Whats the most one would shelve out on a cartridge

[montesquieu]

I have heard and owned hundreds of moving coils I have found that for me as you go upmarket a lot of them emphasise treble in a way that many moving magnets dont of course the spu,s and some of the older mc cartridges maintain so much majic. I agree that majority of the ones you list dont but there are so many designs out there that do to me I never liked the bleached out sounds that the lyras produced I have a couple of ortofon anna cartridges that were far from enjoyable I PERSONALLY think a £500 nagoka would be more natural sounding.

Happy to swap you any MM of your choice for your Shindo SPU, since MCs are so awful. You'll be glad to be rid of it.

Honestly, you pick out some of the thinnest, most 'hifi' MCs - such as some of the Lyras - and damn the whole lot .. have a listen to a Miyajima Madake (come and hear mine if you like) or Ikeda 9TT, or a stone-bodied Koetsu .. these show none of the highly strung, rising treble traits you mention.

All need a decent arm to shine though. But you know that ...

[Jac Hawk]

"Hundreds of moving coil cartridges"? How many hundred? I doubt if a hundred MC cartridges have ever been designed.

Was thinking the same Barry

[Barry]

The Ikeda 9TT - is that your latest cartridge Tom?

[montesquieu]

The Ikeda 9TT - is that your latest cartridge Tom?

Yes I owned one before, but it had a coil imbalance so it went back to where it came from,but I liked what I heard so had been waiting for one coming up.. it doesn't have the directness and drama of the no cantilever Ikedas but it does have a nice neutral quality that's a shade less warm and a shade more detailed than the Miyajimas, but still very intimate and listenable. Nice balance. Arrived on Saturday still planning a write-up.

[Barry]

Shall look forward to reading that Tom,

[Vrajbasi]

"Hundreds of moving coil cartridges"? How many hundred? I doubt if a hundred MC cartridges have ever been designed.

Barry I have owned cartridges for over 40 years I have owned the entire VDH line up pretty much all the early lyras many many spus, in the 90,s I was friendly with ricardo of Absolute sounds and was constantly swapping koetsus. Then i went through a phase of owning ortofons had many spu,s then the kiseki phase owned a Lapis lazuli on a Goldmund Reference, then went through many benzes the list goes on. Not to mention all the IO versions inc the mighty LTD on a Voyd reference with cylene tonearm. I had an brief encounter with clear audio from the mid 80's when Automation sciences were the importer and Branko of Audiofreaks was an young assistant,owning all the models in the 90,s stopped at an early goldfinger. I have owned a Madake with its matching SUT which is a wonderful example of an MC cartridge on the right arm it was fantastic worked great on the FR66 which I much prefer than the Ikeda 407IT I previously owned.

I personally love the MC cartridges I own the stone bodied Koetsu is sweet so is the etsuro and too is the shindo spu love the Top wing too. My point is that you generally have to spend alot of money to beat a good MM thats all. I just find the general trend on Lyras and clearaudios and even suprisingly some koetsu models like the urushi a bit sterile for my personal taste. If you wish to come and hear the cartridges I currently own please send me a message. I am certainly not damming all MC cartridges as I only own MC cartridges but at what an expense and when I think of the money I wasted learning the hard way it makes me cringe.

[Barry]

Well your Shindo-modified SPU sounds interesting, but I would still question your claim that one needs to spend considerably a lot more on a current MC to beat a current MM.

I'm not disputing your claim that it can be easier to achieve good SQ using a modern fixed-coil cartridge, for the simple reason that MCs need additional voltage step up devices; which can be a whole topic of discussion (and opinion) in its own right, and there have always been quality fixed-coil designs: ADC; B&O; AKG, as well as more modern designs of which I'm unfamiliar (for example Nagaoka) as well as the post-Shure V15 designs and some Technics models. But you don't (again IMO) have to spend an enormous amount on an MC design to rival and exceed a modern fixed-coil cartridge.

I would tend to agree with you regarding Lyra cartridges (with the possible exception of the Transfiguration 'Orpheus') and Koetsus, the latter of which tend, IMO, to be 'lush' and flattering, which some find beguiling and 'musical', but they are not to my taste. Especially the post-Sugano offerings. But again it's all a matter of taste: your ears, your choice.

[Vrajbasi]

I would tend to agree with you regarding Lyra cartridges (with the possible exception of the Transfiguration 'Orpheus') and Koetsus, the latter of which tend, IMO, to be 'lush' and flattering, which some find beguiling and 'musical', but they are not to my taste. Especially the post-Sugano offerings. But again it's all a matter of taste: your ears, your choice.

The current Koetsu cartridges are generally not as lush as they were I actually liked some of the early models such as the Sugano 80th onyx bodied anniversary cartridge I had that mounted on the Goldmund for a while. The current stone bodied Koetsu cartridges are very different some of which can be quite forward sounding my tiger eye is certainly anything but lush.

[Barry]

Well there you go - different ears, different opinions.

[Vrajbasi]

Well there you go - different ears, different opinions.

Very true if all like the same thing life would be so boring