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Vinyl Asylum Welcome Licorice Pizza (LP) lovers! Setup guides and Vinyl FAQ. |
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Vinyl Asylum Welcome Licorice Pizza (LP) lovers! Setup guides and Vinyl FAQ. |
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In Reply to: What to buy posted by Kindablue on July 4, 2015 at 07:22:24:
Over time, the things a cartridge does wrong will weigh on you, so balanced frequency response and good tracking ability are musts for long term enjoyment. In my system, the tubby bass of the Grado prestige series, sucked out midrange of the AT440 mla, poor tracking of the AT110 meant they did not last long in my system despite other positive traits.
Other people don't hear it that way. They hear the great Grado midrange, or the extended highs and great tracking of the 440MLa. People hear differently, and cartridges can sound different in different systems. In fact, a "fast" cartridge like the AT120E is often a recommendation in an overly warm system, and vice versa, a warm cartridge can be use to help an overly analytical system.
That was a lot of blah blah blah to try and explain why recommendations can be all over the place.
Ortofon 2M Blue is a cartridge for about $200 that I can recommend. It has a clean balanced sound that is easy to live with. Neither highs nor lows are spotlighted. It tracks good too. With tapped inserts in the mounting plate, it is incredibly easy to mount. Many inmates like the similar 2M red, but its bonded needle results in higher tip mass, which in my experience correlates with poor tracking.
Another cartridge for you to consider is the Audio Technica 120E. It has been a while since I heard it, but the AT120E is good performer for the money. Do some searches here and you will see it is a well regarded cartridge. It might be a good counterbalance if you feel the sound of the tubes and vintage Bozaks is a little too warm. The 2M would be warmer than AT, for sure. Impossible to say which you would prefer in your system, but I think either would let the music come through.
The MMF-5 has a medium mass tonearm which will accomodate most modern cartridges, including the two I have mentioned. I would stay away from cartridges that are very high compliance (ADC, Sonus) or very low compliance (Denon DL-103).
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- RE: What to buy - MAS 16:02:14 07/04/15 (0)
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