So the 3002 arrived. It sounds incredible but there's a hashey sound in the BG, so I'm guessing the stylus is out of alignment because the cantilever is bent, which I was aware of (it only cost $100). At least I got a sense of how great it sounds. He said he probably could straighten the original stylus if I wanted for a small fee. Can't decide whether to just go for the FG/Sapphire right now...
The fun never ends!
- Thread starter Robert Young
- Start date
Hmmmm...hashy? The 3002 w/ sapphire/FG is definitely not that. I'd send it to Joseph Long for an assessment.
Oh, I know. Either the bent cantilever is putting the diamond out of alignment or it's worn out. He wants to save the cantilever if he can. I sent it out to him today.
Great! He's a magician, and a huge fan of keeping original cantilevers wherever possible. But I have no real nostalgia for original M-A sound: I just want to see how good some of the vintage cartridges can sound. So I have both the 3002 and a 2002e with the sapphire cantilevers and Fritz Geiger styli. Joseph has worked on a number of "holy grail" MMs for me, but because the M-A is so great, the only others of his I'm going to keep are a Grace F9 with sapphire/FG, a Stanton 881S with original repaired cantilever and ML stylus, a B&O mmc2 that he will go to town on. maybe ruby, and a whole bunch of B&O SP-12s that I really just love the sound of. The rest will go on the market soon enough: a Supex 900 Super, another Stanton 881S, a Shure M75e with Jico SAS/Boron, an Ortofon M20 FL Super...I have too many, and will never get to enjoy then given how much I love the M-As!
Wow you do have a bit of a vintage cartridge problem! I'm still up in the air about the M-A retip. I want to hear it as much as original as possible first since outside of the background hash, the one I bought was incredibly nice sounding. If Joseph can straighten, great. If not, I may buy an NOS one that's listed online. Not sure yet. I found a backup SL-15 and I plan to get an SPU, probably a used GE or a new classic GE 2 to use with my Bokrand. Those, the M-A and the AnaMighty, which is being rebuilt right now, are probably all a person should need!
I used to think i would be satisfied with an Allaerts and an SPU….then i had Joseph repair a Shure v15 iii to put on a newly-restored SME 3009 series 2 non-improved. I added a Stanley wood body, and loved it! I’d gotten a few random cartridges with the TD and arm from my Dad, and discovered that i loved one of them too: an Empire 880p. They were all so different, yet had some incredible attributes. The Allaerts was magical on a Schroeder Reference, but the M-A on a Signet xk50 was super close, and actually is better on transients. The Shure is still great on the SME. The Empire sounds like a good cocktail on a cold day mounted on a Grado wood…GE RPX on a Gray 108…you see, i have a tonearm problem too!
i looked at some of the current listings for M-A 3002. There are two, right? Both look like complete and original…but my gawd, i got mine for $125….
i looked at some of the current listings for M-A 3002. There are two, right? Both look like complete and original…but my gawd, i got mine for $125….
The thing is that all these vintage cartridges sound way better than the multiple Lyra Delos I ran for years.... so the investment seems small in comparison. I just need to stop now and wait for the 401 and mount the Schroder and the Bokrand and just listen. I found a couple more versions of the SL15 that I bought last night for cheap just to play around with... and an Ortofon headshell. That's the last thing!
It is a small investment when compared to current prices!
Now to be completely honest and transparent, my hearing is nowhere near what it used to be. And I am not without bias for a beautiful object built with care and craft. Additionally, I find that with an expensive kid in NYC, I no longer have the kind of disposable income that gave me my Nagra/Sonus faber/Teres/Schroeder/Allaerts system. I do miss that system (Nagra VPAs and Sonus faber Amati Homages are really a magical combination), but I think the AC cord from the wall to a Shunyatta Hydra cost more than the fully-restored TD 124 and at least 2 of its arms...added together. Far more appropriate given my shrinking frequency capabilities that I spend wisely. And MM, MI and electret carts from the 70s and 80s fit that bill. I really enjoyed my previous system, yet I really enjoy this current one too, just differently. I've said before that "What's Best" doesn't have to mean most expensive, or even best objectively. It means to me what gives me the most pleasure in my current context.
