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4-500 $ cartridge for Project Debut Carbon ?

I recently gifted a niece a Carbon Debut TT with mounted Ortofon Red in hopes of encouraging interest she has shown lately in Classical Music.
It sounds quite good esp. since she's running it through an old Yamaha A-1000 amp with an excellent phono stage(2 actually).Suppose the Caras phono IC i threw in helped as well.
I put on the old Fritz Reiner Chicago "Scheherazade",
which as many of you know, has a huge dynamic range, I was quite surprised the Project took it all in stride with just a slight hardening of strings on those tremendous crecendos.
As she has 94db eff speakers and the A-1000 is powerful I don't think it was clipping. I'm thinking perhaps a better cartridge might do the trick ? Nagoka MP 300 is first thing that comes to mind,but my mind is old and needs help.
schubert
zd542
5,339 posts
 
Mulveling,

"Don't even think about an MC with the Debut's stock metal platter; it will attract the MC's magnet and could crush the cantilever. You'll need the acrylic platter if you wish to play with MC carts, and your phono stage will need adequate gain & loading options."

Very interesting point. Would that apply to both high and low output MC's?
mulveling's avatar
mulveling
2,197 posts
 
It depends on the size/strength of the magnet and its location, which is a matter of the cartridge's design more than high vs. low output. The Ortofon Kontrapunkt & Cadenza lines have their magnets positioned very low (relative to the stylus) and are unusable with the stock platter. The Benz Gliders all use a huge magnet, whether L M or H output, but then it's also located further away (vertically) from the stylus tip.

To be honest, you can probably get away with it on some MC models, but I'd think it likely there is at least some effect, and I wouldn't use the combination. The fewer things attracted to your cartridge that you keep around it, the better!
schubert OP
7,386 posts
 
Thanks one and all for the good advice on what is probaly the worlds best forum for same.

I used my usual way of siteing a TT which is on a a 4" Mapleshade block sitting on Isoblocks with the TT itself on Mapleshade heavyweight brass cones.Perhaps its just a loss of touch in my old fingers, but I must say I feel no vibrations on the headshell at all.Music Hall Cork mat.

My decision is to order a Soundsmith Carmen ($600), truthfully because I was addicted to ADC moving-iron carts back in the days before CD. If no improvement on the debut carbon, I'll just put it on my TT and get her a Ortofon Blue stylus.
zenblaster
504 posts
 
I would like to know the thought process behind putting a $600- cartridge on a $350- turntable. Seems an odd allocation of funds, then again, if money is no object perhaps you feel this is an ideal arrangement?

Do you know something the rest of us doesn't?
schubert OP
7,386 posts
 
Perhaps, at almost 80 I know you are easier on yourself when you take chances on your hunches.Kind of Zenny .
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