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Thread: First MC cartridge

  1. #21
    Join Date: Jul 2011

    Location: lancashire

    Posts: 284
    I'm mike.

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    Ah well the deed is done, I did settle on the Hana Sl which I rather liked but as someone pointed out early on my phon amp being fixed at 100 ohm wasn't going to make it sing. What is a body to do......After some reviewing and all the usual stuff I found an Exposure XM3 ex demo at £220 below market, took a punt and bought it. Just popped it into my existing system with the 2M black expecting not much difference.......damn, it's defo better than the ECP1, sounds more open somehow, notes sound cleaner
    'If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs, you obviously don't fully understand the situation!'

  2. #22
    Join Date: Nov 2011

    Location: Seaton, Devon, UK

    Posts: 13,240
    I'm Adrian.

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    Quote Originally Posted by rusty bearing View Post
    Ah well the deed is done, I did settle on the Hana Sl which I rather liked but as someone pointed out early on my phon amp being fixed at 100 ohm wasn't going to make it sing. What is a body to do......After some reviewing and all the usual stuff I found an Exposure XM3 ex demo at £220 below market, took a punt and bought it. Just popped it into my existing system with the 2M black expecting not much difference.......damn, it's defo better than the ECP1, sounds more open somehow, notes sound cleaner
    The XM3 is a nice bit of kit, should sound good with the Hana.
    Listening is the act of aural discrimination and dissemination of sound, and accepting you get it wrong sometimes.

    Analog Inputs: Pro-Ject Signature 10 TT & arm, Benz Micro LP-S, Michel Cusis MC, Goldring 2500 and Ortofon Rondo Blue cartridges, Hitachi FT5500 mk2 Tuner

    Digital:- Marantz SA-KI Pearl CD player, RaspberryPi/HifiBerry Digi+ Pro, Buffalo NAS Drive

    Amplification:- AudioValve Sunilda phono stage, Krell KSP-7B pre-amp, Krell KSA-80 power amp

    Output: Wilson Benesch Vector speakers, KLH Ultimate One Headphones

    Cables: Tellurium Q Ultra Black II RCA & Chord Epic 2 RCA, various speaker leads, & links


    I think I am nearing audio nirvana, but don’t tell anyone.

  3. #23
    Join Date: Jul 2011

    Location: lancashire

    Posts: 284
    I'm mike.

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    It is that but there is a problem.....now I'm wonderng what the XM5 amp would sound like and whether I could persuade SWMBO that a man in a red suit just left it on the doorstep
    'If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs, you obviously don't fully understand the situation!'

  4. #24
    Join Date: Aug 2009

    Location: West Yorkshire

    Posts: 1,796
    I'm Stephen.

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    I've been buying/listening/swapping HiFi for nigh on 50 years (I'm 65) and I've still not got it figured out although I've "probably" got the system as close to my liking as I'm going to get. One of the many things I've learned is give or take every component is affected by others up and downstream and thus so is the resulting sound. Another thing I've learned (which follows from the above) is that recommendations can only be a guide - not least as sound appreciation is so individual and subjective - one man's meat etc etc so you are bang on getting auditions before parting with your hard earned cash. If you can get home auditions in your own system ala Hugo at Ammonite then it doesn't get much better

    Perhaps the biggest lesson is that it's not helpful (IMO) to compare cartridges in isolation to the phono stage/SUT (and tonearm for that matter) they are going to be partnered with.

    I have found that the combination that produces the sound I like best across all the musical genres I listen to is a Denon DL-160 in a Mission 774 tonearm into a Rothwell MC1-H SUT/Firebottle Vibrant phono stage combo. I've tried far more expensive cartridges (Goldbug Brier for example) newer and more expensive tonearms and they just don't match up. Marco's synergy personified.

    Anyway, just my two pennies on a rainy night. Hope you continue to enjoy the tunes from your new cartridge/phonostage.





    Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Tapatalk
    Last edited by worrasf; 30-12-2021 at 22:02.
    Always a little further

  5. #25
    Join Date: Jul 2011

    Location: lancashire

    Posts: 284
    I'm mike.

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    Wise words...I learn't quite early on that listening at the dealers was no substitute for 'at home'. Currently a 'happy bunny' playing lots of vinyl while the Cd's languish in the hidden world that is the cupboard under the stairs.
    Have I reached my personal audio Nirvana? Within what i'm prepared to spend probably I'm not far off so it's time to sit back in the evenings, pour a glass of 25 year old Glen Sporangie and just relax.
    Thanks to everyone who contributed and happy new year to all
    'If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs, you obviously don't fully understand the situation!'

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