Vinyl Asylum: REVIEW: Jan Allaerts MC1B Phono Cartridge by Jagdeep

Model:	MC1B
Category:	Phono Cartridge
Suggested Retail Price:	$2500
Description:	MC Phono Cartridge - 0.5 mv
Manufacturer URL:	Jan Allaerts
Manufacturer URL:	Jan Allaerts

Review by Jagdeep ( A ) on December 25, 2005 at 23:00:59
IP Address: 192.169.41.40

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for the MC1B

Hmmm, what can I say but it is the most natural cartridge I have ever owned. It has 90% of the sweet/silky highs of a Koetsu Urushi, 85% of the enthralling mids of a Koetsu Urushi and 90% of the bass slam of a van den Hul Frog. What else could one ask for?
The music is so ... beautiful coming out of this cartridge that one has the feeling of total satisfaction.
Just for the record (pun intended) music my Allaerts MC1B is subjected to constantly is a little on the heavier side, ie, Black/Speed/Thrash metal. I do occationally loose control and listen to jazz and female based vocals etc ... audiophile stuff. This cartridge has not dissapointed yet.
It's loaded at 100 ohms and tracking at 2 grams
It does work best with a unipivot arm.

Product Weakness: Everything has a weakness ... I've not found it yet with this cartridge.
Product Strengths: Natural sounding

Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	Naim NAP 250-2
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	Naim NAC 282 + 2x HiCap ; Whest 0.2
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	JAW Andromeda TT ; Graham 1.5 t/c arm
Speakers:	Living Voice Avatar OBX-R2
Cables/Interconnects:	JPS FX / Naim NACA5
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Black/Death Thrash Metal, Female vocal based jazz , folk, drum n bass
Room Size (LxWxH):	27ft x 18ft x 9ft
Room Comments/Treatments:	Some Sonex panels here and there
Time Period/Length of Audition:	9 months
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner

Product Weakness:	Everything has a weakness ... I've not found it yet with this cartridge.
Product Strengths:	Natural sounding