SAE 1000LT MC Cartridge
Following on from my earlier thread (New MC Cartridge - Help Needed), I came across so many positive comments regarding the SAE 1000LT that my thought process couldn’t get past it without knowing what it was like: and the only way was to buy one. I had concerns over it being a high output MC (2.5 mV), but my phono stage gave me a few options to play with. At £225 delivered I’d cry if it turned out to be a disaster but there was really only one way to find out………. and if I then had to move on, so be it. And isn’t this typical of the lottery of buying a new cartridge?
Ordered on the Monday from William Thakker in Germany and posted the same day, it arrived the following Saturday by Royal Mail Recorded, so a quick service from the supplier. Well packaged by Thakker but no fancy presentation box by SAE, just a small plastic pop open container (which I have no issue with) and included a screwdriver, nuts, bolts and a brush.
Installation was straightforward but alignment took a little thought: not many square or “blocky” parallel surfaces to pick up on.
Tracking is quoted as 1.8g +/- .3g so I set it at the nominal and started to listen. I switched the Icon Audio phono amp to MM with the dial at 3 o’clock (so about 70%). This brought the usable range on my Musical Fidelity Pre Amp to within it’s normal operating area.
It sounded OK but nothing exceptional. Immediately apparent was the absence of the cold, harsh background to the sound that I was looking to get away from with the OC9 MLII, so that was to the good – but also missing was the sparkling treble that I’d got used to. Maybe this aspect was just the bright nature of the AT cartridge and not sparkling treble at all………? Deep bass didn’t seem too apparent either so after putting 5 hours on it Saturday night I called it quits and went to bed – not gutted, but not overjoyed either.
The cartridge’s next 10 hours or so passed with a frustration akin to just going through the motions and starting to think about other cartridges. The sound was OK but it didn’t excel in any particular area – I could live with it (sort of….) but there was nothing to get excited about. It all seemed so mild mannered. Mark Knopfler’s Fish and the Bird seemed like there was a level of detail missing. I couldn’t give up on it and I reminded myself it was still very new (although being NOS it could be maybe 30 years old?) and I had to admit that it’s different presentation was growing on me a bit in a way I hadn’t anticipated.
Something was definitely changing: there was nothing “shouty” about this cartridge but when I started to turn up the volume a touch it’s scale and range started to blossom, having a warmth to it that the OC9 could only dream about.
At about 25 hours it was like throwing a switch. I thought at first I’d just hit a well recorded track (Steve Winwood, Wake Me Up On Judgement Day). I put something else on (Dire Straits, Ride Across the River followed by Led Zeppelin II then Pink Floyd’s Delicate Sound of Thunder (all of it)).
Suddenly there was separation of the instruments, placement of voices and a smooth dynamic range that had me listening for hours. I’m not going to just rant on and on about it’s virtues – you’ve probably heard the words before, but this is a good performer at a very advantageous price.
Is it perfection? No – of course it isn’t. Bass lines are a big improvement on the OC9 but whilst having plenty of slam they don’t yet have the crisp attack I’m looking for. Front to back sound staging is good but could be a touch wider and a little more shimmer on cymbals would take it from 8/10 to 9. Maybe the next 25 hours will see further change?
I also need have had no worries about it being a high output MC and introducing noise into the system – it doesn’t. It runs just as quietly as the 0.4 mV OC9.
Just because I could, I zeroed the volume control on the phono amp and switched it to MC to see what it was like. Increasing the phono stage control to the 12 o’clock position gave the same relative volume level so not as significantly different as I’d anticipated. But the sound was very different – like it had been turbocharged or had been on a course of steroids. It sounded more alive than it could possibly be! Initially quite appealing but ultimately not something sustainable, especially when turned up a bit. Mild distortion probably played a part.
So – was the SAE 1000LT worth a gamble? For me, in my system, yes (so far). It has lost those things I wanted to lose and gained some of those that I wanted to gain. £225 is a low price for a cartridge delivering this type of performance. I guess the only caveat is taking it’s age into account how long will it last? Who knows - it may last a lifetime - but it’s good at the moment.
Let me also say that there are a lot of good things about the AT-OC9 MLII. I don't want to seem too disparaging about it and I shan't get rid of mine. It just didn't work for me in the chain I have.
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Originally Posted by Anti Meep
