Miyajima cartridge - re-cantilevered in bamboo! Lots of mono fun

[montesquieu]

Well I got my the Miajima Premium back from Cala Mighty Sound - recently renamed Ana Mighty Sound, not entirely sure why!

To recap (previously discussed on one of Hugo's trade threads but thought I'd best start a new one) … I have a Miyajma Zero mono (as well as a bamboo-cantilevered Miyajima Madake stereo). I really rate the Zero indeed I feel it’s one of the best cartridges of any kind I’ve ever heard. But it’s a 0.7mil tip - perfect for more modern mono records (reissues, very late 50s/early 60s stuff). But not so good for earlier microgroove mono - the original early 50s stuff right through in some cases to the 1960s. These used a wider groove (and in some cases had a more limited frequency response) so you need a wider, 1.0 mil tip - and the only foolproof way to check what’s best for a record is to play it with both.

I also had a fairly old Miyajima Premium 78 - the 78 rpm version of the Premium, a predecessor to the Zero, with a 2.5mil tip designed for use with 78s. I do mess around with 78s, but I always felt the Miyajima was overkill. I had heard from Anubisgrau about some experiments some guys had been doing seemingly in conjunction with Thomas Schick about retyping Miyajimas .. I contact Thomas and he put me in touch with Cala, with the intention of retyping it with 1.0 mil. It went off several months back and I actually met the Cala guys at their stand at the Munich show.

Anyway this arrived a back from Ana/Cala a few weeks ago though I’m only getting round to write about it now. And what can I say - it’s excellent.They ended up using a bamboo cantilever for the 25 mil diamond, rather than either aluminium or boron (their usual options), something they had been experimenting with, was done at no extra charge compared to the boron I asked for.

The result is surprisingly different to the Zero … the Zero has a lower output (0.4mV to the Premium’s 0.7mV), and I think perhaps a shade more detail but against the new one it - surprisingly - seems that the Premium in its new guise is even more dynamic. The bamboo-cantilevered Premium is a bigger, bolder cartridge, with an even wider soundstage, incredibly musical - of course the dynamic feel is is partly from the higher output … but it seems to have (even) more character as well, it’s hugely enjoyable.

Listening to early, u-shaped microgroove stuff that unequivocally wants a thick 25 mil tip …I’m thinking on recording I have of Gerard Souzay singing Schumann Lieder from the early 50s on Phillips … it's really magical (much more expressive than Souzay's later stereo recordings when he was knocking on a bit). Willem Backhaus playing Beethoven and Mozart on London from 1956 - what phrasing! Louis Armstrong from 1951 and 1955 on Brunswick - what a back to front image these records present, and this is enhanced along with the concert hall ambience. Whatever the music, it’s a huge sound picture, filling the space between speakers, but also a really remarkable back to front image as well.

Compared to the Ortofon Mono GM MkII, which also has the 25 mil tip … no slouch of course ... but the Miyajima is undoubtedly ahead in capturing the music, it’s also very quiet in the groove which is a big plus.

I have a re-equalisation box from Esoteric Sound in the US … it goes after the phono stage and enables turnaround and rolloff to be adjusted, to match equalisation curves on 78s and early mono that pre-date the RIAA curve currently in use for vinyl. Surprisingly I find with the 1.0 tip I'm less reliant on the re-equalisation to bring out the best in a recording - still using it occasionally but more subtly I think, fewer extremes in use of the settings.

What it does really point up is the requirement to use the right size tip. On a couple of standard groove, later monos (most stuff actually marked ‘mono’ as opposed to made before stereo was invented is cut with a later 0,7m v-shaped stereo head), I felt the Premium lost out in subtlety to the Zero. Yet using the 0.7 zero on the early stuff .. as I had been doing before I got the Ortofon … now sounds unsatisfactory by comparison - thinner, noisier, less dynamic. (This is a phenomenon I noticed with the Ortofon GM Mono as well, but it’s more obvious with the re-cantilevered Premium). So actually making a direct comparison is difficult as suddenly both really point up the deficiencies in using the wrong tip on any particular record.

Apparently this technique can also be applied to the cheaper Miyajimas like the Spirit Mono - that could be really cost-effective. To be honest, I wouldn't have done this if I didn't have that cheap Premium 78 to sacrifice but since I did, I’m finding it was well worth the entry fee.

