When to MM or MM a curious thing, I've been playing again

[AJSki2fly]

So my best friend sent me his Ortofon Stylus 40 that he has had knocking about for over 5 years and it is virtually new having only played 3 or 4 records, it arrived yesterday.

Having already got the Ortofon OM set up on the Pro-Ject Aluminium head shell it was just a matter of plugging in the Stylus 40, swapping head shells over and then check VTF, VTA and tracking, 30 minutes of so and all done.

So on went some of the usual test tracks, Eva Cassidy - Fields of Gold, Ravi Shankar - Tala Rasa Ranga (Portrait of a Genius), first impressions were well this sounds rather good. I think more detail in the top & mids and better bass control than the DN165E stylus. I went onto Alan Parsons Project - I Robot and this produce quite a bit of punch and attack with a very good soundstage.

So first impressions were good.

I have continued to listened to albums Sinéad O'Connor ‎– I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got and Peter Gabrial IV(Security) and I have been impressed with the renditions of both. I think stylus is actually improving and I presume is now bedding in. I was intending to just listen to a couple of tracks from each, but as I was enjoying them so much listened to them fully.

Next was Paul Simon - Graceland - The In the Bubble, anyone who this album and this track in particular will know that it has some challenging bass for a stylus to reproduce without distortion, and lots of subtle detail with the accordion and also punching drums beats. I thought this would be a bit of a challenge for the OM/40 stylus but it actually just took it in its stride, coping with what the groove threw at it, producing a very listenable and foot tapping rendition.

So it may be a bit early to compare the Ortofon OM/40 Stylus with my Benz Micro's, especially as it is still settling down, but I think it is worth a few words. I am actually surprised at how much detail the Ortofon OM/40 Stylus is giving me, and also gives a very good soundstage, at the moment there is nothing I can detect about it that I do not like or find irritating. In terms of differences between it and the Benz Micro MCs I would say it is a littler warmer tonally, which is actually quite nice and relaxing in some ways. The LP-S definitely gives more in terms of detail and what some would call insight into the recording, but this is quite subtle especially if just listening to the music casually for the pleasure of hearing it.

So at the moment I am quite amazed at just how good a MM cartridge can be, considering the Super OM 5E can be brought for £70 and then the 40 Stylus for about £250, a total outlay of £320 this makes for a very good value cartridge IMO. It would be very interesting to know how an Ortofon 2m Black compare to it sonically.

[enrae8]

I used to run a Cadenza Black but to my surprise it has been bettered by a Hana ML at nearly half the price.

Sadly my Cadenza Black got wiped out by she who cleans
I tried a couple of Transfigurations before I settled on another Ortofon which I am more than happy with

[enrae8]

So at the moment I am quite amazed at just how good a MM cartridge can be, considering the Super OM 5E can be brought for £70 and then the 40 Stylus for about £250, a total outlay of £320 this makes for a very good value cartridge IMO. It would be very interesting to know how an Ortofon 2m Black compare to it sonically.

I don't think I'm surprised at your findings - I feel I've gone way too far with the Kit - I hanker for the days when new music was exciting, and it didn't really matter too much about the SQ. I've got to the stage where I won't play some albums because the SQ is not up to a certain standard.
This thread has made me think again and I might just invest in a nice MM

[RobbieGong]

I don't think I'm surprised at your findings - I feel I've gone way too far with the Kit - I hanker for the days when new music was exciting, and it didn't really matter too much about the SQ. I've got to the stage where I won't play some albums because the SQ is not up to a certain standard.
This thread has made me think again and I might just invest in a nice MM

A turning point for me when I really started getting into hifi in a big way, upgrading, learning, and understanding etc was the 2M Black.

Once properly set up and sweet-spot found, that cart was a revelation in terms of what could be achieved and excellent vinyl replay, as well as what the sophisticated stylus profiles are about and bring to this game.

Part of that learning is the importance of meticulous set-up, dialing in vta to nail their all important sweet-spot, otherwise they just dont sing and the magic is not realised.

