Phono cartridge choice

[Haselsh1]

Around last summer I bought a Denon DL160 high output moving coil cartridge to replace my Ortofon OM30 Super that had only been used for around fifty hours. At the time I had a Thorens TD160 Super fitted with an Alphason Xenon arm and things were OK but not brilliant. Just after Christmas this year I bought a Technics SL1210 Mk II and things have just got so much better.

With this in mind, I decided last night to refit the OM30 Super in place of the DL160. Jesus, what a difference. The Orftofon is so crisp and clear compared to the Denon. The atmosphere and air and space on my Ozric Tentacles vinyl is astonishing. The Ortofon completely obliterates the Denon. The bass definition is truly amazing especially when listening to electric bass guitar but the downside is that the Ortofon stereo depth is not as precise.

I am so pleased I retried this cartridge. It has made a huge difference to my vinyl playing sound.

:)

[Marco]

Hi Shaun,

Nice one. Have you fitted the Xenon to your Techy? If not, watch the OM30 Super 'take off' even more! :eyebrows:

;)

Marco.

[DSJR]

The DL160 and the 110 were regarded by me at the time as very good "me too" products, good but not exceptional IIRC. The OM30 was a good cartridge if ignored by Linnies at the time....

High output MC's have loads of coil windings and either have loads of damping to control the inevitable huge resonance or they're underdamped so they take off in the treble, as the cheap Ortofon MC's (X1MC etc.) and the AT-F3 did.

Either way, the OM30 was one of the top MM's about at the time and the current models appear to continue this - at a price sadly...

In your system, the OC9 with an AT630 step up (they come up occasionally) will have the best of both and then some. In the techie with a decent headshell it won't bite and the bass will take over from where the OC30 leaves off. The imaging and overall clarity should hit the spot big-time for you I think. I know nothing of the Puresound T10, but if it has the internals I think it may have, it should be a great modern lowish cost transformer..

I doubt you'd find a good one now, but I was lucky enough to be given an Ortofon MC30 Super in unboxed but as-new condition. The Croft loves it and again the sound is bright and clear with superb tracing of sssssibilant LP's..

[Haselsh1]

I've increased the tracking force to the 1.75g maximum and it has taken away some of the high frequencies. I'll put it back to the recommended 1.5g.

I'm still amazed by just how good this Ortofon sounds.

Marco, when I sold the Thorens I let the Alphason go with it. I'm going to be sticking with the standard 1210 for a while before I start wrecking it. I use an Audioref rubber mat and will be fitting a better headshell soon but beyond that it'll be next year. I also use a record clamp/puck.

[Haselsh1]

I've just had a session playing Jim Brock's 'Tropic Affair' on Reference Recordings. This Ortofon is amazing. I just wonder how much better a decent Nagaoka would be...?

[DSJR]

Separation may be slightly better - the OM series has a body resonance at 700hz or so.

I tracked the better OM's at 1.25. Do you need to use 1.5g?

[Marco]

Marco, when I sold the Thorens I let the Alphason go with it.


That's a shame, as the Xenon is a very good tonearm, which would be difficult to better these days without spending a considerable sum of money... However, I understand why you let it go :)

Upgrading the headshell on a stock Technics tonearm gives quite a significant improvement, as you're fundamentally reducing resonance and coloration at the first contact point of the cartridge.

This is where the likes of the currently popular Sumiko headshell would transform the sound of your OM30, as the stock headshell is good enough for a DJ cartridge, and that's about it! Stick to MM cartridges, though, as this is where the Techy arm is most at home.

Would one of the current Nagaokas sound better still? Yes! *But* you'd need to at least go for one of the models in the middle of the range to realise any truly significant improvements, such as the superb MP150, shown below:

http://www.musonic.co.uk/mp150-cartridge-p-17417.html

Marco.

[DSJR]

Marco, the OM30 is a fairly highly compliant catridge and unlike MC designs, won't be headshell fussy unless the mass is too high. The Denon would benefit though and a decent shell would be essential for the BPS if that's a future possibility.

I've put the M20FL Super back (with a lead headshell weight added) and it sounds superb and cleaner than the "E" stylus I also have. The top ortofon MM's really are at the top of their game IMO, although I haven't compared the BPS to a 2M Black...

[Marco]

Hi Dave,


Marco, the OM30 is a fairly highly compliant catridge and unlike MC designs, won't be headshell fussy unless the mass is too high.


I'm not talking about mass, though. The problem with the stock Technics headshell is that it's made of poor quality materials, and so suffers from significant resonance issues, unlike the superbly constructed (and much better damped) Sumiko.

