Cartridge advice, please

[Haselsh1]

About a year ago I upgraded my Ortofon OM30 to an OM40 and so far I have been really impressed with it. You have to bear in mind though that my cartridge is not the Super version so has no split pole pins however, with the purchase of a Croft Micro Basic preamp I am now wondering if I should purchase an Ortofon 2M Blue...? I currently have an amazing stereo image with loads of micro detail but I just wonder if maybe there would be more to be had...? The tonal sound is currently fine I would just like a much bigger soundstage with even more detail. Would a 2M Blue give me what I am looking for...?

[Marco]

Hi Shaun,

I thought you had notions of getting a DL-103 - or are you a moving magnet fan now? :)

Marco.

[Jimbo]

About a year ago I upgraded my Ortofon OM30 to an OM40 and so far I have been really impressed with it. You have to bear in mind though that my cartridge is not the Super version so has no split pole pins however, with the purchase of a Croft Micro Basic preamp I am now wondering if I should purchase an Ortofon 2M Blue...? I currently have an amazing stereo image with loads of micro detail but I just wonder if maybe there would be more to be had...? The tonal sound is currently fine I would just like a much bigger soundstage with even more detail. Would a 2M Blue give me what I am looking for...?

2M Black would give you all you are after....and more:) Stunning with the Croft pre.

MC cartridges good too - especially Marcos DL - S1. Brings even more to the party but can't comment on arm/TT combination required for this.

If you want the ultimate - try a Decca - awesome with Croft!

[Haselsh1]

Hi Shaun,

I thought you had notions of getting a DL-103 - or are you a moving magnet fan now? :)

Marco.

Marco old pal you are quite correct but now that I have a Croft pre I shall stick with moving magnet until I can afford what are very expensive SUT's. I thought I could maybe change the sound of my system for a few quid but if it is going to take 500 then I shall stick with what I have as I would prefer Croft monoblock power amps to a new cartridge.

[struth]

a high output mc might give you what your looking for. denon do the dl110 and you may find a good secondhand dl160.

[CageyH]

Or an SAE1000LT or cheaper SAE1000E, although I have no experience of the E.
The LT is fitted now, and I love it.

[walpurgis]

a high output mc might give you what your looking for. denon do the dl110 and you may find a good secondhand dl160.

Good suggestion.

Nice sounding Dynavectors are available in high output too.

[Clive197]

Save your money, nothing wrong with the OM40 so long as it is an original Ortofon and in good condition. 2M more a sideways step (other than the Black)

[bob4333]

Or an SAE1000LT or cheaper SAE1000E, although I have no experience of the E.
The LT is fitted now, and I love it.

+1

Try William Thakker's site direct (more selection and cheaper than ebay) https://www.thakker.eu/en/pickup/sae-1000lt-cartridge/a-5171/

Just over £200 with a highish output that plugs straight into a MM input. Can't be any good for that price though surely?

Some of us know differently...............

[DSJR]

Save your money, nothing wrong with the OM40 so long as it is an original Ortofon and in good condition. 2M more a sideways step (other than the Black)

I was respectfully (with luck) going to suggest exactly the same thing :) :respect:

I now have some experience with the 2M range up to the Bronze and it's this latter one (or the Black) which should be considered if you really want to change, NOT the lower models IMO!

The 2M bronze has some balls to it which the OM 40 may not have to the same extent from memory, although of course I haven't directly compared them. Any other differences are possibly measurement improvements but I'm not sure how this translates into sonic differences (the OM separation 'glitch' at 700Hz or so for example) and the split pole pins may clean up the hf a little.

The 2M Blue is, it seems, the odd one out in this range, as it's so fussy in setting up as regards VTA and playing weight - change one and it upsets the other quite audibly. The 2M Red continues where the slightly rough and ready OM10 and 510 left off I think (the old review comment of 'Nice but [surface] noisy' just about summing it up IMO).

Hope the above is repeatable for those who try it. It wouldn't surprise me if the basic OM, 500 and 2M bodies aren't all related, only the casework outside being different perhaps?


In recent experience, the 2M Bronze I set up sounds great into a Croft phono stage, so from this I'd suggest the OM40 should also be fine :)

Good luck.

[Ammonite Audio]

+1

Try William Thakker's site direct (more selection and cheaper than ebay) https://www.thakker.eu/en/pickup/sae-1000lt-cartridge/a-5171/

Just over £200 with a highish output that plugs straight into a MM input. Can't be any good for that price though surely?

Some of us know differently...............

Go to Thakker's German eBay shop at http://stores.ebay.de/williamsschallplattennadelshop?_trksid=p2054897.l2 563 and get free shipping, which makes most of the deals cheaper than their webshop and UK eBay shop, even before taking into account a favourable €/£ exchange rate.