I would have no hesitation in using these guys for a retip. Obviously this isn’t a stereo cartridge - all the comparisons are with the standard Miyajima mono - but the quality of their work seems top notch.

Twins shown below - Zero and bamboo-tipped Premium, in matching FR headshells:


http://i.imgur.com/Vk6zGYD.jpg

[Wakefield Turntables]

Wowsers, fantastic write up as always.

[petrat]

Interesting write up. Look forward to hearing this.

[montesquieu]

A couple more pics - closeup in action and a few mono classics:

http://i.imgur.com/Nm710Rc.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/T416gtz.jpg

[Barry]

Great write up Tom - save for one point: I assume by "25 mil", you actually mean "25um", ;)

[montesquieu]

Great write up Tom - save for one point: I assume by "25 mil", you actually mean "25um", ;)

indeed. 1.0mil/25um

[drSM]

Nice Tom
I have been in conversation w Francois at Calamighty ( oops Anamighty - they were attacked by a company so had to change everything) abt refurbing SL15 (from old S15T) and SL15Q.
Some very interesting ( but expensf) options to ponder. Strong Euro doesnt help.
They are v knowledgeable re old Ortofons

[petrat]

Went round to Tom's yesterday for a listen to his arsenal of mono cartridges, which turned out to be a very interesting afternoon.

We actually started with listening to a selection of my Dad's jazz 78s, all bought in the late 30s and early 40s, and now part of Tom's collection. This was my first real listen to 78s on a set-up that could properly accomodate them (Tom has a clever gadget with different switchable equalisations). Great fun listening to early Sinatra, Artie Shaw, George Shearing, etc. What was very clear was that applying the correct equalisation for a particular disk could make all the difference between sounding like a caricature and the real thing ... seems like an essential bit of kit for the vintage collector. It was quite a moment when I realised that those 78s, bought new by my Dad 75 years ago, probably hadn't been played in half a century or more. Apart from a bit of 'atmospheric' surface noise, the quality of the recordings was really an eye-opener for me ... vocals in particular. I could clearly imagine the musicians arranged around the microphone, moving forward when it was their solo. BTW, anyone interested in the production of early recordings should have a look at the 'American Epic' dvd/programmes made in the US by PBS (there are some clips on Youtube).

Moving onto the new Miyajima 'bamboo concoction' on early mono microgroove records, I found it very engaging, with a 'solidity' I really liked ... especially on a Beethoven trio piece, where I thought the tonality and dynamics were really very good indeed, sounding very 'natural' to my ears. The more I listened, the more the presentation seemed more realistic than a lot of stereo recordings. There were no 12 foot wide pianos playing across the stereo, or a giant violin on the left, etc. It was just three musicians, playing for each other in a room ... just like you'd hear at a concert ... a beautiful, integrated perfomance. Louis Armstrong's band in concert in Paris the early 50's was equally stunning. What really struck me was how the image seemed to have depth and substance, filling the room in a very engaging way.

We briefly tried a current SPU Mono cartridge at this point but the alignment wasn't quite correct on the 12 inch arm, sounding rather too warm and lacking in detail, so we moved on.

Hearing the Miyajima Zero on my modern Miles Davis Prestige re-issues was a revelation. I'd played them many times on various mono and stereo cartridges, but this was in a different league.
https://www.discogs.com/Miles-Davis-Quintet-The-Great-Prestige-Recordings/release/2736395

At this point, I asked to hear the same tracks using Tom's Madake stereo cartridge, with the mono button engaged on the pre-amp. Bearing in mind that this is one of the best stereo cartridges on the market, I was rather taken aback at the drop in quality when used on mono records ... clearly confirmed when we went back to the Zero. Considering that I listen to mono via my stereo cart, it's got me thinking about what I'm missing.

Differences between the Zero and the 'bamboo Premium'? The Zero is a better cartridge in every respect, but the bamboo Premium was enormously engaging and musical, making everything we played fun. To my ears, it has a lovely 'naturalness'. However, there was no denying that every aspect of the Zero was just slightly more/better in absolute terms.

