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Thread: Kontrapunkt B

  1. #21
    Bigman80 Guest

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jimbo View Post
    Does Ortofon not refurbish old KB cartridges?
    Yup.
    I think so

  2. #22
    Bigman80 Guest

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    Jimbo,

    My experience is very similar to your. At times I've picked up the needle to relisten to a few seconds of a track again. I've recently discovered a new cable which has really revealed all of the Kontrapunt b's quality.

    I'm only interested in listening now. That's been the goal for some time and the Kontrapunt is the key to that.

    Other carts I'd consider to step up to is a Ortofon Vienna or an ART-A7

    Other than that, I'm done.

  3. #23
    Join Date: Jan 2013

    Location: Birmingham

    Posts: 6,772
    I'm James.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Bigman80 View Post
    Jimbo,

    My experience is very similar to your. At times I've picked up the needle to relisten to a few seconds of a track again. I've recently discovered a new cable which has really revealed all of the Kontrapunt b's quality.

    I'm only interested in listening now. That's been the goal for some time and the Kontrapunt is the key to that.

    Other carts I'd consider to step up to is a Ortofon Vienna or an ART-A7

    Other than that, I'm done.
    You need to hear my system now with the KB at the front end. It is quite different. More later.

  4. #24
    Bigman80 Guest

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jimbo View Post
    You need to hear my system now with the KB at the front end. It is quite different. More later.

  5. #25
    Join Date: Jan 2014

    Location: london se6

    Posts: 823
    I'm AndyElectroNumpty.

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    I had a kb until I snapped the cantilever I loved it . but managed to get a zyx Yartra as a replacement and that's better for me anyway. turned out to be a happy accident.

  6. #26
    Join Date: Jan 2009

    Location: Norwich

    Posts: 2,814
    I'm Hugo.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jimbo View Post
    Does Ortofon not refurbish old KB cartridges?
    Yes, according to their website it seems they do, in that they open the thing up and replace everything inside except the magnet and yoke, so in effect a new cartridge is substituted. At €870 it's a great deal more expensive than a re-tipping job, but perhaps cheaper than a new Cadenza and no worries about poor repairs done elsewhere (notwithstanding the fact that most third party repairers won't touch these cartridges).
    Last edited by Ammonite Audio; 18-02-2018 at 07:03.

  7. #27
    Join Date: Jan 2013

    Location: Birmingham

    Posts: 6,772
    I'm James.

    Default Kontrapunkt B -Thoughts?

    It's interesting this hifi milarky, there is always something round the corner that teases you and starts an itch and this particular one started at Oliver (Bigmans). He has heard my system and was a gracious and very attentive listener.

    Having spent a little time at his home and a brief 30 minutes listening to his system I realised he has a very good ear and acoustic judgement/taste so I respect his choice and observations on equipment and music which leads me to the reason I aquired a Kontrapunkt B. This is the cartridge Oli fronts up his system with and it sounded very good indeed so I had to try one.

    My MC journey, like most, has taken many twists and turns and has always left me a little underwhelmed. I have often found when I listen to a cartridge and then go back to my 2M black, the 2M has something special and an ability that gels with my system and simply slaughters most MC cartridges in the sub £500 mark. I always thought I needed to aim higher and have heard some very expensive MC cartridges that have simply left me thinking why bother. One exception the Denon DL S1.

    So I was very kindly loaned a Kontrapunkt b and set it up a few days ago. Set up is a doddle with non of the 2M nonsense. I tried a couple of head amps but my K&K Audio SUT proved to be the best solution into my Croft 25R preamp. The K&K is so natural and has a liquid organic transparency that made the head amps sound mechanical?


    The Kontrapunkt was bolted onto the end of my JMW 9T VPI tone arm
    [IMG][url=https://flic.kr/p/23nsYuQ]

    A quick adjustment of the VTA and I was off!

    I started with King Creosote and Jon Hopkins Diamond Mine which is beautifully recorded and has some field recordings as part of the mix. I know this album very well and immediately when King Creosote came in and started strumming on the track 'First Watch' I was astounded by the huge increase in acoustic information coming from his guitar. Not only did it seem like I was hearing twice as much detail, the tone and texture was superb. The Kontrapunkt b made just this instrument sound real!! My previous cartridges have never achieved this level of realism

    I don't want to bore you with a massive selection of albums and tracks that I used to evaluate this cartridge but to précis my listening experience I conclude with the following observations.

    The Kontrapunkt b sounds extremely transparent to the point where my system simply disappeared. Even my speakers which made their presence known melted away. Its ability to shine a light into the deepest recesses of the recording was uncanny. Detail was fabulous but never in a HiFi way. The top end is perfection. Vocals are truly three dimensional and totally believable. One of the biggest surprises for me was how the KB played instruments. Tone and texture is there in abundance, full and layered. Trombones and trumpets on jazz material were so rounded and full. Dynamics are handled effortlessly and the whole presentation is very smooth with a very quiet black background and amazing low levels of vinyl groove noise or clicks and pops.