I just started rebuilding a pair of speakers I first got in the late '90s from Don Garber at Fi, called Pipedreams, designed by JC Morrison.I blew the drivers somehow, but Beaur (Fleetwood) was able to reach JC and get a nice bit of encouragement for me to replace the unobtanium Focal 7v513 mid-drivers (running full range to great success) with a few other options. These are in 1/4-wave tapered pipes, tuned to 50Hz. They are in 1/2" baltic ply, as per JC's schematic. In no way should they sound good...but they certainly did! And I will derive not just joy from their sonic resurrection, but pleasure from the act of restoring them. Would I take a pair of Reference 3A Reflectors right now? Yes! Immediately!! But for what I will spend on the Pipedreams in cash and sweat will be less than a tenth of the Reflectors, and I'll still be able to pay this semester's school tuition.
Just as an historical part of my story: the amp i use started life as a dumpster find in the East Village in 1997. I pulled a ratty Dynaco ST 70 out of a rat's nest of tenement trash, and brought it to Don Garber to see what he could do with it. This was back when he still had the shop Fi on 30 Watts Street in Soho (perfect address!) selling restored Altec, Marantz, and Harmon Hardon amps displayed on pedestals like art. He also represented JC and Noriasu Komuro, who happened to have a schematic for redoing an ST 70, using only the trannies and chassis. So for the massive investment of $375, Don built me Nori's amp, now known as the Komuro 70. It is, as far as I know, one of only two ever built, but the only one that looks like it does. And it sounds awesome. I'm so glad I kept it when I got the Sonus fabers and it just didn't have the juice to drive them.
Let me know what Joseph can do with your M-A. If he can restore the cantilever, perhaps I can send you mine as a loan so you can compare before you do anything else! My only other M-A is a 2002e that Joseph did the same thing to, so at this point these are both "JL/M-As."
Now to be completely honest and transparent, my hearing is nowhere near what it used to be. And I am not without bias for a beautiful object built with care and craft. Additionally, I find that with an expensive kid in NYC, I no longer have the kind of disposable income that gave me my Nagra/Sonus faber/Teres/Schroeder/Allaerts system. I do miss that system (Nagra VPAs and Sonus faber Amati Homages are really a magical combination), but I think the AC cord from the wall to a Shunyatta Hydra cost more than the fully-restored TD 124 and at least 2 of its arms...added together. Far more appropriate given my shrinking frequency capabilities that I spend wisely. And MM, MI and electret carts from the 70s and 80s fit that bill. I really enjoyed my previous system, yet I really enjoy this current one too, just differently. I've said before that "What's Best" doesn't have to mean most expensive, or even best objectively. It means to me what gives me the most pleasure in my current context.
I just started rebuilding a pair of speakers I first got in the late '90s from Don Garber at Fi, called Pipedreams, designed by JC Morrison.I blew the drivers somehow, but Beaur (Fleetwood) was able to reach JC and get a nice bit of encouragement for me to replace the unobtanium Focal 7v513 mid-drivers (running full range to great success) with a few other options. These are in 1/4-wave tapered pipes, tuned to 50Hz. They are in 1/2" baltic ply, as per JC's schematic. In no way should they sound good...but they certainly did! And I will derive not just joy from their sonic resurrection, but pleasure from the act of restoring them. Would I take a pair of Reference 3A Reflectors right now? Yes! Immediately!! But for what I will spend on the Pipedreams in cash and sweat will be less than a tenth of the Reflectors, and I'll still be able to pay this semester's school tuition.
