Phono Cartridges - Your favorites and least favorites?
- Thread starter imajindat
- Start date
NewsFedora
Well-Known Member
Your review on the last page does have me intrigued, and according to the Q&A on its Amazon page, it is compatible with the LP120. Some googling also frequently brings up the Nagaoka MP-110, any thoughts on that?
AnthonyI
Well-Known Member
Haven't tried any of the Nagaoka carts as of yet, but I know a few members do have them and seem to like them very much.
psemeraro
Member
Looks like an AT VM95E with different plastic. Do you know if it uses the newer VM95 body or the older 95 body like the Linn and Clearaudio cartridges?Let's start the day on a positive note, shall we
UPDATE: Goldring E3 MM Cartridge
What’s better, going into something with high expectations and then not having those expectation quite met completely or going into something with no particular expectations and being hugely impressed? I would say the latter and it is definitely the case with the Goldring E3……. absolutely floored.
I hate the word “budget” in our hobby because it implies something of lesser quality, which the E3 is not, it’s best in its price range in my opinion and honestly outperformed some higher priced cartridges I’ve used. As usual, we gave the cart due time to get warmed up, we went 60ish hours on the E3, but honestly, from the first needle drop the sound got my attention, there was no mental note to not be too critical because it’s fresh out the box and needs some time, nope, it became “critical” listening from the get-go and only got better over time.
View attachment 93063
The E3 has a nice full, robust sound, full of energy and range. Beautiful separation and dynamics, clear clean highs and punchy lows, just a beautifully balanced cartridge. The E3 has an aluminum cantilever with a “superior bonded” super-elliptical stylus featuring a dual magnet design utilizing two low mass magnets interacting only with their paired pickup coil angled to match the cutting head arrangement enabling the cartridge to accurately trace the record groove resulting in better stereo separation and a more musical soundstage. Yes, a bit of technical jargon from the Goldring press release, but it delivers, it all comes through in the listening experience.
View attachment 93064
When listening to a range of genres from singer-songwriter fare with defined vocals to heavier classic rock and some punk, the E3 was solid across the board. Bringing vocals to a perfect pitch and tone while keeping any background vocals or harmonies smoothly delivered. Percussion and bass had impact, stood out really well against a black background giving a lot of the subtle details in a track a distinct place and position. Albums like St. Vincent’s stripped down MassEducation delivered smooth powerful vocals, from the near whispers to the high notes, the E3 did an amazing job of holding it together. Thomas Bartlett’s beautiful piano work shinned with every hammer hit and pluck being defined and resonating, each in their respective positions in the track. Going to a more classic rock album like Cheap Tricks Heaven Tonight, with hard guitar riffs and rapid-fire drum lines, the E3 again did an amazing job of bringing out the detail of each instruments, pluck, hit and range, Robin’s sometimes high, sometimes guttural voice had texture and presence, and nothing ever got muddied in the middle, with the same being said for The Clash’s Combat Rock, raw, present, everything in its place and sounding full of energy and life. The E3 does an exceptional job at grabbing and placing highs, mids and lows in their place and showcasing each one’s tone and position, truly a pleasing balancing act. The E3 leans ever so slightly to the warm side, showing remarkable clarity and character in its sound signature, and has become one of my favorite cartridges, its musical, accurate, fun and plows its way through most pressings with its chest out and chin up.
Fitting the cart is quite simple, the threaded body is always a plus and its angled design helped with alignment and stylus placement greatly. The E3 has a user replaceable stylus in a “plug and play” set up, pop the used cart off and pop on the new. Going back to my opening statement, even with all that I’ve mentioned about the E3, I still feel I’m not expressing how impressed I am with this “budget” cartridge, it is an amazing value for its price point and easily one of the best among other cartridges not only in its price pool, but even some higher ones.
Highly, highly recommended bang for your buck. Big sound with a small price.
I want to thank Goldring for lending out the E3 for me to play with, the Goldring line is distributed in the US by American Audio & Video, the Goldring line and E3 are available at LP Gear and other retailers for $170, with replacement styli running $125. For more information on Goldring visit their Official site at www.goldring.co.uk.
