Take your pick. The 774 will work well with just about any cartridge, MM or MC, high compliance or low compliance, just vary the fluid damping to suit. I sometimes add a weight at the headshell with stiffer MC's, but that's only 'cos I'm too lazy to swap damping fluid or paddles.
It is impossible for anything digital to sound analogue, because it isn't analogue!
Real sound was a concept made popular by Jeff Day over on the now defunct jeffs place blog, it can now be found here https://jeffsplace.positive-feedback...o-jeffs-place/ basically its one man's journey into using various vintage hifi, alongside tinned copper and duelund components. It's a bit obsessive but I enjoy reading it. For fun, I made up a small "real sound" system, compromising of The Garrard 301, the SME 3009 tonearm (wired with original tinned copper tonearm wiring and tonearm cable), a highly modded EAR 834 clone, and some IC's and speaker cable made up from Duelund components, and a pair of Celestion Ditton 15 speaker that I rewired with Duelund cable. It's basically a very relaxed sounding system which is great fun. I don't take it seriously but it does sound pretty good and works even better after a dose of single malt!!!
SS
CD Teac VRDS25X(Audiotuned) DECK 1210 Mat Crystal Audio Mods MN Base/Bearing/Platter+Ebony armboard Feet Isonoe PSU Paul Hynes SR7EHD-27XL/DCSXL Ag DC lead/3 Stage Regs/Recap PCB+No Pitch/Strobe/Light ARM SME V(Kondo Ag Rewire&Tags) MC Cadenza Black FGS CABLES Arm Yannis SPD-4 IC Yannis 222 Litz+Ag bullets Power WAR PRE ATC SCA2 SPEAKERS ATC 50ASL STANDS Atacama PHONO Sugden Masterclass PA4 SUT Ortofon ST80SE POWER PSAudio P10
VALVE
PRE Croft Epoch(Modded) AMP Sondex S100 (Modded) SPEAKERS Tannoy 15"MG+RFC Warwick cabs+ Ref XO + Batpure supertweeters DECK Garrard 301 Mat Teunto Bearings 401(Bastin) Plinth Bamboo Arms 3009/3012 PSU Eagle+Tachometer MC Ag Meister II/FGS + Ortofon SPU MONO CABLES Arm Yannis 420.5 Litz+ SpeakerPC Tripple C+WBT-0681 Ag IC Oyaide FTVS-510 AgWBT 0110Ag Phonostages Paradise(4 Box Mega-Modded) / Croft Musicmaker
Location: Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland
Posts: 533
I'm stuart.
Just watch, there are 2 versions of the 774, you need this one:
and not this one:
Garrard 401, Jelco 750 with Shuggie, Ortofon 2M Black / ZYX Yatra 100, Project Phono RS with Sigma22 Linear PS, RPi3 + DigiOne + Linear PS, RPi3/1Tb SSD with PiCorePlayer + Linear PS, Perreaux Eloquence 250i 40th Anniversary with ES9038Pro DAC, DCG3 Pre-Amp, Neurochrome 8x2 Pre-Amp, Neurochrome 686 Power amp, Benchmark DAC2 HGC, Primare V25 CD player, Monitor Audio PL300, Sjostrom DCT03 DC Blocker.
Current Lash Up:
TEAC VRDS 701T > Sony TAE1000ESD > Krell KSA50S > JM Labs Focal Electra 926.
A few things to consider.
The 774 has a threaded 'headblock' rather than a headshell as such and only accepts cartridges that can be screwed to it from the underside. The armtube easily detaches for this, but it means cartridges with threaded holes don't fit unless the headblock is drilled through and long bolts used. My main armtube has been drilled through, although I have others that are not drilled.
It would originally have been supplied with two bias weights and three damping paddles of varying sizes. Often some are missing, substitutes can be made though.
Damping fluid can be a bit pricey, but STP (petrol) oil treatment works fine at a fraction of the cost. Fluid viscosity can be varied by mixing fine silicone oil into damping fluids.
Never overtighten the scew on the armtube clamp. You can strip the thread or break the clamp casting!
Very high compliance cartridges such as vintage ADC's, Shures, Empires and Ortofons can be used without damping.
Decca Mk.V Londons work extremely well in a damped 774, but the headblock needs drilling for these.
The 774 'sounds' different to any other arm!
It is impossible for anything digital to sound analogue, because it isn't analogue!