Analog Upgrade Suggestions Welcome

I note that the Grado Reference is a moving magnet cartidge. My Alchemist IIb is of the moving coil type. Has the technology evolved over the last 15 years to the point where moving magnets now have the resolution and finnesse of a fine moving coil?

Would the Grado Reference mate well with my 1990 vintage SME 309?

I note that the Grado Reference is a moving magnet cartidge. My Alchemist IIb is of the moving coil type. Has the technology evolved over the last 15 years to the point where moving magnets now have the resolution and finesse of a fine moving coil?

Would the Grado Reference mate well with my 1990 vintage SME 309?

Whoa, there Mstram. Slow down a little. Three posts (well, two anyway) on your own thread before anyone gets a chance? No fair. ;-)

Has the technology evolved over the last 15 years to the point where moving magnets now have the resolution and finesse of a fine moving coil?

In a word, no. Grado's have many fans of course, like any brand, but those who particularly value "resolution and finesse" do not seem to be among them. Grado's are widely praised for a very full-bodied and warm midrange. They are sometimes chided for a lack of HF extension and air, somewhat loose bass and two well known performance issues: a tendency to hum in the presence of unshielded AC motors and a tendency for the suspension to develop a "wobble" if mated to a less than perfectly matched tonearm. Search here or on VA for "Grado hum", "Grado wobble" or "Grado dance". You'll learn more than you ever cared to know. Maybe you'd have those problems. Maybe you wouldn't. I haven't had a Grado myself and couldn't predict.

When choosing a cartridge for an existing system it must suit your phono stage electrically, but it must also suit your tonearm mechanically. Both relationships are vital.

Let's start with the tonearm. Your SME 309 has an effective mass of 11g. This makes it suitable for a medium compliance cartridge. Something around 12-16cu would be best, depending on the weight of the cartridge. Your goal is to choose a cartridge that, when mounted on an SME 309, will yield a system resonance frequency somewhere between 8-12Hz, with 10Hz being "ideal".

A Grado Ref is a high compliance (20cu) cartridge that weighs only 6.5g. Its resonance frequency on a 309 would be dangerously near the recommended floor of 8Hz. This could make it sensitive to warps, footfalls and other floor-borne vibrations.

A Shelter 501MkII is a low compliance (9cu) cartridge that weighs 8g. Its resonance frequency on a 309 would be around 12.6Hz. This could lead to impaired bass response.

I'd look at other cartridges. Neither of these is a particularly good match for your tonearm.

For electrical matching you need to look up the gain (or choices of gain) and input impedance (or choices thereof) of your phono stage. Those two facts will determine the cartridge output levels and types it can handle. Find those two numbers and I'm sure useful and workable recommendations will be plentiful.

Thanks Doug!

Here are the requested specs for the preamp:

INPUT IMPEDENCE
Magnetic Phono= 47 kohms
Moving Coil Phono= Adjustable into 47 kohms

GAIN
Magnetic Phono= 35dB
Moving Coil Phono= 20-40 dB (Adjustable)
*Note: The MC gain is in addition to the standard MM gain of 35 dB.
**The preamp comes with resistors that can be changed out to make the gain adjustment

SENSITIVITY
Magnetic Phono= 3 mV
Moving Coil Phono= 0.3 mV

It looks like you have enough gain and loading flexibility to handle just about any imaginable cartridge. I'd be slightly concerned about inserting resistors to modify gain. They're in the signal path, so make sure they're good quality.

How is the ease of arm height adjustment on the SME 309? I ask because some cartridges that offer sublime resolution and finess are very sensitive to that. I might not recommend them if changing SRA on a 309 is a pain, or if you would find it so.

I would be leary of used cartridges except from someone you know and trust. I did it once. It could have been worse, but it could have been better too. Crap shoot.

BTW, I'm surprised no one jumped on you for this statement from your original post, so I will:

I didn't want to spend more than $1000 for a cartidge as the majority of my listening is still redbook CD.

There is something seriously wrong with your analog setup if the majority of your listening time is wasted, err, spent listening to RBCD. Get a grip man!

Your TT and arm seem respectable enough, so I point the finger at that 15yo cartridge. I don't know diddle about Sumiko's, but 15 years? Good grief. If you don't care about your ears what about your poor records? :-0

Replace that worn out thang with a good modern MC. Assuming the Classe phono stage is decent (no idea) that $11K RBCD rig can go back to what it's suited for, providing weight to help stabilize your TT stand! ;^)

One more Q: what kind(s) of music?