Typical. Just when you work out what your next cartridge is going to be and put a plan in place to get one in the next 18 months they discontinue it and the replacement isn't as good and twice the price. Phooey.
The AT150MLX is being replaced by the SA, which is shibata rather than microline and Al rather than gold plated boron cantilever. AT claim it has a 'richer midrange', which translates as 'not flat frequency response' to me. I guess the market for fragile and neutral cartridges is limited.
Ah well, who knows by the time I actually have the spare cash something better might have come along. At least JICO have re-introduced the SAS stylus.
The AT150MLX is being replaced by the SA, which is shibata rather than microline and Al rather than gold plated boron cantilever. AT claim it has a 'richer midrange', which translates as 'not flat frequency response' to me. I guess the market for fragile and neutral cartridges is limited.
Ah well, who knows by the time I actually have the spare cash something better might have come along. At least JICO have re-introduced the SAS stylus.
Usually a successor is recommended or announced in such cases.
What is the audible difference to the cartridge from this url?
AT150Sa Dual Moving Magnet Cartridge || Audio-Technica US
well the replacement has a less advanced tip and cantilever and from AT own forum
The Sa tip also does an excellent job of tracking high frequencies and inner grooves with low distortion. The notable difference is in term of the sound it produces. The Sa has a more prominent midrange and mid-bass.
So they admit its also less neutral.
And all this for twice the price!
The Sa tip also does an excellent job of tracking high frequencies and inner grooves with low distortion. The notable difference is in term of the sound it produces. The Sa has a more prominent midrange and mid-bass.
So they admit its also less neutral.
And all this for twice the price!
Arrrrrrgh!!!!
I was planning the same thing after being impressed with the 440MLa.
mlloyd1
I was planning the same thing after being impressed with the 440MLa.
mlloyd1
I've actually avoided AT cartridges in the past because they sounded bright and forward to me and weren't the ultimate in my mind in terms of resolution. I had a 440MLa sometime ago and didn't care for it. May simply have been in that system at that time it was not a good match.
I have something of a fascination for the ART7 and ART9 cartridges and may grab one or the other at some point.
I have something of a fascination for the ART7 and ART9 cartridges and may grab one or the other at some point.
I sold my 150MLX last year to a newbie hipster friend who wanted to "get into vinyl." I gave him the Technics SL-Q2 TT it was installed in. Three days later he asked me "where to buy new needle" after his 2 year old pawed it. Real nice sounding cart. It was very highly reviewed in Sensible Sound magazine. It was AT's best MM cartridge sold in US at that time.
Real nice sounding cart. It was very highly reviewed in Sensible Sound magazine. It was AT's best MM cartridge sold in US at that time.
MC Quintet Black S
Seems that whoever made the boron cantilevers has also given up, which may explain Another bit of the puzzle.
Seems that whoever made the boron cantilevers has also given up, which may explain Another bit of the puzzle.
SAS also went from boron to sapphire cantilever. I don't know if it was solely due to some failures that were reported with the older boron version.
According the reviews I've read so far, seems like the magic is gone, at least for 150MLX. Given it's very reasonable price, it was my first choice if I ever went over to MMs, too bad
According the reviews I've read so far, seems like the magic is gone, at least for 150MLX. Given it's very reasonable price, it was my first choice if I ever went over to MMs, too bad
Somehow I survived with out boron cantilevered line contact equipped cartridges for most of my life. So much drama... <sigh>
I never thought the AT150MLx was anything that special, (yes it's very good at the price and read into that what you will) and the 440MLa I owned was a major disappointment. (long ago!)
I currently own 4 MC cartridges, two with aluminum cantilevers, and two with boron cantilevers. Three are line contact and one is elliptical. They are all ridiculously expensive and quite similar in terms of their performance. The boron line contacts are preferred by a small margin.
The boron line contacts both have much longer cantilevers than the aluminum cantilevered cartridges. Low mass, rigidity and absence of resonances I think count more than the materials.
