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I am now searching for a new MC cart.I'm using a VPI Aries table + VPI JMW10 arm. My pre-amp / phono stage is a Dyna PAS3 + Denon Step up tranny, so my system can handle low output MCs.
My present cart is a Clearaudio Sigma MC. I find my system to be detailed, but bright / lean which I'm sure is attributed by the "Clearaudio Sound".
I want a cart which can give me more midrange body and weight.......
Hope you guys can help.
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If you really want to go ahead and use the maximum budget for an excellent MC, consider the Sumiko Celebration. You may even be able to use your Clearaudio Sigma as a trade-in allowance.
Both the Koetsu Black or Grado Statement Reference are in your price range, will work with the tonearm and have a lush, detailed mid-range that most people think is to die for.
Has your Pas been restored/updated/modded?If not, you will never even hear what a $1500 cart has to offer using your existing preamp.
I agree with the others that suggest a budget MC and spend the rest on either a better pre or buy a bunch of music with the diffence. Both the AT OC9 of the Denon DL-103 are going to be a good match with the rather soft sound of the Dyna.
--
Al G
Born to Tinker!
to play it through a PAS-3 does not make any sense.The maximum enjoyment level could be had with buying lots of new music and getting an MC or even a high quality MM with a full bodied sound and a little extra brilliance on top. I would toss in the name Goldring into the mix along with Denon and AT for sure.
Cheers,
Ray
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-Ray
i agree with the above posts, and while the Pas3 is a classic, you wont be getting the benefits of a high end cartridge. get a juicy music blueberry with the LOMC option... then you'll have a killer pre with two killer phono stages! just another opinion.
redneck
Thanks for all who replied.My PAS3 has been updated with prime parts and stuff. Yes, I understand that the pre-amp will be the bottle neck of the system. That is the main reason why I do not intend to get top of the line models of a particular brand. I understand that these top of the line carts will not be able to spread its wings with a PAS3, despite it being updated.
What I want to at least achieve is a particular sound. Since different brands of carts have their respective "House Sound", I guess getting a middle of the range model from a particular brand will still be able to exhibit that "Family Sound". Yes, it won't get the refinement of the top of the line models, but it will still have a similar "Family Sound".
I guess, I could rephrase my earlier question to:
What brand of cart has a "House Sound" of being weighty in the mid to mid bass, and enough detail / high end extension to compensate for my vintage sounding PAS3?
I have had personal experience with the 1042 and 1012. I believe they both had Gyger stylii. They had a ballsy clean sound with an excellent bandwidth, perhaps a tad top heavy, but not overly so.
They had a better developed less dramatic midrange than the lower priced Grado Wood body Platinum, IMHO. MC cartridges in the same price range do not track as well and are generally more colored than these MM's. The Goldrings also track like Shures.
cheers,
Send an instant karma to me...
-Ray
If you can push your budget just a hair past your limit, the Dynavector XX-2 is the best cart I've ever owned. I've heard very few that can touch it anywhere near its price range, particularly if you value musical acumen as much as sonic/spatial effects.This cart is robust, rhythmically driving, powerful, and presents music raw and bloody, as opposed to overcooked and dried out like so many audiophile carts these days.
I second that about the XX-2. It is superb and the only reason I sold it was to try out the Te Kaitora Rua. The Denon I heard sounded rough and forward. I don't see why it is seen as such a huge giant killer. Certainly it is better than others at it's price ange but it is NOT in the same class as the xx-2 IMHO.
Well that can't have been the 103R, because that cartridge is the total opposite of 'rough and forward'. The 103R has a refined yet robust sound, with very natural perspectives and very good detail/depth/dynamics. Of course you can get more refinement if you spend more $'s, but the 103/103R's best quality is it's marvelous coherence. It sounds 'all of a piece' and just makes music.
System Details
We may both be right:"very good detail/depth/dynamics"
- I heard it as forward; perhaps we have different perspective of what is natural and what is hyped up and amusical.
Vik
I have the XV-1 and 103R so the sonics are close to the XX-2. the 103r is a little more forward in the mids and has a slightly larger bass, the xv-1 has better overall resolution from top to bottom so seems just a little more laid back with better subtle dynamics. the dyna tracks a lot better, so you are less aware of where in the record you are.
the denon is an absolute bargin and sounds wonderful, the dyna for my ears the best in a musical sense where top to bottom it just sounds right, but at a higher price.