Therefore, Shaun would obtain that type of sonic benefit with his OM30, regardless of any issues of mass :)

Marco.

[DSJR]

I hope he does, but high compliance cartridges don't usually feed tons of energy into the headshell and arm as lower compliance types do. that's what I'm trying to say.

A new headshell isn't very expensive though, is it, in the wide scheme of things...:)

[Marco]

Nope... It's just a better headshell, all round - and it looks nicer, too! :)

Marco.

[dmckean]

Doesn't Ortofon make some high quality wooden headshells that are lower mass than the stock Technics?

[Rare Bird]

'DL160' was the last cart i ever bought before selling out to digital, i often wondered why i ever bothered wasting so much money in the past withn high end cartridges.I prefered this to DL103 variants don't gimmi the the specialised transformer shit for the 'DL 103' i been there my views are still the same

[Marco]

You prefer what you prefer, matey - end of :)

Marco.

[Haselsh1]

I've noticed that the Ortofon OM30 uses a fine line stylus...? What is this all about...? I'm guessing that it's the shape of the diamond.

Is the OM30 'up there' with the best...? I appreciate that it's a moving magnet type and therefore well matched to my Croft pre phono stage and I am also aware that I love its sound, but... ???

I know that it is readily future proof as a new stylus is around 160 quid and still available.

[Haselsh1]

I just have to add that I adore the sound this cartridge produces. It has added such sparkle to my vinyl. All it has succeeded in doing is convincing me further that vinyl leaps all over digital and kicks it in the head. Why the hell would anyone want to spend a vast sum of money on a reproduction system that is so inferior...?

[DSJR]

Like my M20FL Super, the OM30's fine-line stylus is a specialised tip profile that is extremely fussy to set right, but when you do, it makes many ellipticals sound a bit splashy and is wonderful at retaining treble clarity at end of side where spherical tips may struggle and sound rolled off..

The OM30 is close to if not at the top of the magnetic cartridge tree. Only a separation "glitch" at several hundred Hz giving the body style away. Tracking should be fine at 1.3 to 1.5g and if you set the geometry up right, it will take a very good moving coil indeed to truly better it - seriously..

Speaking of decent mc's, I've read the Sumiko Blackbird is a goodie and is more refined than the BPS and so it should be at £500.........

[edit] P.S. It's the soggy and blurred LP's that show a good cartridge. A clogged sounding pressing like the first Dead-Can-Dance LP sounds just a tad clearer deep in the mix with a better cartridge and tip profile. Going back to my Sonus Blue (itself with a "swept" elliptical tip) shows how clogged in the midrange this latter is, yet it was much more "musical" than a typical Shure I found..

[The Grand Wazoo]

the OM30's fine-line stylus is a specialised tip profile that is extremely fussy to set right

Dave,
I heard a vicious rumour that a Digitrac 200 stylus was an OM30 with a 'spoiler moulding' on it - a little nubbin on the back designed to stop it mating properly with an Ortofon body. Do you know if this is true?
If so, they can be had very cheaply.

[dmckean]

The Digitrac 200 stylus is closer to the OM20 sylus but a little wider when looked at under a microscope.

[Haselsh1]

A few years back I wrote a mini review for the Ornec site about how a Yarland Pro200 SE (300B SE) amplifier produced the most glorious feathery cymbals and beautifully open treble. I now know that it was in fact this cartridge that was producing the sound. I now listen using a hybrid valve/MOSFET Croft Series 7 and those characteristics are still very obvious in my system.

I have just finished an Ozric Tentacles session listening to Jurassic Shift on vinyl and the treble is truly stunning. It is so swirly and atmospheric. The air and sparkle I am still amazed by compared to the Denon DL160. I guess I just happen to have the cartridge alignment bang on.

[chris@panteg]

Hi Shaun

Its just occurred to me ' all this with a stock standard 1210 ' wait till you start modding it ' psu' bearing ' etc ' etc .

:)

[DSJR]

Dave,
I heard a vicious rumour that a Digitrac 200 stylus was an OM30 with a 'spoiler moulding' on it - a little nubbin on the back designed to stop it mating properly with an Ortofon body. Do you know if this is true?
If so, they can be had very cheaply.

Sorry, I don't know guv...... :scratch:

Tell you guys summat, I really hope the bubble bursts on this domestic user over-pricing that's going on. The difference in cost between a "cooking" stylus type and a fancy hyper fine-line doofah isn't huge when you buy them by the hundred. The current possibility to charge hundreds extra for a few quid in manufacturing charge is still rife sadly...