Bigman80
01-02-2018, 18:29
What I really wanted to write was “WOW this has crushed the Hashimoto HM-3 and everything else I have put in against it” but I can’t. What I am going to write is yet another parable about how matching the SUT and Cartridge via Spec/data sheet is only going to get you part the way there. You NEED a synergistic match.
On paper, The MCX is a perfect match with the Ortofon Kontrapunkt b, however, in the comfort of my listening space things haven’t quite worked out that way. Let me explain.
Right from the off I didn’t like what I heard. I was convinced it was because the MCX was cold and sure enough tried to convince myself that when it was room temperature, things would get better, and to a degree, it did. The sound stage was huge, but everything felt a little bit all over the place and messy. The wonderful separation and organisation I had previously with the HA-5oo wasn’t there. It felt like I was sat too close to the screen at the cinema and I couldn’t take in all the picture. I needed to be another 4 feet back to get the picture in focus. A day or so later and I felt things had improved and probably due to A) My perception and 2) the MCX getting to room temperature, I was starting to see the qualities of the MCX. It is very fluid, and the soundstage suffers from no compression whatsoever. But there was a problem. Tonally I felt things had become a little anaemic, well, quite anaemic actually.
I changed cable to pure copper and felt the body had returned slightly but that I was sacrificing some focus and detail. I made up a couple of different sets of cables and tried them all. Nothing has restored the body and timbre I felt i'd lost.
I sat there a little perplexed as to what was wrong. Hum, buzzing, cable dressing was perfect. I have suffered NO HUM or buzzing with this unit, it the quietest SUT I have had here. No exceptions. Its well-built, the innards are beautifully laid out and by using Lundahl you are guaranteeing you have some of the best winding in the world. What is going on here?
Out of pure frustration, I installed Jimbo’s Denon 302MKII and WOW ……………….
Suddenly everything came into focus, the body returned, the soundstage was huge! Detailed, fluid, refined, expansive, jovial, you name it and It does it. I put the Goldring Eroica in and whilst it was rather good, it didn’t quite reach the heights of the Denon. Both the Denon and the Goldring did sound stunning though. The focus and pinpoint accuracy of the Sound stage returned. With the Denon there was clear definition between layers and everything was, for a moment.....perfect.
On paper, I have no idea if the Denon and MCX is a good match or not, I haven’t looked. The truth is I don’t care! This combo is a killer and I am swept away by every track I play and here is the problem, I don’t own a Denon 301 MKII, I own an Ortofon Kontrapunkt b and this means the match isn’t a good one in my system. the Synergy just isn't there. Maybe its because the MCX is so transparent I am not really liking the Ortofon? Maybe I am hearing what the Kontra REALLY sounds like and the MCX is doing the exact job it’s designed to do and making absolutely no impression on the sound at all. I just don’t know. All I am sure of is when paired with the Denon 301, its purely stunning as a combo and when I paired the Kontra with a HM-3, I had the same feeling of euphoric ecstasy.
So THE CONCLUSION – The MCX is beautiful, with the right cartridge. It’s worth every penny of the £335 I paid for it but I won’t be keeping it and will be getting some HM-3/7 (whatever I can afford) purely due to the synergy. I am gutted it hasn’t worked out because there is no doubt Mr Rothwell knows his stuff in the SUT world and his product is exceptional. Just hasn’t worked out in this instance. I can recommend the MCX on the basis of what I heard with the Denon because that combination was phenomenal.
Synergy beats the spec sheet.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180201/2e9269f624db452cf9a9267db5543533.jpg
On paper, The MCX is a perfect match with the Ortofon Kontrapunkt b, however, in the comfort of my listening space things haven’t quite worked out that way. Let me explain.
Right from the off I didn’t like what I heard. I was convinced it was because the MCX was cold and sure enough tried to convince myself that when it was room temperature, things would get better, and to a degree, it did. The sound stage was huge, but everything felt a little bit all over the place and messy. The wonderful separation and organisation I had previously with the HA-5oo wasn’t there. It felt like I was sat too close to the screen at the cinema and I couldn’t take in all the picture. I needed to be another 4 feet back to get the picture in focus. A day or so later and I felt things had improved and probably due to A) My perception and 2) the MCX getting to room temperature, I was starting to see the qualities of the MCX. It is very fluid, and the soundstage suffers from no compression whatsoever. But there was a problem. Tonally I felt things had become a little anaemic, well, quite anaemic actually.
I changed cable to pure copper and felt the body had returned slightly but that I was sacrificing some focus and detail. I made up a couple of different sets of cables and tried them all. Nothing has restored the body and timbre I felt i'd lost.
I sat there a little perplexed as to what was wrong. Hum, buzzing, cable dressing was perfect. I have suffered NO HUM or buzzing with this unit, it the quietest SUT I have had here. No exceptions. Its well-built, the innards are beautifully laid out and by using Lundahl you are guaranteeing you have some of the best winding in the world. What is going on here?
Out of pure frustration, I installed Jimbo’s Denon 302MKII and WOW ……………….
Suddenly everything came into focus, the body returned, the soundstage was huge! Detailed, fluid, refined, expansive, jovial, you name it and It does it. I put the Goldring Eroica in and whilst it was rather good, it didn’t quite reach the heights of the Denon. Both the Denon and the Goldring did sound stunning though. The focus and pinpoint accuracy of the Sound stage returned. With the Denon there was clear definition between layers and everything was, for a moment.....perfect.
On paper, I have no idea if the Denon and MCX is a good match or not, I haven’t looked. The truth is I don’t care! This combo is a killer and I am swept away by every track I play and here is the problem, I don’t own a Denon 301 MKII, I own an Ortofon Kontrapunkt b and this means the match isn’t a good one in my system. the Synergy just isn't there. Maybe its because the MCX is so transparent I am not really liking the Ortofon? Maybe I am hearing what the Kontra REALLY sounds like and the MCX is doing the exact job it’s designed to do and making absolutely no impression on the sound at all. I just don’t know. All I am sure of is when paired with the Denon 301, its purely stunning as a combo and when I paired the Kontra with a HM-3, I had the same feeling of euphoric ecstasy.
So THE CONCLUSION – The MCX is beautiful, with the right cartridge. It’s worth every penny of the £335 I paid for it but I won’t be keeping it and will be getting some HM-3/7 (whatever I can afford) purely due to the synergy. I am gutted it hasn’t worked out because there is no doubt Mr Rothwell knows his stuff in the SUT world and his product is exceptional. Just hasn’t worked out in this instance. I can recommend the MCX on the basis of what I heard with the Denon because that combination was phenomenal.
Synergy beats the spec sheet.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180201/2e9269f624db452cf9a9267db5543533.jpg