I can highly recommend the 2M Black, but be warned it can be a PITA to set up / nail it's sweet-spot. However when you do .....

I've not experienced the Goldring 1042 but have heard and read that it is an excellent mm, a bit of a sleeper bargain apparently. I'm not surprised it is rated though as it has the Fritz Gyger S stylus profile tip - a superb stylus profile which is the re-tip on my Cadenza Black (and wow!).

Again, the FGS requires you set up all parameters with accuracy and care and as best you can, dial in vta, carefully

[CageyH]

For a top notch MM, have a look at the Audio Note IQ series. Probably one of the best.

[AJSki2fly]

For a top notch MM, have a look at the Audio Note IQ series. Probably one of the best.

It seems that the IQ series has to be ordered and is not readily available, from what I understand they are built bu Goldring to AN's specifications. Do you know what sort of price are they I cannot find anything on the internet. The other main options seems to be the Ortofon 2M Black or the Golden 2500.

[CageyH]

IQ2 cartridge £540, IQ3 cartridge £789
Not sure about the IQ1.

I had a 2M Black, and it was not for me. Too clinical for my tastes.
I thought that Nagaoka built them for Goldring and Audio Note.

[AJSki2fly]

IQ2 cartridge £540, IQ3 cartridge £789
Not sure about the IQ1.

I had a 2M Black, and it was not for me. Too clinical for my tastes.
I thought that Nagaoka built them for Goldring and Audio Note.

Ok thanks for that


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[krugdoktor]

So my best friend sent me his Ortofon Stylus 40 that he has had knocking about for over 5 years and it is virtually new having only played 3 or 4 records, it arrived yesterday.

Having already got the Ortofon OM set up on the Pro-Ject Aluminium head shell it was just a matter of plugging in the Stylus 40, swapping head shells over and then check VTF, VTA and tracking, 30 minutes of so and all done.

So on went some of the usual test tracks, Eva Cassidy - Fields of Gold, Ravi Shankar - Tala Rasa Ranga (Portrait of a Genius), first impressions were well this sounds rather good. I think more detail in the top & mids and better bass control than the DN165E stylus. I went onto Alan Parsons Project - I Robot and this produce quite a bit of punch and attack with a very good soundstage.

So first impressions were good.

I have continued to listened to albums Sinéad O'Connor ‎– I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got and Peter Gabrial IV(Security) and I have been impressed with the renditions of both. I think stylus is actually improving and I presume is now bedding in. I was intending to just listen to a couple of tracks from each, but as I was enjoying them so much listened to them fully.

Next was Paul Simon - Graceland - The In the Bubble, anyone who this album and this track in particular will know that it has some challenging bass for a stylus to reproduce without distortion, and lots of subtle detail with the accordion and also punching drums beats. I thought this would be a bit of a challenge for the OM/40 stylus but it actually just took it in its stride, coping with what the groove threw at it, producing a very listenable and foot tapping rendition.

So it may be a bit early to compare the Ortofon OM/40 Stylus with my Benz Micro's, especially as it is still settling down, but I think it is worth a few words. I am actually surprised at how much detail the Ortofon OM/40 Stylus is giving me, and also gives a very good soundstage, at the moment there is nothing I can detect about it that I do not like or find irritating. In terms of differences between it and the Benz Micro MCs I would say it is a littler warmer tonally, which is actually quite nice and relaxing in some ways. The LP-S definitely gives more in terms of detail and what some would call insight into the recording, but this is quite subtle especially if just listening to the music casually for the pleasure of hearing it.

So at the moment I am quite amazed at just how good a MM cartridge can be, considering the Super OM 5E can be brought for £70 and then the 40 Stylus for about £250, a total outlay of £320 this makes for a very good value cartridge IMO. It would be very interesting to know how an Ortofon 2m Black compare to it sonically.

I also think the 40 Stylus is a bargain! I fitted it to a (secondhand) Concorde pro S and got an enormously enjoyable sound.