I've been reading about these cartridges & am somewhat surprised that there does not appear to be much discussion about them. - (I may be wrong here of course).
I'm considering dipping my toe in at the lower end - up to about US$1K, & would appreciate any advice re their performance compared with other similarly priced units, say Ortofon or AT. etc. - (Properly set up of course).
I'm considering the Otello or the Carmen models but would welcome comments if there is a big difference to be gained by going a little higher. I also have a very low mass uni-pivot arm lying idle which may come in handy.
From watching some of Peter Ledermann's lectures, I was impressed.
As an electronics engineer, special preamps, cartridge loading etc., are no problem if needed, and realise that they generally need a bit more gain than the usual MM preamps & hence more attention to lower noise. - This could be an interesting challenge. I also have a very low mass uni-pivot arm lying idle which may come in handy.
As an amateur chamber music wind player, my taste is classical from small ensembles to the major works including pipe organ and, (strangely ?), I tend to listen to the music & not the equipment !
Any suggestions appreciated, - thanks.
I'm considering dipping my toe in at the lower end - up to about US$1K, & would appreciate any advice re their performance compared with other similarly priced units, say Ortofon or AT. etc. - (Properly set up of course).
I'm considering the Otello or the Carmen models but would welcome comments if there is a big difference to be gained by going a little higher. I also have a very low mass uni-pivot arm lying idle which may come in handy.
From watching some of Peter Ledermann's lectures, I was impressed.
As an electronics engineer, special preamps, cartridge loading etc., are no problem if needed, and realise that they generally need a bit more gain than the usual MM preamps & hence more attention to lower noise. - This could be an interesting challenge. I also have a very low mass uni-pivot arm lying idle which may come in handy.
As an amateur chamber music wind player, my taste is classical from small ensembles to the major works including pipe organ and, (strangely ?), I tend to listen to the music & not the equipment !
Any suggestions appreciated, - thanks.
The soundsmith cartridges are the old B&O MMC range but without the hollow sapphire cantilevers. Too rich for me but the originals go for 500-600USD so clearly the market puts a value on them. I'd like one (MMC), but I have too many cartridges already.
B&O MMC1 was top of the range in its day ,I have the spec. in the Hi-Fi Choice cartridge book .
The jeweled cantilever is mentioned £93 at that time ,it only reached a "recommended " then but the much cheaper and titanium cantilever MMC4 got a Best Buy as very much a bargain buy exceeding its price range in sound quality.
The MMC1 mounting bracket was not liked.
The jeweled cantilever is mentioned £93 at that time ,it only reached a "recommended " then but the much cheaper and titanium cantilever MMC4 got a Best Buy as very much a bargain buy exceeding its price range in sound quality.
The MMC1 mounting bracket was not liked.
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Thanks guys. I think I get the massage & like you Bill, I think I have too many cartridges already. What I find curious though is that the "new" B&O cartridges seem to be similarly priced to the models I mentioned but have a fine line stylus & ruby cantilever. - ??
Sapphire is quite dense, so unless it's hollow you get a big weight penalty. Namaki don't laser drill sapphire rods any more. But if you fancy trying sapphire then Jico do a number of replacement stylii with sapphire+SAS (which is just a microridge). Sadly none for AT or ortofon models though.
Sapphire and ruby are the same, just with some impurities for the red colour.
Value in cartridges is an odd one. I like the ortofon OM series, but the OM30 and 40 replacement stylii are what I would consider expensive. Then again AT rejigged their range to double the prices last year 🙂
Sapphire and ruby are the same, just with some impurities for the red colour.
Value in cartridges is an odd one. I like the ortofon OM series, but the OM30 and 40 replacement stylii are what I would consider expensive. Then again AT rejigged their range to double the prices last year 🙂
I have owned 4 Soundsmith cartridges and still have a Boheme and Voice. I can recommend them without reservation. By way of comparison I also have Shelter 7000, vdH Frog, Benz LP and a couple others. The SS stay in use.
Thanks hirscwi, but the S/Smith carts you mentioned are well above my price point & possibly not so relevant to the lower end carts.
Also, there doesn't seem to be too many comparisons with other cartridges such as Ortofon, AT., Grado, Shure etc on the net. particularly with these lower end models which I'm interested in.
And, thanks billshurv for informing me about the cantilevers.
Also, there doesn't seem to be too many comparisons with other cartridges such as Ortofon, AT., Grado, Shure etc on the net. particularly with these lower end models which I'm interested in.
And, thanks billshurv for informing me about the cantilevers.
I also have an SMMC3 which probably is under 1000. It has many of the same characteristics as the higher so I'd think the otello an carmen and aida would be good choices.
I have a Soundsmith cartridge (Sotto Voce) I realize it is out of your price range but, it is the best sounding cartridge I have ever owned to date.... Also as a bonus the retip price is so cheap that I will never need to buy another cartridge...
I have an older Otello, the bottom of the SoundSmith range, and it sounds great and tracks well on an Technics SL-1200GR. SoundSmith is a small, handcraft, manufacturer that has reasonably priced MI cartridges and a really good re-tip policy. I think they are pretty hard to beat for the price.
I have a Soundsmith Aida and it was retipped and upgraded to the last version by Soundsmith service. I use it from about 2011.
The next pick up will be another Soundsmith, hopefully a Paua or Sussurro.
As you, i put a limit on the money to spend in a cartridge, but for Soundsmith i can well make an exception. Soundsmith are very fine phono pickups.
Buy what you can afford confidently. I'm sure you will be not disappointed.
The next pick up will be another Soundsmith, hopefully a Paua or Sussurro.
As you, i put a limit on the money to spend in a cartridge, but for Soundsmith i can well make an exception. Soundsmith are very fine phono pickups.
Buy what you can afford confidently. I'm sure you will be not disappointed.
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There is an original MMC2 in the swap meet section at the moment. If I wasn't overloaded with carts I would have bought that already.
