Most Musical AND Refined vintage cartridges

[SoundMann]

It’s a mistake to rule out a modified Denon 103. I have a 103R that Andy Kim modified with a boron cantilever and MR stylus. It was a massive improvement over the stock 103R. It sounds great and has excellent tracking. Quite a bargain in today’s over-priced cartridge world.

All of the 103's that I have heard distorts the high frequencies. All of the cartridges I have heard with "upgraded" stylus/cantilever assemblies do the same.

I would have gone this rout with my Signet if this wasn't the case.

 

[twitch]

Well since your Thread title had the word 'vintage' in it and you're using a Grace tonearm my fav from years back was always the Grace F9e

 

[SoundMann]

Well since your Thread title had the word 'vintage' in it and you're using a Grace tonearm my fav from years back was always the Grace F9e

I am well aware of that cartridge. Soundsmith currently supports it which is a good thing, but it doesn't sound the same with his styluses.

Anyway, I have upgraded my tonearm to a Micro Seiki, which I will be using with a Shelter 201 for a while. I may still get a Grado Platinum when they are back in stock.

 

[mtemur]

This article might help:

raul's evaluation of MM cartridges

based upon his eval I bought the Nagaoka MP-50 and was very pleased with it. Apparently many others followed his advice so Nagaoka stopped selling the MP-50 and released the new and improved MP-500 for a lot more dosh, as they do.

I’m not sure if Raul’s article will be helpful, but he sure does enjoy writing. Writing a lot.

 

[Rensselaer]

I’m not sure if Raul’s article will be helpful, but he sure does enjoy writing. Writing a lot.

I couldn’t find his original study, but he gathered up nearly every MM cartridge ever made and tested them on two turntables, each with two arms, using all + different head shells and altering impedance levels with each until he found the combination that presented each MM at its best, then rated them into three groups, best sounding, good sounding and not so good sounding. I bought a Nagaoka MP-50 as it was in the first category (and I was very pleased with its performance).

Yes, he writes a lot (maybe on the autistic spectrum), but (perhaps as a result) he performed the best (least biased/most scientific) written evaluation of a category of audio equipment that I have ever come across during my 51 years in the hobby. Maybe you can find his original study, it would definitely be helpful.

 

[mtemur]

I couldn’t find his original study, but he gathered up nearly every MM cartridge ever made and tested them on two turntables, each with two arms, using all + different head shells and altering impedance levels with each until he found the combination that presented each MM at its best, then rated them into three groups, best sounding, good sounding and not so good sounding. I bought a Nagaoka MP-50 as it was in the first category (and I was very pleased with its performance).

Yes, he writes a lot (maybe on the autistic spectrum), but (perhaps as a result) he performed the best (least biased/most scientific) written evaluation of a category of audio equipment that I have ever come across during my 51 years in the hobby. Maybe you can find his original study, it would definitely be helpful.

Apart from the debate that whether MP-50 offers a good value or not (I truly believe it does) with all those variables it is impossible to reach a solid conclusion. I could understand if it had been limited to two or three cartridges and tonearms but with all the variables and cartridges in play it is difficult. Which cartridge performs best with which tonearm, headshell, phono, settings, amplifier, speakers, room etc? Simply impossible and probably YMMV on most of his conclusions.

 

[Rensselaer]

Apart from the debate that whether MP-50 offers a good value or not (I truly believe it does) with all those variables it is impossible to reach a solid conclusion. I could understand if it had been limited to two or three cartridges and tonearms but with all the variables and cartridges in play it is difficult. Which cartridge performs best with which tonearm, headshell, phono, settings, amplifier, speakers, room etc? Simply impossible and probably YMMV on most of his conclusions.

Each MM cartridge at its best (as far as impedance load, tonearm and head shell build/weight and turntable), played over the same amp, cable and speakers. Then each in its best arrangement compared to each for final ranking. Having Asperger’s myself, I do not think that reaching a solid conclusion from such is impossible, quite the contrary.

 

[Lsipes1965]

Saw them mentioned in passing once, but you might look at vintage Grado Signatures. I own a couple and their top end is articulate but not close to irritating. Just a thought

 

[SoundMann]

Saw them mentioned in passing once, but you might look at vintage Grado Signatures. I own a couple and their top end is articulate but not close to irritating. Just a thought

I am no stranger to the Grado's, and had the low output Platinum on the list of potential cartridges.