Overall, I was rather taken with the 'mono presentation' as a listening experience, finding it much closer to being at a concert, and actually finding it much easier to concentrate on the music ... listened to the music, and not the hi-fi! :thumbsup:

Thanks, Tom.

[montesquieu]

Was really great fun Peter and some of those jazz 78 were fantastic, surprisingly quiet given the age of them, with marvellous presence and even sometimes a strong sense of the room acoustic.

The Zero is a superb cartridge. The Premium 78 uses a more basic generator than the one in the Zero which I'm sure accounts for much of the difference in hifi terms http://www.miyajima-lab.com/e-mono.html ... all in all though I'm over the moon with the bamboo retip.

I'm certainly off to try and find a set of the Miles Davis!

[montesquieu]

Just had a clarification from Francois at Ana .... as with the Madake, adding bamboo to the cantilever refers to altering the resonance of the existing hollow aluminium cantilever with a sliver of bamboo.

I must admit I had wondered ever since before I got the Madake where exactly the bamboo came in as it doesn't look like bamboo when you examine the cantilever ... so now I know and it all makes sense.

[petrat]

Yes, makes sense, I suppose ... like the early SME 3009 having foam in the arm-tube.
Anyway, glad you found out before my compulsive garden cane whittling caused premature blindness :lol:

Quick question ... with your mono cartridges, do you play them through standard stereo settings, or do you need to press the 'mono' button on the pre-amp?

[montesquieu]

Yes, makes sense, I suppose ... like the early SME 3009 having foam in the arm-tube.
Anyway, glad you found out before my compulsive garden cane whittling caused premature blindness :lol:

Quick question ... with your mono cartridges, do you play them through standard stereo settings, or do you need to press the 'mono' button on the pre-amp?

With some phono stages you get a very slight ground hum with a single coil mono cartridge like the Miyajimas if you wire it up as normal using the four pins, so I used to get into the habit of pressing the mono button. I haven't noticed any hum with the 912 but when I remember I still do it anyway out of habit.

[montesquieu]

New arrival today - a Miyajima Spirit (mono) fitted with a 3.0 tip for 78s. This was a Miyajima I picked up with a missing tip, and again sent it off to Francois at Ana Mighty Sound for retipping.

78s from different eras use a different groove width, with the very latest mid to late 50s examples requiring something like a 2.5. I went for 3.0 as a compromise so that I could get the best from slightly earlier stuff.

And pretty stellar it is too on the post-war stuff - I put a couple of digitised examples up on dropbox ( (https://www.dropbox.com/sh/54d6t1x363sryuy/AAAeJ2qseinis02LJwoaK1sja?dl=0)from 1946 so well out of copyright) - Count Basie and his Orchestra ... put flac, aiff and wav versions up there.

What does this give over and above a regular mono-strapped Shure M44 with a big tip on it (like I generally use)? Nothing can really be done about the hiss/crackle, that's just the limitations of the format, but it's amazing just how much is there on the record - great mono separation (a big fat image on stereo speakers with instruments placed in imaginary space, and a lovely back to front presentation), pretty good timbre especially considering the high frequency limitations, and in many cases quite perceptible room ambience. Some 78s (well recorded and not worn to death with a steel needle - by the 50s thankfully steel needles were less common) really have a pretty good sound.

The recording doesn't have any post-processing done but I have tweaked the equalisation using my Esoteric Re-Equalizer, which sits in the tape loop and gets clicked in when necessary.

As expected the Miyajima is not quite so brilliant with early 78s, most of my Lieder is late 1920s to late 1930s and the groove width is bigger, so my Shure with a 3.5 or 4.0 tip is still giving best sound, or less crackle at least, though it's still doing its trick with timbre and room ambience. Of course it's much harder to get pre-War 78s that haven't been at least a little worn out in the 70 or 80 years since they were made.

Anyway enjoy the Count Basie :)

https://i.imgur.com/nQubZwt.jpg[/IMG]

Just edited the link so that everyone can access

[montesquieu]

Not entirely sure this belongs in a Mono thread but I've just had a loan of a Fidelity Research MC-702, a rather late FR cartridge, designed by Isamu Ikeda.

It's absolutely top notch - right up there with the best in my opinion. Colis are 2ohm so potentially very tricky to match loading, though no problem at all on the 3 ohm setting (which is about 10 ohm measurement IIRC) in the EAR 912.