Just as an historical part of my story: the amp i use started life as a dumpster find in the East Village in 1997. I pulled a ratty Dynaco ST 70 out of a rat's nest of tenement trash, and brought it to Don Garber to see what he could do with it. This was back when he still had the shop Fi on 30 Watts Street in Soho (perfect address!) selling restored Altec, Marantz, and Harmon Hardon amps displayed on pedestals like art. He also represented JC and Noriasu Komuro, who happened to have a schematic for redoing an ST 70, using only the trannies and chassis. So for the massive investment of $375, Don built me Nori's amp, now known as the Komuro 70. It is, as far as I know, one of only two ever built, but the only one that looks like it does. And it sounds awesome. I'm so glad I kept it when I got the Sonus fabers and it just didn't have the juice to drive them.
Let me know what Joseph can do with your M-A. If he can restore the cantilever, perhaps I can send you mine as a loan so you can compare before you do anything else! My only other M-A is a 2002e that Joseph did the same thing to, so at this point these are both "JL/M-As."
I will and that's a very generous offer! Your history is very interesting. Some great pieces in there but it's clear you moved in a great direction for what you needed. I've been doing this since I was 10, when my uncle had a ridiculous system for the 70s and then I worked in stereo stores in the early 80s and that's where I learned about things like LP12s and Threshold... when people would come to trade those pieces in on garbage because they didn't know any better. I've always know what I wanted but getting there has taken a lot of time, limit by space always, since my wife and I moved to a small loft space near the ocean 12 years ago and my ESL57s and ASR Basis phono preamp had to go. A few of the threads on this website have changed my listening life though and I'm finally getting to the point where I'm happy! It's really a great hobby if you don't freak out! It's also a great hobby if you just spend the money (when you have it, and it's been a good enough year that I have been able to make a few purchases) because there are some pieces where you do get what you pay for.
I'll keep you posted!
It seems JC has built a lot of speakers since the Pipedreams -maybe they will sound even better now
Well, he fixed it! Straighted, realigned, and now playing at better than speck. Can't wait to get it back!
Well it sounds great. Maybe not the best match for my temporary Well Tempered arm... so I listened for few days and now it's put away until I get the 401 and mount it on the Schroder arm.
Meanwhile I just got a Pioneer PC-1000 mkII from a friend of my old audiophile uncle who was clearing out a bunch of old drawers. It's pretty dang great sounding. I think in general, I'm finding that a nude elliptical cartridge matches my system best... at least in the sense that it's a complementary amount of revealing, if that makes sense. In any case I'm not buying anything else (because I refuse to look at any more eBay or US Audio Mart, etc) until the 401 arrives, which is still delayed in the paint shop.
Always a learning experience!
Robert, you are a true audiophile engaging in multiple aspects of just the analog end of playback you've shown in this forum. I don't know how much time you can devote to listening to music unless you are retired (noting that your parents are very elderly, we are probably similar in age). I spend at least 2 hours nightly listening to music and and often for an hour more during the day (I'm self-employed). Maybe I'm lucky to have chosen a symbiotic higher end audio system in a very expensive custom built listening room (for the rest of my life). Good listening!
I wish i was retired...but I need to be able to afford my kid's education, and continue to buy cartridges and tonearms...
Last night got to listen to a superb system at a forum member's house, and was simply blown away. It set a new bar for me to try to achieve on a limited budget.
I've spent less money acquiring a large LP collection of 28,500 (also 7,000 78s and 7,000 CDs). I have a rule that if I would not potentially want to listen to a recording 3 times annually, out it goes. I've sold/donated 18,000 records in the past 30 years. I still have 3,500+ LPs and 2,000 78s to go through.I wish i was retired...but I need to be able to afford my kid's education, and continue to buy cartridges and tonearms...
Last night got to listen to a superb system at a forum member's house, and was simply blown away. It set a new bar for me to try to achieve on a limited budget.
Private school and major university education is out of control. One year at a high end elementary school can buy an excellent quality audio system.
Yes, the education expense is high, but it is my priority. Audio - both listening to music and tinkering with analogue kit - is a really fun hobby. I’m comfortable with my choice!
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