    To sum up all I can say is the Kontrapunkt b is a truly superb MC which has taught me a few lessons. This has been the biggest sonic jump in my system for 3 years and is significantly a huge leap forward in sound quality. I have been a huge fan of the 2M black as many of you know but the Kontrapunkt b is a giant leap forward, 50% better in my book. I was expecting only a small improvement but this cartridge has exceeded all expectations and is definitely the MC I have been looking for.
    Last edited by Jimbo; 18-02-2018 at 13:30.

  8. #28
    Join Date: Oct 2012

    Location: The Black Country

    Posts: 6,089
    I'm Alan.

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    Good one James, as you know I have heard the 'B' at Oliver's too so am not surprised you like it so much.


  9. #29
    Join Date: Jan 2013

    Location: Birmingham

    Posts: 6,772
    I'm James.

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Firebottle View Post
    Good one James, as you know I have heard the 'B' at Oliver's too so am not surprised you like it so much.

    Cheers Alan, It really is a fabulous cartridge. When I was listening I obviously compared it against my 2M as this is my daily runner. There is only one thing the 2M does better than the KB and that is its re creation of a 'live' aspect to the sound. I now think this is the 2M artificially enhancing the recording. The KB is more detailed but the 2M throws up so much more top end including stuff you don't want!

    I see Ortofon are selling refurbished Kontrapunkt b cartridges so this is probably the only sure way of getting a minter!

  10. #30
    Bigman80 Guest

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Jimbo View Post
    It's interesting this hifi milarky, there is always something round the corner that teases you and starts an itch and this particular one started at Oliver (Bigmans). He has heard my system and was a gracious and very attentive listener.

    Having spent a little time at his home and a brief 30 minutes listening to his system I realised he has a very good ear and acoustic judgement/taste so I respect his choice and observations on equipment and music which leads me to the reason I aquired a Kontrapunkt B. This is the cartridge Oli fronts up his system with and it sounded very good indeed so I had to try one.

    My MC journey, like most, has taken many twists and turns and has always left me a little underwhelmed. I have often found when I listen to a cartridge and then go back to my 2M black, the 2M has something special and an ability that gels with my system and simply slaughters most MC cartridges in the sub £500 mark. I always thought I needed to aim higher and have heard some very expensive MC cartridges that have simply left me thinking why bother. One exception the Denon DL S1.

    So I was very kindly loaned a Kontrapunkt b and set it up a few days ago. Set up is a doddle with non of the 2M nonsense. I tried a couple of head amps but my K&K Audio SUT proved to be the best solution into my Croft 25R preamp. The K&K is so natural and has a liquid organic transparency that made the head amps sound mechanical.
    [IMG][url=https://flic.kr/p/23nsYuQ]

    The Kontrapunkt was bolted onto the end of my JMW 9T VPI tone arm
    [IMG][url=https://flic.kr/p/23nsYuQ]

    A quick adjustment of the VTA and I was off!

    I started with King Creosote and Jon Hopkins Diamond Mine which is beautifully recorded and has some field recordings as part of the mix. I know this album very well and immediately when King Creosote came in and started strumming on the track 'First Watch' I was astounded by the huge increase in acoustic information coming from his guitar. Not only did it seem like I was hearing twice as much detail, the tone and texture was superb. The Kontrapunkt b made just this instrument sound real!! My previous cartridges have never achieved this level of realism

    I don't want to bore you with a massive selection of albums and tracks that I used to evaluate this cartridge but to précis my listening experience I conclude with the following observations.

    The Kontrapunkt b sounds extremely transparent to the point where my system simply disappeared. Even my speakers which made their presence known melted away. Its ability to shine a light into the deepest recesses of the recording was uncanny. Detail was fabulous but never in a HiFi way. The top end is perfection. Vocals are truly three dimensional and totally believable. One of the biggest surprises for me was how the KB played instruments. Tone and texture is there in abundance, full and layered. Trombones and trumpets on jazz material were so rounded and full. Dynamics are handled effortlessly and the whole presentation is very smooth with a very quiet black background and amazing low levels of vinyl groove noise or clicks and pops.

    To sum up all I can say is the Kontrapunkt b is a truly superb MC which has taught me a few lessons. This has been the biggest sonic jump in my system for 3 years and is significantly a huge leap forward in sound quality. I have been a huge fan of the 2M black as many of you know but the Kontrapunkt b is a giant leap forward, 50% better in my book. I was expecting only a small improvement but this cartridge has exceeded all expectations and is definitely the MC I have been looking for.
    Kind words Jim, thank you


    It really is a fabulous cartridge. One of the days, if I can arrange it, I'll get you a listen to a Ortofon Vienna and an AT ART-7.

    BOTH are wonderful and in the same league as the Kb just differences in tonal meat so to speak.

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