Deck me out

[phonomac]

Hello Julian,
If you want to stay with MM cartridges and at the same time improve treble and detail - try the Audio Technica AT-155LC. It has a line-contact stylus on a berylium cantilever, and can sound very good indeed.

I just did a test comparison with mine against my AT-OC9/MLII, and it certainly holds its own.

Not familiar with the Stogi, but VE describes it as medium mass so I don't think there would be any problems. I use mine fitted to an Audio Technica AT-1010 arm and it tracks well with no LF resonance problems.

It is now discontinued but second-hand is much better value than an AT150MLX. I have a lightly-used spare; if you want to explore this route drop me a PM.

regards

Angus

[Clive]

Not familiar with your Garrot cartridge, although I assume it is fitted with a Garrot stylus (Weintz parabolic?).

When Dominic grafted mine onto a boron cantilever he reckoned it was an FG2, Garrott call this a MicroScanner but that's just their name for it. We can't be sure but Dom will be a good judge and it's likely that the current makers of the Garrott find it easier to source and FG2.

[Barry]

When Dominic grafted mine onto a boron cantilever he reckoned it was an FG2, Garrott call this a MincroScanner but that's just their name for it. We can't be sure but Dom will be a good judge and it's likely that the current makers of the Garrott find it easier to source and FG2.

Using information provided by vinylengine's data base, your Garrott/Stogi combination will have a LF resonance laying between 8.6 - 10.2Hz, which is ideal. From memory, the Garrott cartridges received very good reviews.

But before you think about changing the cartridge, try experimanting with speaker position and tilt.

[julesd68]

Yes, there's no problem with a technical mismatch re the Garrott - I did the Vinyl Engine resonance calculation before buying.

The Garrott is undoubtedly a very high quality MM cart but I wonder whether the treble is a little too much on the smooth side, which when used with my Charios, was just a little too polite ...

Managed to bag some ideal stands for Tannoys last night on ebay for £20. These will get them raised off the ground 20cm or so, which should make a big difference. I can then make a proper evaluation of the Garrott.

[julesd68]

I think you should ditch the Garrot and invest in a low output MC plus step up.

Hi Paul, this is exactly what I did before acquiring the Garrott! Didn't get on with MC's at all - the ZYX and Ortofon I tried could be sweet enough on my classical lp's but totally lacking in the kind of oomph & drive I need for all the rock lp's.

[Clive]

Hi Julian,

I suspect you've this given your NWA comment: http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazin...est_analog.htm

The phono stage is also important, I find my two solidstate phonostages work better with the Garrott/NWA than does my valve phono stage. The valve stage works for my London but solidstage is a better match for the Garrott but Dom's work was much more important.

[julesd68]

Yes Clive, I read the NWA article with great interest!

If I do end up deciding that the cart is an issue not sure yet what way to go - there's no way of knowing whether a "pimped" Garrott is going to be better than say, a 2M Black.

It's funny, Geoff (Walpurgis) tried his Graham Slee stage in my system a while back and I thought the performance was strangely similar to the P10 - I was expecting the SS stage to present a quite different presentation!

[Clive]

It's funny, Geoff (Walpurgis) tried his Graham Slee stage in my system a while back and I thought the performance was strangely similar to the P10 - I was expecting the SS stage to present a quite different presentation!

Yes, it is surprising that the differences are not as great as you'd imagine. I find a good valve phono stage has more depth both in character and 3D image, mine flows better too. My SS phono stages are more impactful and really pump the bass in a way that extracts the best out of the Garrott. The SS stages are more lively in character too. So it's swing and roundabouts. I also have an AT150MLX, when dialed-in it's excellent too. I think though I prefer my tweaked Garrott. Hard to say vs a 2M Black.

[Andrei]

I don't really know your gear except by reputation (all good - especially the TT), but despite that I do have a recommendation. I suggest you do some semi-serious research on Moving Coil vs Moving Magnet. The advantages of MM are clear but as I understand it the lower mass of a coil means more agility. I think it is easier for a coil to track 10 - 20 khz than a heavier magnet. The high quality of your other components would support the more fastidious requirements of a moving coil cartridge.

[Clive]

I don't know the ages of folks here but there is one other factor. Hearing. There's the theory that once you hearing goes off a little (age-related usually 40+ due to earbug headphones) then the subtlies of MCs at the top-end are not heard and really it's better to try MM as their advantage is still quite obvious. I am talking about good MMs, not cheapUSB deck giveaways.