[DSJR]

Has anyone compared the everlasting DL110 with one of the SAE's?


P.S. Do please note that the Dynavector 10XV isn't hugely 'better' IMO than a DL110 if at all (a good friend who posts here prefers the 110) and the V over the IV was all but naff-all as I recall. Way back, the DL110 and 10X IV cost around the same (£75 or less), yet now the 10XV is £350 or so I think (why?) when the DL110 is £150 or less, this being double the price of several years ago.

[walpurgis]

+1

Try William Thakker's site direct (more selection and cheaper than ebay) https://www.thakker.eu/en/pickup/sae-1000lt-cartridge/a-5171/

Just over £200 with a highish output that plugs straight into a MM input. Can't be any good for that price though surely?

Some of us know differently...............

That looks interesting.

More than a passing resemblance to the old Coral 777 series low output MCs.

http://i58.tinypic.com/r0y35g.jpg

[walpurgis]

Here's a bit of info on SAE carts. Looks like I wasn't far out. It says they were made by Coral.

http://www.jims-sae-site.com/sae_phono.htm

[DSJR]

Then they should be huge fun :) I liked the Coral I recall - a bit exuberant in the systems of the period, but definitely funky :)

[walpurgis]

Then they should be huge fun :) I liked the Coral I recall - a bit exuberant in the systems of the period, but definitely funky :)

Yes, they were OK. I had a few, bright and breezy in a pleasant way (bit like an Ortofon MC15). Never tried the dearer MC81 though.

[twotone]

Has anyone compared the everlasting DL110 with one of the SAE's?


P.S. Do please note that the Dynavector 10XV isn't hugely 'better' IMO than a DL110 if at all (a good friend who posts here prefers the 110) and the V over the IV was all but naff-all as I recall. Way back, the DL110 and 10X IV cost around the same (£75 or less), yet now the 10XV is £350 or so I think (why?) when the DL110 is £150 or less, this being double the price of several years ago.

I've had both, the SAE is much better than the Denon IMO.

[Haselsh1]

OK OK, thanks so much to all of you guys for offering such amazing advice.
To start with, I have owned this OM cartridge from new for around ten years or more where it started life as an OM30. Last year I decided to upgrade it to an OM40 and it was massively better than the old OM30 stylus. Three years ago or thereabouts I bought a Denon DL160 and it was nowhere near as good as the then OM30 so I sold it on.
I think I shall take heed and listen to what people say which is quite rare; I shall save my money and buy a pair of Croft Series 7 monoblocks as soon as I am able and then, when I have had some mileage out of the OM40, I shall purchase a 2M Black.
Thanks once again.

[DSJR]

Don't forget to change the Micro Basic for a pukka 25 at some point. It really is worth the extra and if you want, it can be tweaked into an 'R' and even an 'RS' later on, something you can't do with a Basic model.

P.S. The change should be beneficially audible with any half decent power amp and the Rotel's are way above 'half decent' IMO...

[Jimbo]

OK OK, thanks so much to all of you guys for offering such amazing advice.
To start with, I have owned this OM cartridge from new for around ten years or more where it started life as an OM30. Last year I decided to upgrade it to an OM40 and it was massively better than the old OM30 stylus. Three years ago or thereabouts I bought a Denon DL160 and it was nowhere near as good as the then OM30 so I sold it on.
I think I shall take heed and listen to what people say which is quite rare; I shall save my money and buy a pair of Croft Series 7 monoblocks as soon as I am able and then, when I have had some mileage out of the OM40, I shall purchase a 2M Black.
Thanks once again.

Hi Shaun, look out for second hand Croft Series 7 amps as they do come up cheap and two can be used as mono,s. Had this verified by Croft dealer.

I was going to do this myself but it may be some time now as I have considerable expenditure with house moving so no dosh for new toys:rolleyes:

[Haselsh1]

Don't forget to change the Micro Basic for a pukka 25 at some point. It really is worth the extra and if you want, it can be tweaked into an 'R' and even an 'RS' later on, something you can't do with a Basic model.

P.S. The change should be beneficially audible with any half decent power amp and the Rotel's are way above 'half decent' IMO...

David, truth be known, I would much rather buy a Croft Micro 25 R preamp to replace the Basic model and keep the Rotel power amps indefinitely. The Croft Micro Basic was a massive step up from the Rotel RC850 pre and was clearly audible through the RB850 powers. Given that the Micro 25 R is the same price as the Series 7 mono's I know I would rather go via that route and then buy a 2M Black later on.