I'm not sure how anyone can translate "very good detail/depth/dynamics" into meaning forward?? I said the 103 has a natural perspective - if anything it sounds slightly laid back due to a lack of transient (HF) emphasis. The 103 is the antithesis of the hi-fi hyped forwardness of many moving coils.
If it sounded rough and forward, then something wasn't set up right IMO. As for 'hyped up and amusical'.....you have to be joking. Audiophile qualities aside, the 103/103R's natural musicality is widely acknowledged....weight of opinion is against you here.
System Details
Weight of opinion is is really irrelevant especially when you've heard the cart with your own ears. You have a completely different idea of what musical is if you think the 103/103R is it. So be it...
For the record, I am under no illusion that the 103R is the best or without fault - that would be silly. What I'm saying is that a *properly set up* 103R provides an amazingly complete, balanced, coherent and, yes IMO, muscial performance - very difficult to beat anywhere near it's price.
In terms of the original poster's question, I stand by my suggestion that adding an SDS motor control would provide more *fundimental* improvemnt than spending the additional $ on a 'better' cartridge. Speed stability is simply more important IMO. Enough said.
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I've been listening to the 103R exclusively for about 6 weeks - and loving it, with no pangs for anything else. Today, as a reality check, I reinserted my old VdH retipped Crown Jewel cartridge and did about 4-5 hrs listening.
Now I have to admit that it was a bit of a jolt to hear a very significant increase in transparency, detail and lowered colouration. In these areas the CJ is simply in another league to the 103R. I remember a similar jolt when I first replaced my Benz Glider with the CJ. There is more sparkle, air and purity to cymbals etc, more focus to individual images and less fog as you hear through to the back of the stage. Transient details are more explicit and all sorts of details stand out with greater ease. There is a compelling realism to sounds. What's more, there is considerable beauty and coherence to the CJ's sound.So why the heck am I listening to the 103R?
It does well enough at detail and staging but doesn't approach the CJ. It certainly has a more robust sound with a more dynamic and weighty bass. I love the way it reproduces records. Its tonal quality (in hindsight, not all that pure) and its infectious grip on rhythm that made me want to ransack my record collection. It makes all types and qualities of records rewarding to listen to.But here's the thing.....having heard the CJ again, its pull is undeniable. Damn this hobby.
Though I stand by my endorsement of the SDS drive as a priority over cartridge spending.....I can certainly see your point of view Vik:)
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Hey Vik,The guy who bought your XX-2 is a very good buddy of mine. Man, is he gonna love it!
I'm looking forward to hearing your impressions of the Te Kaitora Rua, so please keep us posted. I'm considering giving one a try one of these days.
I have several Denon carts and I think they're excellent for the money, but not even close to the big Dyna's.
Yes he is and he got a great deal on a just broken in cart. I'm sending it out to him next week and getting the TkR soon thereafter. I'll let you know how it compares!
Buy a Denon cartridge, and put the remainder of your budget elsewhere.
My Grado Reference Master on an SME 3009 Series II Improved arm and silicone dampening is about as close to hearing music live that I have experienced since my Koetsu. Only the Grado does bass a whole lot better and has clearer and more extended highs as well.The Koetsu had more detail in the midrange but you would expect that of a 1500 dollar cartridge.
I think the Grado Statement Reference and a matching arm would be a great way to go.
I think a Denon 103/103R + VPI SDS (assuming you don't already have one) would be a far better way to spend your money - and a significant upgrade. You'll also have change to buy some records!
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I have the 103R and SDS on my VPI. Install the Denon first, and listen-you'll like it. Then install the SDS-you won't believe how it will focus the sound. If you do want a more expensive cart later, you have a great back-up, or get a spare arm and run both.I'm a contractor, so I'm good at spending other peoples' money:}
"I'm a contractor, so I'm good at spending other peoples' money:} "Powermatic saws don't come cheap. That's what I wanted, but settled for the best of the Hitachi lineup. Still, it's no Powermatic.
It is a good saw, though next time I think I'll get one of the European multi-machines.
BTW, that Hitachi saw will probably last you the rest of your life. Hitachi and Makita seem to make the best [i.e. sturdiest] of all the Japanese imported stuff.
Mine is their big one. I am amazed at how quiet it is, and the standard fence actually works great! I was expecting to change the fence because no one has a decent one, but Hitachi's will accurately hold its setting.It's made in Taiwan. The Japanese are getting lazy, like us.
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