Pat
AnthonyI
Well-Known Member
I'm sure they're similar, AT has their fingers in a lot of carts, lol. I've had the VM95ML. which I liked, but still like the E3 a little more, it's more full bodied than the AT in my opinion.
psemeraro
Member
That makes perfect sense as the "shell" of a cartridge has an impact on how it sounds. And I think more importantly, how it couples to the headshell. I remain convinced that the reason my wood-bodied Stantons sound better is that the body couples much more securely to the headshell vs the stock metals "ears" and also the large flat wood surface strengthens and damps the headshell at its most resonant part. On my VM95's I remove the plastic mount, and superglue everything together. Stock units are resonant if you tap the cartridge body with your finger, (some more than others, I have 4) my glued versions are much quieter. Little things make a big difference with cartridges as they are working with very minute vibrations.
Pat
dansomeone
Well-Known Member
MoFi carts are an AT dual-magnet design too, right?
kvetcha
Chet Hanks' Filmography Buff
Yeah, although the scuttlebutt is that they're based on AT's high-end MM series.
NewsFedora
Well-Known Member
Yeah I'm pretty much down to these two. I think I might be leaning toward the VM95ML more as theoretically the cartridge style will be around for a while and replacing/upgrading the needle in the future would be less hassle.
psemeraro
Member
Currently spinning on the SP25 the Shure V15VxEJ. It's the SS39EJ stylus plug cut, fit and glued into the V15VxMR complete stylus grip with brush. The SS39EJ stylus is a MASAR polished .4 x .7 tip on the hardened anodized low mass type 2 cantilever that is normally used on the hyperelliptical consumer styli. It was part of their professional line, relatively unknown, and occasionally available.
Shure tuned the SS39EJ stylus to have a gentle top octave roll-off (about 3dB at 20k) on its native Era lV M97 based body that works great on the V15VxMR 425uh body resulting in a well-balanced, extended top octave. This is the "medium-duty professional" version of the V15VxMR that Shure never made or sold and has the Era lll/lV sound, not the rolled-off, bland Era V sound. And it doesn't have the hyped, resonant character of the Jico SAS, it is very smooth. Would I prefer the original MR tip on beryllium cantilever that belongs on the cart? Of course, but this is an interesting, very good sounding transducer for my older records that is much higher quality than currently sold .4 x .7 tipped budget ellipticals. This combo sounds essentially as good as the 120E (.4 x .7 version) stylus on the AT 750 body and is maybe a touch more forgiving.
Not every experiment with tools and super-glue works out... but this one did.
Pat
Shure tuned the SS39EJ stylus to have a gentle top octave roll-off (about 3dB at 20k) on its native Era lV M97 based body that works great on the V15VxMR 425uh body resulting in a well-balanced, extended top octave. This is the "medium-duty professional" version of the V15VxMR that Shure never made or sold and has the Era lll/lV sound, not the rolled-off, bland Era V sound. And it doesn't have the hyped, resonant character of the Jico SAS, it is very smooth. Would I prefer the original MR tip on beryllium cantilever that belongs on the cart? Of course, but this is an interesting, very good sounding transducer for my older records that is much higher quality than currently sold .4 x .7 tipped budget ellipticals. This combo sounds essentially as good as the 120E (.4 x .7 version) stylus on the AT 750 body and is maybe a touch more forgiving.
Not every experiment with tools and super-glue works out... but this one did.
Pat
Splunders
Well-Known Member
This cartridge voyage you are on is so cool! Looking forward to your thoughts on the Hana down the roadGot a new Tee from Upscale
View attachment 96785
............oh, added the cart to get the free shipping
Now we wait patiently for the UD to make it's way back from it's "spa" vacation.
Just a heads up- it looks like there is a price increase on Grado cartridges. The Gold and Opus don’t seem to be affected...yet. Everything below has gone up:
The Black3 has gone from $80 to $99
The Blue3 has gone from $125 to $160
The 8MZ stylus has increased $25 to $175.
The Black3 has gone from $80 to $99
The Blue3 has gone from $125 to $160
The 8MZ stylus has increased $25 to $175.
