Thorens td124 mk2 / Bokrand AB309/ 103r
SLAT L75 / Jelco 850S / AT VM740ML
Marantz CD63 / Bluesound / Musical Paradise 701 II/ ESP 500Hz eXO / PL Prologue 4 and Nord 1UP amps / JK Wynn semiactive NS1000 upgrade
/ESP 700 Hz eXO / JBL 4333 components
Turntable : Project 2 Xperience Tone Arm & Cartridge : Project 9c Ortofon 2M Blue Phono Stage : Project Phono Box SE II Digital Source :Primare CD21 Integrated Amp : Primare I30 Speakers : ProAc 110 Headphones : Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro
Revox A77 MK IV 2 track 15 & 7 1/2 IPS
TEAC A-3300SX 4 track 7 1/2 & 3 3/4 IPS
Akai 4000DS MkII
Turntable : Project 2 Xperience Tone Arm & Cartridge : Project 9c Ortofon 2M Blue Phono Stage : Project Phono Box SE II Digital Source :Primare CD21 Integrated Amp : Primare I30 Speakers : ProAc 110 Headphones : Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro
Revox A77 MK IV 2 track 15 & 7 1/2 IPS
TEAC A-3300SX 4 track 7 1/2 & 3 3/4 IPS
Akai 4000DS MkII
No harm in trying but compliance is 25, much higher than the single figures for your average SPU so possibly not the best partner for a 12in arm. Great partner for a standard SPU (with the heavy counterweight).
I had great results from Cala with my re-tipped Miyajima 78 (they gave me a 1.0 tip with a bamboo cantilever) it sounds fantastic - I need to find time to do a write-up. Well worth the wait (3 months IIRC).
I don't think SPU enthusiasts choose the pickup out any sense of 'nostalgia', rather I think it more because of the sound quality, and perhaps, out of a sense of historical respect. Ortofon patented the moving-coil cartridge in 1948, and later in 1958, the first moving-coil stereo pick-up: the SPU. http://theartofsound.net/forum/showt...turers-Ortofon
Clearly the sound quality of any component in the replay chain is a matter of taste and personal preference; especially that of electromechanical transducers. Ortofon SPUs are typically characterised as having a wide response, and offer a 'romantic' or 'lush' presentation. Some complain the sound is 'syrupy' with a 'muddy' bass, but in every SPU I have heard, I do not recognise that criticism.
If there is an SPU sound, than it is also shared with the EMT designs, as well as early Koetsu 'Red' cartridges.
Mention has been made of the high 4.0g VTF required, but that figure applies only to SPUs fitted with a spherical stylus. For SPUs fitted with an elliptical stylus, the recommended VTF is 2g.
I love my SPUs (as well as their immediate successors: the S15TE, and SL15Es), but then I also love my EMT cartridges (as well as the Van den Hul modified Benz designs). At the moment I am using an Ortofon MC200, and am in no hurry to plug the SPU back in.
Last edited by Barry; 02-08-2017 at 18:26. Reason: Link added
Barry
I agree. I had an original sixties SPU and found the sound very open and musical. No lack of detail either, despite the conical tip. The sound was 'full and rich', but syrupy or muddy were not words I would use.
At the time I was torn between three cartridges. The Decca 4RC, ADC 10E Mk.IV and Ortofon SPU. They sounded very different, but I never could single out a favourite. Things stayed that way until I got my hands on a NOS Technics EPC-305MC, which outclassed them all (but not by a huge margin ).
It is impossible for anything digital to sound analogue, because it isn't analogue!