Cartridges !

Having used an Audio Technica ATOC9 XML for a few years now, I have never been overly happy with the sound of my vinyl playing gear. My big complaint is that the sound is thin. Yesterday having a moment of being totally piXXed off, I dug out my trusty old Ortofon OM40 SE and got it all installed and ready to go. Using a Musical Fidelity LX2 LPS phono stage I gave it a go. Oh my, what a difference. The OM40 has brought about such an overwhelming improvement I am amazed. Sparkling treble, bold mids and such a great depth and presence to the low end. Brand X's Moroccan Roll had such a punch and smack to it that I have not heard for such a long time. The moral of the story ? I don't know ! I love the old moving magnet.

Everyone thinks that moving coil cartridges must be better than fixed coil cartridges. I beg to differ, whilst I have no experience of your Ortofon OM40, I would mention a few fixed coil cartridges that I have enjoyed.

They are the AKG P8ES, and all of the B&O MMC series. Sadly they are now no longer in production.

Barry thank you for your response. I was quite surprised by the clear superiority of the OM40, the sound sparkles in comparison. It has amazing clarity and such a good low end.

I have no experience of either, but I am surprised that the ATOC9xml is being described as thin.
It is a popular cartridge, known for being neutral and transparent.

Sound's going to be dependent on set up, equipment used with it, the room, and of course listener preferences.

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Originally Posted by CageyH

I have no experience of either, but I am surprised that the ATOC9xml is being described as thin.
It is a popular cartridge, known for being neutral and transparent.

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Apart from the cheaper MM cartridges, I've never had any luck selling my customers AT cartridges. The usual comments are " too bright, too thin, too aggressive".

Capacitive loading is 8mportant on AT MMs.
My AT20SS sounds sublime. Flat frequency response, lightweight stylus & canti giving fast transients.

Fortunately, we are all different, so life is interesting

I owned a few AT cartridges. I ran an OC9 for a while. I agree the top end was overstated and etchy.

Then I got one of the first OC30 MC.

The was a bloody good full, rich sounding cartridge. All OC9 woes disappeared.

Quite liked the gold body, too.

This is a LONG time ago now.

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Originally Posted by Pigmy Pony

Sound's going to be dependent on set up, equipment used with it, the room, and of course listener preferences.

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Yes.

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Originally Posted by hifi_dave

Apart from the cheaper MM cartridges, I've never had any luck selling my customers AT cartridges. The usual comments are " too bright, too thin, too aggressive".

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Yes Dave, exactly my findings after more than two years of use. I played Graceland/Paul Simon and just thought "this sounds bloody awful" being really thin and toppy. That made me dig out my old fave and try it. I'm still alarmed at how much better it is.

I've still got one and agree the OC30 is a flippin' good cartridge by any measure.

I quite like AT cartridges on the whole, but I think that's because they pair well with my usual flavour of gear (turntable, tonearm, phono stage). I am very surprised at the OC9xml being described as thin - it's capable of rearranging furniture in my system. Not that rearranging furniture is the only good measure of a cartridge.
The AT moving magnets have been good here too, when tried, and the old AT95E was a great test of a turntable. I used to use one religiously when setting up a new or rebuilt 'table.

I had thought the thin/etched descriptor of AT cartridges is largely legacy these days, and hugely dependent upon cartridge loading and having a tonearm of the right effective mass.

Steph

Glad to read your OC30 comment.

I seem to remember paying north of £500 for mine - around £535 I seem to remember.

So not cheap back in the early 90s. Lusted for an ART-1 but could never get myself to spend the money.

Thanks for your thoughts and ideas you lot.

I now have 220pf loading plugs connected and although it has rolled off some of the high frequencies, the sound is still way superior to the Audio Technica. If I had the funds to throw away on something I think I would have a Dynavector DV10X5 II or similar. I remember my old Ultimo 10X at 65 quid back in '79. Fabulous sound. Full and bold. Loved it but maybe not at today's prices.

According to Google AI, an item that cost £65 in 1979 would today cost around £426.88. If only...

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Originally Posted by Enossification

According to Google AI, an item that cost £65 in 1979 would today cost around £426.88. If only...

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I paid £80 for a Nagaoka MP30 back in 1993.

Now they cost around £650. According to the BOE inflation calculator they should be around £180.

You can't simply apply an inflation calculator. High quality pickup cartridges are a niche product now, despite the resurgence in vinyl playback.

I love all cartridge types and for different reasons, I have a growing collection of vintage 70's MI and MM cartridges. I also love my MC's, I have SPU's. and several higher end Ortofons. I've ran AT's before bust found them too strident, I do confess that I did not try them with variable loading so my experience could have been different.

'High end' carts are a total rip off, with audiophools literally straining to hear the improvement in SQ in a cart costing 10X their last, and interpreting any difference in SQ as an improvement, when it's just different and possibly worse. All I use now is the AT-95 series, the EN - because the much vaunted microline is too thin for my ears, and the shibata, both are lush, and don't cost the price of a small moped, just imagine the difference in production costs!!! And of course, it's not heart attack time if you accidentally snap one too.

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Originally Posted by Mikeandvan

'High end' carts are a total rip off, with audiophools literally straining to hear the improvement in SQ in a cart costing 10X their last, and interpreting any difference in SQ as an improvement, when it's just different and possibly worse. All I use now is the AT-95 series, the EN - because the much vaunted microline is too thin for my ears, and the shibata, both are lush, and don't cost the price of a small moped.

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In your opinion.

Hi Adam! :wave:

Marco.

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Originally Posted by Marco

Hi Adam! :wave:

Marco.

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Bloody hell, the boss is back! Hello Marco!!

Hi Adam,

I'm fine. How are things with you?:)

Marco.

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Originally Posted by Marco

Hi Adam,

I'm fine. How are things with you?:)

Marco.

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All good, thanks. Still trying unsuccessfully to thin down the turntable collection!

Welcome back, Marco.
I hope you are on-the-mend.
Good to see you here.

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Originally Posted by Beobloke

All good, thanks. Still trying unsuccessfully to thin down the turntable collection!

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Lol - one of these days it'll happen!

Marco.

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Originally Posted by oldius

Welcome back, Marco.
I hope you are on-the-mend.
Good to see you here.

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Hi Geoff,

Long time no hear! Hope you're good.

Yes, on the mend now, thank goodness.

Marco.