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MM or MC ? |
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Drewan77
Senior Member Joined: 25 May 2013 Location: Chester,England Status: Offline Points: 1544 |
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On my Rega turntable/ 2M Black I originally used the standard geometry (Stevenson) at 1.5g but about 6 months ago I bought a Hi Fi News test LP and a digital scales because I felt I could improve the sound. It was at a time that I had changed a lot of my system, adding some large, dynamic OB speakers. Vinyl was sounding inferior to CD and FLAC and that should not be ! I could not get the stylus to pass the last two tracking tests so I thought I would change to Baerwald geometry and try that. At first, using the original 1.5g it passed the penultimate one but still struggled with the last. Upping the force to 1.75g eventually did the trick and I now have a really fantastic sound across the whole of an LP, absolutely no mistracking and recently adding a GS Reflex I am really happy again. There is also a Lautus interconnect coming soon as a result of the excellent loan scheme. The spare Blue stylus was added after all this and I do not fiddle with the tracking force - it sounds perfectly good without any change & it isn't used for high concentration listening. I am convinced that perfecting the geometry has a very significant impact (cart is now close to the front of the headshell, minutely angled inwards, previously about 3mm further back) I am also 56y old and with a collection numbering 1000s Lps and even more CD/Digital, I'm sure I won't possibly play anything enough to wear it out before I shuffle. I do believe the stuff about a slightly higher force being preferable, rather than slight mistracking which can cause more damage. |
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Older than I once was, younger than I'll be
............................. Andrew |
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jrhughes
Senior Member Joined: 24 Mar 2010 Location: Hampshire Status: Offline Points: 145 |
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Useful information - especially as my Bronze may one day turn into a Black :o)
I think I should invest in the HFN test record. Cheers!
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Jason
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jrhughes
Senior Member Joined: 24 Mar 2010 Location: Hampshire Status: Offline Points: 145 |
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... and apologies to Paul for hijacking the thread.
I was in a very similar situation. With the Bronze, I didn't know whether to stick with MM or dip my toes into MC. As it turns out, I am engineering it so that my decision is a little easier: do both :o) I decided that I had to find out what a MC setup sounds like, despite being very happy indeed with my setup which currently uses a Reflex M with PSU1. I took the plunge and finally ordered a Benz Micro SL (which STILL hasn't arrived ) and, with that, I will temporarily use an Edwards MC1 but replace that with either Reflex M+Elevator or Reflex C. I'm building another TT system in my home office which currently has the Blue but will have the Bronze once the Benz is here. It was a very tough choice and it took me a while to make. This way I get the benefit of both but if I'd not been able to set up a second TT system I reckon I'd have gone with the Black and been very happy indeed.
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Jason
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Drewan77
Senior Member Joined: 25 May 2013 Location: Chester,England Status: Offline Points: 1544 |
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When I bought the RP6/2M Black, my friend also purchased the same TT to use with his Bronze. The Bronze/Black are pretty similar so you might as well wait until you need a replacement stylus anyway. As I said, working on the geometry has really made a significant difference and I have no desire to change for any reason. By the way, my dealer insisted I audition the Rega Exact MM cartridge at the time of purchase and compared to the Ortofon, it sounded lifeless and veiled. The only upgrades left for now are more GS interconnects & speaker cable - I have been amazed that finally I have found a cable that sounds significantly better than 'well regarded' premium brands. |
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Older than I once was, younger than I'll be
............................. Andrew |
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ServerBaboon
Senior Member Joined: 16 Jan 2008 Location: NW England Status: Offline Points: 970 |
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The big question is do you want stay with mm/mi or do you want move up the mc ladder if your long term goals are MC then getting a Reflex C and the Rondo would save on the cost of a step up stage at a later date which you would need if you had the Reflex M. N.B. Although I am sure Graham has intimated that Reflex M + Elevator has the a slight edge and coupled with variable input loading perhaps there would be a small advantages to this. Since I started on a path of green Reflex M and upgrades I have been on an mm path which for me is fine as I have set a limit on what I want to spend partly budget and partly the fear of drunken listening sessions (clumsy needle bending) and according to HiFi World the Black is as good if not better than comparably priced mc cartridges. However this is not the cartridge for woolly vinyl romance its a smooth clean sounding cartridge with a good top end and it let's you know that El Camino is a bad recording but the quality is such that the music and energy still shines through. I did consider changing my 2m Black to a Soundsmith or Music Maker cartridge for a change, I still wonder what an MC would sound like, but the inability to listen to hear them and the fact that a 2m Black stylus was at least £150 cheaper meant that I am still a 2M black listener. Since I have not had that many cartridges all I can say is that the 2M Black is good but not for everyone. Below is a link to a blog by a guy who has listened to the whole of the 2M range and compares them with the Ortofon Rondo Red, he also has a Project turntable. Some of his comments may be based on hist not using the right phono stage though He seems to have stopped updating his blog which is a bit worrying as he was ill and he maybe can't use his computer anymore. Edited by ServerBaboon - 23 Jun 2013 at 10:51am |
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Steve
------------- Various bits of GSP Kit ..well two so far, unless you count the cables that is. |
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Drewan77
Senior Member Joined: 25 May 2013 Location: Chester,England Status: Offline Points: 1544 |
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Yes, I had a number of dialogues with Alan (the Applechap) and his health was deteriorating. I believe he is no longer able to email, sadly. His reviews of the 2M range are pretty accurate, from my own experience of the Black & the Blue and friends Bronze |
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Older than I once was, younger than I'll be
............................. Andrew |
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Paul P
Senior Member Joined: 15 Mar 2011 Location: Stamford , U.K. Status: Offline Points: 131 |
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Thanks for that informative report on the Ortofon range. I'm still not sure what to buy !Should I buy the Phono Amp first ? The Phono Amp's partnered with the Rondo Blue or the Ortofon Black 2M are similar in price but which should I buy? I listen to a lot of 60's and 70's along with Rock but not much in the way of Dance or Hip -Hop .Any idea's ? I f I go down the MM route I could keep buy a Reflex first then upgrade to the Black or Bronze later ? Thanks again on this ongoing but very interesting topic.
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