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Running an ADC XLM II (Magnepan Unitrack/ SOTA) and wondering if modern MC (or MM!) would be a big improvement?
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I bought one NOS from KABUSA ($80) about a year ago. I have been using the last couple of weeks to grade records to sell online. It is a nice sounding cartridge but lacks the refinement of my Hana EL which cost 5x as much. There are better modern cartridges but I think you would have to spend considerably more to beat it. My Hana EL has a bit more refinement and clarity but at 5x the price.
and what an arm! It's a hell of a thing to set up, but that's one of the reasons we love vinyl, it challenges the masochist in us. I had many ADC's and loved them. But as was said before the replacement made stuff is just not the same. The only replacement stylus that is made new and sounds AT LEAST as good as an original is the Grace F9e from Soundsmith. I mounted my long kept NOS cart and I fell in love immediately, so much so that I ordered one of the repro's from Soundsmith - of all the carts he's made over the years he chose this one other maker cartridge to make repro styli. It's that good for a MM, around 200 for the regular elliptical and it goes up from there to line trace etc. If you're in a hurry the AT for the price is readily available and new. If you can wait and find a good body for the Grace somewhere consider that one too. It would also match well with the Maggie.
out of quite a few cartridges. I got my second one with a consignment sale in the mid-80s sporting a Dynavector 23R which sounds very nice on that tonearm. I don't know the sound of the ADC but just picked up an ∞BW with one on it, near new stylus. I'll be giving that a try in the next month or so to see what it sounds like.
I've been happy with almost all the cartridges I have used on the Magnepans over the years, having owned at least one since 1980.
I've used many carts, new and vintage. The vintage cartridges weren't better or worse than current production equivalents.
The problem with vintage cartridges is obtaining quality replacement styli. I don't know what the situation is with ADC, but I wasn't satisfied with any of the Shure replacements I used, from the cheapest to the most expensive.
And if you send out the old stylus to be retipped, it's going to make the cartridge sound different. You might like it more, or you might not like it at all.
Anyway, for me, I stick with current production, and it's worked out pretty well. Don't think I've ever used a cartridge that I like as much as the daily driver I'm using right now.
The problem is not that there is evil in the world, the problem is that there is good. Because otherwise, who would care?
On the other hand, I've been told that it's really not new and there have been others with a similar design. However, it looks very interesting and innovative to me. The problem is that it's out of my price range and probably out of yours, too. I've heard some hi-res digital recordings of it and it sounds better than any cartridge I've heard to date. I just can't force myself to spend the money. It costs $5000. Nevertheless, compared to other $5000 or even $10,000 cartridges, it would be my first choice.
That said though, there are some vintage MMs that are as good as current production MMs. The problem is that they're long out of production, and/or the company that made them no longer exists, and there are no new replacement styli available unless you get incredibly lucky and one turns up on eBay. And even then, the price could be so high that you'd be better off with a brand-new current production cartridge.
Other than the long-gone Micro-Acoustics line of cartridges and maybe the Decca carts, it's still magnets, cantilevers, diamonds which is what I meant by "not reinventing anything."
The problem is not that there is evil in the world, the problem is that there is good. Because otherwise, who would care?
I have an Acutex M320III STR cart that I love. Best mm I've heard/owned but was resigned to sending it to VdH for what would be a fairly expensive retip. Then one day a while back I saw an ebay ad from a guy who had a bunch of NOS orig. styli for it. Bought 2 of 'em for a fairly reasonable price. Checked them out with a decent magnifying glass and they were indeed orig. styli and in perfect shape. Mounted one, sounded great. Contacted the guy and bought 3 more. I'm set for somewhere around 10 years.Its true that it was an exceptionally lucky break but I know others have had similar lucky breaks.
Edits: 11/23/21
I was able to purchase a few dozen OEM styli (mostly Ortofon, AKG and AT) for good prices because CD players had come out. I don't consider myself a hoarder, but I still have most of them because when I did offer them for sale I only got insulting lowball 'offers' ... and it was easy to see that they would be purchased for resale, based on selling histories. I gave up, and maybe I am a stylus hoarder. Maybe they are so hard to find because nobody wants to pay fair prices.
I am fascinated that geriatric Americans seem to trust their financial decisions to has-been sports and entertainment personalities.
Understand fully why somebody would want $350 for an NOS VN35E stylus. They're rare, and have been out of production for decades.
If I loved the old V15III that much, I'd have spent the money.
I think I remember your ad for the styli. Wasn't it on the Trader?
The problem is not that there is evil in the world, the problem is that there is good. Because otherwise, who would care?
I am in Canada, and most Americans I have run into won't deal with us.
I had them listed on Canuck Audio Mart, but that was some time ago.
I am fascinated that geriatric Americans seem to trust their financial decisions to has-been sports and entertainment personalities.
The Micro-Acoustics carts, found a couple of NOS styli for those, found a Shure V15 Type II stylus also.
But an NOS stylus for a Type III isn't cost effective.
The problem is not that there is evil in the world, the problem is that there is good. Because otherwise, who would care?
Hello Ghost of Old Dude, can I impose for a question? What Shure cart did you try the replacement with? From what aftermarket supplier? My V15 V xMR is still on it's original stylus assembly and probably getting close to needing replacement. I've given up on finding NOS and have read different reports about what the JICO SAS does well (or not) compared to the OEM. The preference is to restore the V15s stock sound.
JICO SAS in the V15s and the M97xe, JICO (allegedly) HE in the M95, LP gear and EVG styli in the Type III, M95, and M91.
Right now, the SAS styli are down to just under $200, that would be my recommendation for your V15V xMR. Just be aware that it won't sound the same as it does now, or as it did when the stylus was new. You might like it more or you might not like it at all.
The SAS styli were a lot more expensive about a year, year and a half ago, closer to $300, in which case I wouldn't recommend one at all.
The longest use of an SAS here was in the V15III. Wore one out, bought a second. Ultimately, it was too bright for my ears.
The AT VM540ML is, at least in my opinion in my system, superior to any of the V15/SAS combos I've used and it's $250. When the stylus wears out, you can get another one from AT and the cart will sound like it did when it was new.
The problem is not that there is evil in the world, the problem is that there is good. Because otherwise, who would care?
Nt
...-.of very, very high compliance. It's hard, if not impossible to find replacement stylii that have the right slug of metal on the end of the cantilever and even harder to find one with the correct compliance damper ring and suspension.The result is not only that they don't sound good, but many just sound wrong. I have a couple of XLMs, as well as Peter Prichard's later design the Sonus, and I have, bought bad sounding replacements and also researched the replacement stylus thing at length, but I remain hopeful that some day there will be a good answer.
For my money I would go with something new. Perhaps Nagaoka, but there is a whole world of choices out there.
Edits: 11/21/21
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