Quote Originally Posted by topoxforddoc View Post
A good MM may often be better than a cheaper MC and PC phono set up. Depends a lot on your other equipment and your room. But there are many classic MM cartridges, which sound fabulous. If you have plenty of time. read this thread posted by Railiregas on Audiogon - almost 13000 posts and over 20 million reads.

Some of his MM suggestions are really top class.
Would concur with the recommendation of the AKG P8ES and the B&O MMC20 series (EN and above: the CN and CL). Would also recommend the ADC 25/26 (or 27 if you don't want to worry about super high compliances (> 50cu), for which replacement stylii are readily available.

I couldn't be bothered wading through the thousands of replys so I don't know if the Audio Technika 'Signet' series were mentioned.

Finally the Deccas, which although a law unto themselves, can be breathtaking in capturing the 'air', dynamics and imparting some of the excitment that only live music can provide. In that respect no MC that I have heard has come close. But they are pernickety buggers, which until the advent of the 'London Reference' were subject to sloppy workmanship and enormous sample-to-sample variation.


I was intrigued by the suggestion that 100K is better loading than the industry standard of 47K. Has anyone else found the same?