Point is there has to be a number of comparable or even better cartridges out there that don't use boron and never have. Find them.. LOL
Early in the 2000s certain people were asserting that the supply of vinyl suitable for record pressing would no longer exist after 2012 or so. Doesn't seem to have happened.
Is this a disaster or just another hiccup along the way?
I never thought the AT150MLx was anything that special, (yes it's very good at the price and read into that what you will) and the 440MLa I owned was a major disappointment. (long ago!)
I currently own 4 MC cartridges, two with aluminum cantilevers, and two with boron cantilevers. Three are line contact and one is elliptical. They are all ridiculously expensive and quite similar in terms of their performance. The boron line contacts are preferred by a small margin.
The boron line contacts both have much longer cantilevers than the aluminum cantilevered cartridges. Low mass, rigidity and absence of resonances I think count more than the materials.
Point is there has to be a number of comparable or even better cartridges out there that don't use boron and never have. Find them.. LOL
Early in the 2000s certain people were asserting that the supply of vinyl suitable for record pressing would no longer exist after 2012 or so. Doesn't seem to have happened.
Is this a disaster or just another hiccup along the way?
well given your love of SPUs the AT150 is about as far away from that as you can get! Given vinyl is all about preferences for dealing with old tech and how finniky the AT are with loading I can see why you didn't love the 440. But I was hoping to go for something more neutral on my next uprade. I know neutral and vinyl don't actually go together, but got to have a goal.
And yes I know that a larger diameter thin wall Al cantilever should be as light and still as Boron...
If I could afford an ortofon Xpression of course I wouldn't be worrying at all
And yes I know that a larger diameter thin wall Al cantilever should be as light and still as Boron...
If I could afford an ortofon Xpression of course I wouldn't be worrying at all
I wanted an Xpression until I got hooked on the Souther LTAs which has driven me in the direction of slightly lighter, higher compliance moving coils like the Ortofon Windfeld and Benz Ebony H currently installed on my two tables.
I'm down to just two SPUs.. Now.. LOL
The Benz is more forgiving than the Windfeld, but the Windfeld is definitely more neutral, and in fact is the most neutral cartridge I have owned. (It results in sound from vinyl that is very similar to the digital sources in my system and may not be everyone's cup of tea.) The Benz is a bit warmer, less authoritative and doesn't do bass the same way, but tracks difficult program material better than anything else I have ever owned. Neither of these are particularly colored in the context of other cartridges I've owned.
I've freed myself from the colorations of conventional (and not cheap) pivoted arms in exchange for some other interesting problems.
I will say I have much better vinyl reproduction than I could have ever imagined in the heyday of vinyl or during the early digital era. Surprisingly I find clean, well recorded vinyl quite audibly competitive with digital, but at a pretty large price premium unfortunately. Measurements of course tell a different story, but ears being what they are when do you reach the point of diminishing returns and can it be reached by vinyl? (yes under some circumstances)
I'm down to just two SPUs.. Now.. LOL
The Benz is more forgiving than the Windfeld, but the Windfeld is definitely more neutral, and in fact is the most neutral cartridge I have owned. (It results in sound from vinyl that is very similar to the digital sources in my system and may not be everyone's cup of tea.) The Benz is a bit warmer, less authoritative and doesn't do bass the same way, but tracks difficult program material better than anything else I have ever owned. Neither of these are particularly colored in the context of other cartridges I've owned.
I've freed myself from the colorations of conventional (and not cheap) pivoted arms in exchange for some other interesting problems.
I will say I have much better vinyl reproduction than I could have ever imagined in the heyday of vinyl or during the early digital era. Surprisingly I find clean, well recorded vinyl quite audibly competitive with digital, but at a pretty large price premium unfortunately. Measurements of course tell a different story, but ears being what they are when do you reach the point of diminishing returns and can it be reached by vinyl? (yes under some circumstances)
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