Technica AT 440 ML MM
3. Sure V15VxMR MM
4. ClearAudio Aurum Beta MK II MM
Any and all ideas and recommendations will be very much appreciated.
PS. Also, can you use a high output MC cartridge (say 2.5mV) on a MM phono stage with excellent results?
Thanks again, in advance... Jim
slhijb
rhljazz
1,255 posts
 
The Ortofon would be my choice. Also consider the OM20 for the table you are using.
pbb
1,140 posts
 
Shure V-15x mr will give you everything required, save and except for snob appeal, prestige and a trophy for show-and-tell.
jimbo3
304 posts
 
Yes, you can use a high-output MC. Refer to the pre's owner manual for recommended cartridge output and impedence. To hazard a guess, anything over 2.0 mV is likely to work well. My opinion is that a good moderately priced HO MC will generally sound better than the better MM cartridges.

Regards
Jim
tdschofield's avatar
tdschofield
11 posts
 
I just mounted up an AT 440ML on an SME3009 III on a Linn LP-12, and boy does it sound sweet for the $80-$90 it is going for! It doesn't get much better than that in MM. (I have had V-15 V, Grado Platinum and Sonata, Van Den Hull MC One (MC), AT OC-3(MC)) NeedleDoctor.com has it for $99, I got mine from Ed Saunders for $80. Why pay more while you are investigating?

The Shure is a great cartridge and is nice for the anti-static dust brush and the damping helps it work in a variety of arms, but costs 3x as much. When I first mounted the VdH MC One, my first impression was how similar it sounded to the V-15 V!

Tom
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