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Hi,I recently bought a Magnepan Unitrac. It's mounted on a Thorens TD 150 and sounds good. It replaced and bettered a Linn Basik Plus. It tracks very well certain things that the Linn could not. I am using a Shure V15-III with Jico stylus. My amp is a modified Fisher X-100-3 and I have Rogers JR149 speakers.
I have been fiddling with the VTF and VTA. Currently, I have VTF at 1.15 and VTA at around 13.5 (as on the gauge on the tonearm) for the average record. While I am overall happy with the sound, I find myself adjusting the VTA quite a bit from record to record and find that on certain records, the sound is a hair bright/cold (although changing the 12ax7 tubes in the phono stage on the Fisher also changes things quite a bit. I currently have Mazda silver plates 12ax7, but everything seems to be a trade-off with swapping tubes)).
It could be that the system is simply reflecting what's on the record and I should just stop fiddling and enjoy the music, but I am thinking about trying a different cartridge. My phono stage is MM only. I see that some on this forum really like the ADC XLM Mark II (not sure if it's the improved model or not), also the Ortofon 2m Black (out of my price range, I am afraid).
Do you think the ADC XLM Mark II would better the Shure V15-III? Any other recommendations?
Thanks!
Edits: 07/06/12Follow Ups:
I bought a used Denon table from the original owner because it had a Unitrac. It came with a 103d - high compliance version of that classic. I've been told they were often paired. Lately, I've been using a Stanton 980LZ. I also tried an Ortofon M20FL Super and a couple of med/high cu ATs, all with excellent results. I agree that you can use a wide range of med to high cu carts, both MC and MM, with great success. I disagree that you need a super high end set up for a MC. The Unitrac/103d is a nice combo and I'm sure that many other light tracking MCs would be fine on that arm, with a half decent system.
BIRD LIVES
I bought a Unitrac-I new and got a second one in 86 since I needed a good turntable and really liked that tonearm.
The first one ended up on a Marantz 6320 for years then just recently moved to a KD-600. The second one was a consignment buy, TD-160 Super, arm, Musical Fidelity AC-1 Moving Coil Phono Preamplifier (about 20dB gain use into phono stage) and Dynavector 23R. The other cartridges that are on Unitrac headshells are AT-15Sa, Adcom XC-LT and Ortofon MC-20. All sound very nice with the obvious differences very noticeable. The bumped and extended high end of the Audio Technica is there, the sweet moving coil sound of the other three come through.
This tonearm with a low effective mass can handle a very wide range of cartridges. This is what it was designed to do. So to find a good match, determine a budget and then find the cartridges in that budget and find out which matches the sonics you prefer. Then see if that cartridge has a problem with the Magnepan. It probably will not but there may be a few that are not ideal. I intend to put this arm to the test, mounting the Koetsu Black that was removed from the Fidelity Research arm that was on the KD-600 on the Magnepan arm. If that works, anything will but I'm expecting a bit of fiddling will be needed to make this combination work anywhere close to the way it did on the FR tonearm.
If you have just MM phono amplification, look for a high output moving coil. Smooth, musical and enjoyable. Gets the toes tapping.
I have a Unitrac on a Linn LP12 running a Dynavector 10x4 Gold low output MC and I really love the sound. Earlier I had a Denon DL103 which never really did it for me on the Unitrac. FYI.
and probably completely blows away the beloved-by-Linnies Aro! :-))
I've had a G2.2 on my LP12 for 7 or 8 years but I bought a NOS Unitrack off eBay a couple of years ago, just because (as a Maggie speaker lover) I'd heard of its reputation. ;-))
But I'm not sure I'll ever mount the Unitrack in place of my G2.2! :-((
Regards,
Andy
The difference between the V15III and the ADC XLM II is not significant enough to make the change. Add that SAS stylus to the V15III and you probably push the advantage over to the Shure V15.
Unless you are going to put something like the Grace F9 Ruby or the F9 with a luminal trace stylus on that Unitrac, I would stick with the V15III with the SAS.
Ed
We don't shush around here!
Life is analog...digital is just samples thereof
I have a V15 IV with SAS and an Ultra 500 with SAS and the ADC XLM MKII. The ADC is the hands down winner, IMHO. It is far more involving and dynamic. It is the cart that makes me want to put more LPs on the table. The two Shures didn't. 'nuff said.
Opus 104
i'm using a technics SL1600MK2. i've tried lots of carts on it. spectral MCR, lyra lydian, denon dl-103, adc xlm MKII and MKIII. gonna try a pickering 1100S soon (basically a stanton 681EEE-S with the D-11-S stylus).
unless you have a super high end turntable and an equally high end phono stage, you probably won't be maximizing the benefits of a fancy LOMC. and would probably get more sonic benefit from a "more humble" cartridge.
Robby
Since we are talking about Shures with SAS stylii but back in the day I owned an ADC XLMII and a V15III. I preferred the ADC slightly but the V15III to me, in my rig at the time, was a much more musical cartridge than the V15IV. That could have been the stock stylus or whatever but IIRC the audio press pretty much agreed.
The V15IV was regarded a less desirable cartridge than the V15IV. The IV could out track the III but the III just sounded better.
I owned all of those cartridges (V15III, V15IV, ADC XLMII, XLMII Improved, XLMIII and Super XLM II and III). Anyway the V15III was the most musical of the Shure V15s.
When I went to the V15IV it was definately less involving than the V15III. I suppose you would have the set all of this stuff up on the Maggie arm and try it out.
I wouldn't be surprised if the ADC was the winner but I remember the V15III as a pretty nice musical cartridge. The same cartridge with a SAS stylus could be a different animal. Do they make a SAS replacement stylus for the ADC XLM?
Ed
We don't shush around here!
Life is analog...digital is just samples thereof
have a Jico shibata which was made for the XLM MKII improved, but will fit he standard MKII body. Haven't tried it yet.
As far as the Shure Type III vs. Type IV, I agree with the stock styli. But the SAS changes everything.
Opus 104
Do you still prefer the XLMII with its stock stylus over the SASed V15IV or how would you characterize the comparison of these two when you put a SAS in the V15IV?
Also, does the Ultra 500 with a SAS compare a little better to the XLM II or is the ADC still preferrable? Its been a lot of years since I have owned these cartridges and I still fondly remember the ADC XLM and V15III as the best of the Shure V15s.
And finally how would you compare the Grace F9 to the above cartridges?
I think I can predict the answer given what you are listening to but I had to ask.
Ed
We don't shush around here!
Life is analog...digital is just samples thereof
Opus 104
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