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thanks to everyone who replied to my previous post: (http://www.audioasylum.com/audio/vinyl/messages/651228.html) I decided to buy the Audio Technica AT440MLa cartridge while I wait for a better time to invest in something more costly. I may not switch for a while! This is a very listenable cartridge with terrific clarity and a very defined and immediate presentation plus it is very open sounding. It compliments my all Audio Note system nicely.Yes it is a little thin and does have excess energy in the upper mids but the strengths are compelling! Quiet tracking is nice too.
I just sold my LP12, Rega 300, Grado Sonata and now own Audio Note TT1, Arm2 with the AT440MLa, talk about yin vs yang! The Linn and Grado is too syrupy together without the definition and detail I now enjoy. Yes the LP12 Sonata have terrific midrange tone but not good enough to outweigh the heavyness.
I should note that I have only listened to 6 record sides and the AT440 is not broken in yet.
Follow Ups:
Frankly bass is very good, tight and punchy with good articulation. I do not like the tradional warm bass sound, I prefer to hear it when it is actually present in the music.Maybe a better way to explain the balance is to compare it to the tradional ARC amplifier sound where the upper mids are illuminated, a quality I like.
I do not think I can adjust TVA on my Rega arm but will keep the recommendation in mind texanater, thanks.
Also I do not have this really dialed in. My eyes are not especially good and I got the alignment as close as I could see but should buy reading glasses to really tweek it.
thanks oldude I look forward to hearing it in a few weeks!
FWIW I was going to buy an Audio Note IQ2 cartridge for several hundred dollars and I am sure it will be better in some ways but just can not justify it right now.
its just a pain in the friggin @!#. I don't have one but I'm pretty sure it can be done. I think you have to adjust the way it is attached to the table.Anyway, there was an order of magnitude improvement in the sound when I got the VTA set right. It may be worth your while.
I find that the 440 needs to ride really ass low. So much so that it don't look right. That will bring out your lower mids a bass a bunch. Also the 440 really does need 50 hours of break in time.
I just got mine on Wednesday and after playing about 20 sides on it, I have to say that I'm impressed beyond my wildest expectations. I was in doubt, but for $85, I had to give it a try. I'm using it on my newly refurbed rek-o-kut B-12H with a Hadcock 228 Export tonearm and a cartridge man isolator. Built the plinth over the past few days and sanded/repainted today. Labels removed for stealth... :-)
20 sides is ~7+ hrs. IIRC, at ~25hrs my 440MLa started to bloom. After 40-50hrs, it was quite noticeable that it had really opened up. Definitely more laid back and a bit less edgy than its predecessor.Though I've not owned any real budget busting carts, I do have a grado sonata reference. Though it's a different signature sound to start with, I couldn't say the sonata beats this cart by anything like a country mile. With the sonata at nearly 6x the price, that makes the 440MLa just stupid good.
Really nice rek 'table. What's your plinth material, construction type, and what feet did you use? Just curious, if you don't mind my asking.
I've got 100 hours on mine and loving every minute of it.
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