AnthonyI
Well-Known Member
UPDATE: ORTOFON QUINTET BLUE MC
The Quintet Blue, much like the rest of Ortofon’s color coded series of cartridges is one step up from entry level in the Quintet line. It has a unique body design that lends itself well to set up and calibrating the cartridge properly, and a threaded body is always an appreciated “feature”. The Quintet Blue is a .5mv Moving Coil cartridge that weighs in at 9g, on the PLX this took the additional tone arm sub-weight to be installed in order to balance the cart properly. This cart will also need a decent pre-amp and system to show its true prowess in my opinion, on the Insight the Quintet Blue’s sweet spot fell on a gain of 55 at 100 ohms, and all in all, the total play time came out to about 70 hours, with most of the critical listening happening after about 45 hours, I have to admit it was hard to move on from this cartridge.
The Quintet Blue has a neutral sound, exceptionally smooth and musical without being too warm and or analytical, this balancing act is by far one of its best traits. Across varied genres the Quintet Blue was very dynamic, had a nice soundstage with an extraordinarily strong dimensional presentation. Music not only filled the space left, right and center with detail and texture, but it also had distinguishable depth with better pressings. That being said, the Quintet Blue also did a more than acceptable job breathing life into more “well loved” albums by maintaining its extremely low noise floor and tonal control. I’ve used the 80’s harshness as an example before, and the Quintet Blue polishes off the edges really well.
The standout qualities of the Quintet Blue really shine on more “Audiophile” pressings. Jazz and Blues albums have strong emotion, instruments and vocals find homes in just the right space while grabbing the finer details in and around the musicians, again, one of those experiences where you listen to something you are remarkably familiar with and can pick out a new sound, or depth and separation, that you cannot recall hearing before, it is not always obvious, but you know there is something more to it with the Quintet. The bass also presents itself tight, full and deep, giving an authentic sound, not muddy or overwhelming, it just sits there unobtrusively as it should, giving more texture and feel to the music. Playing a bit of classic rock such as Cheap Trick and Boston or production heavy albums from the Gorillaz hip hop sound to Donald Fagen’s amazing instrumental compositions, the Quintet Blue hung strong, rock continued to have the power you would expect behind it without the sound getting all muddy in the middle and the same strength carries over to the electronic heavy baseline induced music from the Gorillaz with force and clarity. The Nightfly was an audible treat with its perfect vocal and instrumental placement, tone, space and clarity. This was an ongoing trend from album to album, the Quintet Blue continually delivered what you would expect from the music with “UMPH”.
In comparison to the 2M Blue I recently sampled, the Quintet is much more refined, as it should be, while I felt the more analytical 2M Blue was not really for me, the Quintet Blue has found its place in my list of favorites, it presents a very “real” audio experience with amazing balance, space and clarity with just enough warmth to rub off some of the analytical edge. In its price pool it is worthy of consideration, even with the lack of a user replaceable stylus, the initial cost of about $525 and a 25%* trade in discount bringing the cost down to around $393*, makes it a more than attractive price for a quality MC cartridge.
If your system can support the Moving Coil Quintet Blue, it is an easy recommendation to toss on your list if you are in the market or thinking of your first foray into MC cartridges. As always, if you have any additional questions feel free to ask and I will do my best to answer.
*The discount of 30% on trade in was inaccurate on my piece, it's been updated to reflect the correct discount of 25%.
The Quintet Blue, much like the rest of Ortofon’s color coded series of cartridges is one step up from entry level in the Quintet line. It has a unique body design that lends itself well to set up and calibrating the cartridge properly, and a threaded body is always an appreciated “feature”. The Quintet Blue is a .5mv Moving Coil cartridge that weighs in at 9g, on the PLX this took the additional tone arm sub-weight to be installed in order to balance the cart properly. This cart will also need a decent pre-amp and system to show its true prowess in my opinion, on the Insight the Quintet Blue’s sweet spot fell on a gain of 55 at 100 ohms, and all in all, the total play time came out to about 70 hours, with most of the critical listening happening after about 45 hours, I have to admit it was hard to move on from this cartridge.