Its strength is recreation of the acoustic and the soundstage of the recording - it's almost up with the Miyajima Madake on that and probably beats my SPU Royal N (quite a feat). It's tonally well balanced and a pretty solid tracker too. It's a fixed head with SPU stylus positioning, 29g weight and a very low compliance of 7, so fits well in an SPU-oriented world, though it's very shallow so I had to drop the Ortofon RMG 309i to its lowest setting to accommodate.

With many thanks to David 'dwhistance', new AoS member, for the loan. It's destined for his FR64fx, when he gets it up and running.

https://i.imgur.com/Q2YeJMY.jpg

[dwhistance]

As the owner of the MC-702 mentioned in this thread I thought I ought to say something about it.

I bought it on its reputation nearly 20 years ago, albeit that I had heard an FR-7 which is a related design in a friends system. At that time my tonearm wouldn't work with the MC-702 so I also bought a Fidelity Research FR64fx arm to mount it on, unfortunately before I got an armboard made for it my life changed dramatically and they both ended up in store without me hearing them.

When I finally got them out of store and set up my hi-fi again last year I considered selling the MC-702 as they seem to have gained in value in the time since I bought it but held off because I thought that it probably had the potential to deliver kind of dynamic sound I look for. I therefore sent it off for a clean/retip at Expert Stylus then put it away again until I had collected the bits together to allow me to mount it up on my Garrard 401.

Other than sourcing a heavy counterweight to allow me to use it on the FR64fx I hadn't really thought about it that much until Montesquieu's thread about low compliance cartridges where I mentioned these and the related FR-7 series cartridges in passing. He was clearly interested but it wasn't until later that I thought I might as well lend him mine, after all they are very rare and fairly expensive so not something you can find on a whim and mine was just sitting in a cupboard! Given his other equipment and the way this cartridge is constructed the risk was very low so I sent him a PM. I must admit I'm pleased I did as it's good to know that it is still working and there will now be someone to ask if I have any questions when I come to set it up in my own system. Given his comments above I must say I'm excited to hear it myself!

Coming back to the topic of this thread before the MC-702 diversion I'm also hoping to pick Tom's brains about playing mono LP's and 78's - I have a significant number of both but have never really heard them properly since I inherited them from my uncle whilst he seems to have that side of his system well sorted.

David Whistance

[dwhistance]

Tom, I've just replied to your PM but you are over the inbox limit! David

[montesquieu]

fixt!

[montesquieu]

Here's another really good score for the mono department :D

Saw this on ebay a week or two back, from Holland - 'Edison Replica' cartridge. Looked familiar to me despite the name, but thankfully it seems it was familiar to no-one else and I got it at the end of the auction for £32. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/EDISON-REPLICA-78rpm-Moving-coil-phono-cartridge-MONO/332603788371?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

Before Miyajima cartridges became Miyajima brand, they were called Oto-no Edison - because of Noriyuki Miyajima's reverence for Edison (actually a reverence which is widespread in Japan). Indeed there is a Japanese connection, as Edison used high iron content bamboo (yes, bamboo) for the filaments of some of his early lightbulbs. The place where this bamboo came from is now protected, but Miyajima-San's Madake cartridges (of which I own one) use bamboo in their cantilever from this very place, by special permission.

Anyway I digress .. I happened to spot that the 'Edison Replica' for sale was none other than an early version of the Miyajima Kotetu (about £400 these days, bottom of the range but still extremely good as it has the same generator and tip as the higher up Spirit, as well as the Premium at more than twice the price, just in a cheaper body) .. nowadays it has a 3.0 spherical tip, but back then had a 4.0 spherical tip. Perfect for my early 78s - the bulk of my 78 Lieder collection is pre-war, while quite a few post-war 78s respond well to a wider tip as well.

Anyway I set this up today and it sounds absolutely stellar with these pre-war recordings. It's great when eBay works out ... there's nothing better than a seller who doesn't know what he's selling!

https://i.imgur.com/F3Zu1Jk.jpg

[walpurgis]

You're as crafty as me at spotting bargains that nobody else identifies Tom :).

[WESTLOWER]

Great score Tom! Lots of great music on those 78s. Enjoy