Cartridge revelations and recommendations; phono amp thoughts

[Bonky]

Some advice please. I am contemplating my next upgrade (please see my kit list below) and wondered whether the MC/MM phono stage in my beloved Sugden A21a amp. was up to the task. My thoughts have become focussed on a Graham Slee 'Genera' phono amp kit (http://www.diy-audio-kits.com/kits/genera-mm-phono-preamp-diy-kit-project.htm) although at present this is MM only. I believe Graham is about to release a MC version soon.

I needed to find the output of my MC cartridge; googling it came to nought. So I emailed AT and got a near-instant response. The link (http://www.gramophone.net/Issue/Page/August%201991/109/824841/AUDIOTECHNICA+AT0C5+PICKUP+CARTRIDGE) shocked me, the MC I had bought second-hand seemed over 20 years old and was over £12k! I repeat £12k. Can anyone verify this? It seems utterly ridiculous - especially as the reviewer wrote"... but by no means extravagant in terms of the overall market these days; indeed many now regard this as the budget area in MC cartridges."

So, my other question is, when the stylus finally gives up the ghost, what shall I buy to replace it? My max budget would be a few hundred pounds and in some ways I would prefer a MM cartridge as I can then renew the stylus. Has anyone any recommendations for the kit I have? i appreciate this will be seen as a downgrade to say the least.
You can appreciate that this decision then impacts on which phono amp to buy. I was hoping for a cheapie DIY UK-sourced valve kit but couldn't find one. Graham seems quite adamant about not having a preamp that serves both MM and MC ( and about not having PnP transistors).

Any (helpful) comments gratefully received.

Thanks,

Richard/Bonky.

[Dingdong]

I think they accidentally added a 12 on to that price.

[6L6]

That cartridge sold for £122.95 , not twelve thousand. :)

See here - http://www.gramophone.net/Issue/Page/January%201992/116/847910/AudioTechnica+AT0C5

The Graham Slee phono kit seems wonderful! I absolutely adore DIY, if for no reason other than that you will learn something on the way. But I'm sure it will perform brilliantly.

You can use it with a low-output MC if you buy/make a transformer. Not cheap, but they will last forever.

As for a cartridge suggestion, if you want a replaceable stylus, and MM so it will interface directly with the Slee, have you considered the Ortofon 2M Blue?

http://ortofon.com/products/cartridges/cartridges-2m-series/2m-blue

[Bonky]

I think they accidentally added a 12 on to that price.

Hi, I would hope so but the trouble is that later on in the article the 'error' is repeated:
"I would rate the AT-OCS highly even if it cost twice as much and so even though £12295 is by no means a 'snip' it still qualifies as something of a bargain."

BW

Richard

[Bonky]

That cartridge sold for £122.95 , not twelve thousand. :)

See here - http://www.gramophone.net/Issue/Page/January%201992/116/847910/AudioTechnica+AT0C5

The Graham Slee phono kit seems wonderful! I absolutely adore DIY, if for no reason other than that you will learn something on the way. But I'm sure it will perform brilliantly.

You can use it with a low-output MC if you buy/make a transformer. Not cheap, but they will last forever.

As for a cartridge suggestion, if you want a replaceable stylus, and MM so it will interface directly with the Slee, have you considered the Ortofon 2M Blue?

http://ortofon.com/products/cartridges/cartridges-2m-series/2m-blue
Ah, thank God for that... many thanks.

Bw

Richard

[The Grand Wazoo]

Gramophone magazine archive articles are full of errors like that. I think they are done with OCR software and not checked.

[markf]

The only thing to do now ,as far as I'm concerned,is to go out and buy a £12k cartridge....!

[Bonky]

The only thing to do now ,as far as I'm concerned,is to go out and buy a £12k cartridge....!

Quite; if you find any please let us know...

What's peoples' opinions about the other part of my OP - that of the phono preamps? Has anyone built and/or listened to the Graham Slee kit? Are there any UK-sourced valve phono pre-amp kits.
Thanks to all.

~BW

Richard

[Bonky]

I have been informed that Graham Slee is to bring out a new Genera MC phono preamp next month. I will be sorely tempted.

BW

Richard

[morris_minor]

You can get a free home loan of Graham Slee's kit from his website via the forum there. I borrowed a Reflex phono amp for a couple of weeks; I ordered my own after a week, but there's no obligation to buy ...


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[Josip Broz Tito]

Isn t Sugden Masterclass logical choice?:scratch:

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/frr.pl?rprea&1121852841&&&/Sugden-Masterclass-phono-stage-Preamplif

[Bonky]

Somewhat late ...but I wonder if I could continue my own original OP.

I feel an upgrade in the air and wonder which MC/MM phono amp to buy. Max budget in £350 - a lot less if I can manage it. I was hoping for a GS MC phono kit, but this hasn't materialised.
So, in the end I'm thinking of a bog-standard Dino, or an Angle Audio Audiophile2, or a CA 651P. A USB port would be nice to have, but not essential.
Any more recommendations or thoughts please?
Many thanks,

Bonky/Richard

[walpurgis]

£350 or thereabouts will buy a new Graham Slee ERA Gold V with the small Intro power supply. It will sound excellent and you can upgrade to the bigger power supply PSU 1 at a later date.

I use one with the PSU 1 and it's an excellent combination. For MC use I just add a good SUT.

Don't forget they crop up on eBay for much less in good used condition.

[AlfaGTV]

One that keep getting positive attention is the German Trigon Audio Vanguard II. That is a hugely customizable RIAA, to which you may add battery power at a later stage. (Cost about the same,ca £300-350)
But to be quite honest, are you sure you'll better the built in RIAA in the Sugden? I'm not convinced... ;)
Regards Mike

[walpurgis]

Mike has a point.

Sugden tend to turn out decent inbuilt phono stages. Why not get a Graham Slee on loan from their site and compare? Nothing to lose.

[Bonky]

Thanks.

I suppose I could I always try the Slee option.

The problem is that I may not be able to afford a good MC and may need to 'drop down' to a good MM - and then the Slee option wouldn't work unless I bought another link in the chain -i.e. a SUT - expensive.

The comment about whether I'd hear any difference between that and my present Sugden set-up is a valid one, and one which I've been pondering myself. I'd dearly love to hear from other Suggie owners about this but can't find any links...

I have nothing to lose to go to the G Slee site and try one...

Ideally, 'cos of my age I'd like one with a bit of treble lift.


As a sign of this I could well be selling my HD 650s and keeping my HD595s.

BW

Richard

[walpurgis]

There are decent high output MCs that work into MM stages.

I've tried a couple of Dynavectors and found them very pleasant. There are the Denons, the DL-110 is a bit bright and breezy for my liking, but the DL-160 is a lovely cartridge, only available second hand now though, but there are good ones about (I must get another actually). I have not heard a Sumiko or Ortofon high ouput MC I've liked though.