The Quintet Blue has a neutral sound, exceptionally smooth and musical without being too warm and or analytical, this balancing act is by far one of its best traits. Across varied genres the Quintet Blue was very dynamic, had a nice soundstage with an extraordinarily strong dimensional presentation. Music not only filled the space left, right and center with detail and texture, but it also had distinguishable depth with better pressings. That being said, the Quintet Blue also did a more than acceptable job breathing life into more “well loved” albums by maintaining its extremely low noise floor and tonal control. I’ve used the 80’s harshness as an example before, and the Quintet Blue polishes off the edges really well.
The standout qualities of the Quintet Blue really shine on more “Audiophile” pressings. Jazz and Blues albums have strong emotion, instruments and vocals find homes in just the right space while grabbing the finer details in and around the musicians, again, one of those experiences where you listen to something you are remarkably familiar with and can pick out a new sound, or depth and separation, that you cannot recall hearing before, it is not always obvious, but you know there is something more to it with the Quintet. The bass also presents itself tight, full and deep, giving an authentic sound, not muddy or overwhelming, it just sits there unobtrusively as it should, giving more texture and feel to the music. Playing a bit of classic rock such as Cheap Trick and Boston or production heavy albums from the Gorillaz hip hop sound to Donald Fagen’s amazing instrumental compositions, the Quintet Blue hung strong, rock continued to have the power you would expect behind it without the sound getting all muddy in the middle and the same strength carries over to the electronic heavy baseline induced music from the Gorillaz with force and clarity. The Nightfly was an audible treat with its perfect vocal and instrumental placement, tone, space and clarity. This was an ongoing trend from album to album, the Quintet Blue continually delivered what you would expect from the music with “UMPH”.
In comparison to the 2M Blue I recently sampled, the Quintet is much more refined, as it should be, while I felt the more analytical 2M Blue was not really for me, the Quintet Blue has found its place in my list of favorites, it presents a very “real” audio experience with amazing balance, space and clarity with just enough warmth to rub off some of the analytical edge. In its price pool it is worthy of consideration, even with the lack of a user replaceable stylus, the initial cost of about $525 and a 25%* trade in discount bringing the cost down to around $393*, makes it a more than attractive price for a quality MC cartridge.
If your system can support the Moving Coil Quintet Blue, it is an easy recommendation to toss on your list if you are in the market or thinking of your first foray into MC cartridges. As always, if you have any additional questions feel free to ask and I will do my best to answer.
*The discount of 30% on trade in was inaccurate on my piece, it's been updated to reflect the correct discount of 25%.
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HayesWeighsIn
Well-Known Member
How would you directly compare it to the Denon?
AnthonyI
Well-Known Member
That's a tight race there, lol. I was really impressed with the Quintet, but I personally like the Denon a little more. That nice balancing act the Quintet does between analytical and warm is almost perfect, close enough for me to give it a thumbs up from someone who leans to the warm side. That being said, I think the Denon hits the "sound" I'm looking for pretty much dead on. In my opinion, the Denon takes what the Quintet does and does it a little better, enough to be an audible difference to my ears, so that's why it's getting the slight nudge over the Quintet, but read my last comment. Neither is a slouch by any stretch and again, I'm finding that like carts, MM/MC, in the same price range are really going to be decided by personal preferences, your current gear and cost.
Right now my only qualm about the Denon is finding a "Certified Dealer" or vendor who honors the exchange discount, which is a bit annoying and honestly should be considered in comparing the Quintet to the Denon, If I were given both carts to sample and then had to pick one over the other, the Denon would win on sound, just barely, but the replacement issue would be enough to have me go with the Quintet and still be more than happy with my choice. Let's put it this way, I was ready to just buy a new Denon each time, after using the Quintet, I'm not ready to do that anymore, there is a better option.
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AnthonyI
Well-Known Member
Minor sidebar, the Soundsmith re-tipping of the Denon may still be an option, going to feel that one out over time.
displayname
Well-Known Member
Which Hana are you checking out?Got a new Tee from Upscale
View attachment 96785
............oh, added the cart to get the free shipping
Now we wait patiently for the UD to make it's way back from it's "spa" vacation.