You lucky bastard 😊
Usually, I don´t envy other people, since I´ve had my fair share of Ikeda´s, Kiseki´s, a lot of boring Ortofon´s and still have some.
But seeing those two on the bottom right of the pic. .............. 🤣🤣
I WANT ONE OF EACH too.
Currently playing a combination of X-Ono clone an Silk 220A sut´s.
Nearly finished with Dragan´s layout for the SX-Ono.
Will be interresting to see/hear, how the Pearl 3 compares.
Only thing I can tell you.......... Don´t do it. It´s not worth the money. All nowadays Ortofon MC´s from bottom up till and incl. Cadenza
Black are boring, lifeless and all lack the soul and euphoria that gets you drawn into the music itself.
Pricey as they are, you need at least to step up to the Winfeldt TI or Expression, to get some of that.
If you can get hold of a very "low mileage" Rondo Bronze, it´s one of the best bargains, they ever made in MC´s regarding sonics and soul.
On the MM/MI side, the VMS-30 is worth checking out also.
I´m saying this out of experience, having owned SPU-Gold, MC-2000, various Kontrapunkt´s, Rohmann, Jubilee, Cadenza Black just to
name a few. The only 2 I still regret selling are Rondo Bronze and Jubilee (and no, the CB is more or less based on the Jubilee, but they
do not sound alike) 😉
^ Interesting, thanks for the feedback.
Currently I'm running a "cheap" Grado Master 2 low output. It's a strange beast, Moving Iron. But I love the way the wooden Grados sound.
Perhaps the Ortofon are a "german thing"? The guy who loves them, and does my Linn, is from Germany.
Currently I'm running a "cheap" Grado Master 2 low output. It's a strange beast, Moving Iron. But I love the way the wooden Grados sound.
Perhaps the Ortofon are a "german thing"? The guy who loves them, and does my Linn, is from Germany.
@tonyEE
Ortofon is a DANISH brand, well renowned and a very old one as well.
5 years before i was born they were the first in the world to make a moving coil cartridge,
and also make them available for the common user.
Up through time they´ve focused so intensely on tracking ability and detail, that over a period of time, they lost their
musical aspects in the trade for more and more details. (They´ve actually admitted it them selves).
After MC5000 they turned back to try and find the lost soul of music, which was supposed to be the reason for
releasing the MC7500. Unfortunately it didn´t last long, and IMHO they went the wrong way again with a few exceptions.
Funny enough these exceptions are to be found in the lower price range.
I can´t find any good excuse to buy an over the top ridicously priced cartridge, that can track 80, 90 or 100µm, if the sound
is dull or sterile, no matter the reputation of the manufacturer, sorry to say, and I´m even a Dane, when an Ikeda 9ts or
a ZYX Ultimate 100 gives me so much more pleasure in my sweet spot. Even my Well Tempered Lab "Kauri" gives me more chills
for a fraction of the price of a mid-range Ortofon.
If you want some Ortofon history:
https://ortofon.com/pages/our-story
BTW..... Don´t know if you´re misinformed, or LINN had another company make their cartridges, but LINN electronics is as british a
company, as they come (From Scotland).
From Wiki:
Linn Products is an engineering company that manufactures hi-fi and audio equipment. Founded by Ivor Tiefenbrun in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1972, the company is best known as the manufacturer of the Linn Sondek LP12 turntable.
Ortofon is a DANISH brand, well renowned and a very old one as well.
5 years before i was born they were the first in the world to make a moving coil cartridge,
and also make them available for the common user.
Up through time they´ve focused so intensely on tracking ability and detail, that over a period of time, they lost their
musical aspects in the trade for more and more details. (They´ve actually admitted it them selves).
After MC5000 they turned back to try and find the lost soul of music, which was supposed to be the reason for
releasing the MC7500. Unfortunately it didn´t last long, and IMHO they went the wrong way again with a few exceptions.
Funny enough these exceptions are to be found in the lower price range.
I can´t find any good excuse to buy an over the top ridicously priced cartridge, that can track 80, 90 or 100µm, if the sound
is dull or sterile, no matter the reputation of the manufacturer, sorry to say, and I´m even a Dane, when an Ikeda 9ts or
a ZYX Ultimate 100 gives me so much more pleasure in my sweet spot. Even my Well Tempered Lab "Kauri" gives me more chills
for a fraction of the price of a mid-range Ortofon.
If you want some Ortofon history:
https://ortofon.com/pages/our-story
BTW..... Don´t know if you´re misinformed, or LINN had another company make their cartridges, but LINN electronics is as british a
company, as they come (From Scotland).
From Wiki:
Linn Products is an engineering company that manufactures hi-fi and audio equipment. Founded by Ivor Tiefenbrun in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1972, the company is best known as the manufacturer of the Linn Sondek LP12 turntable.
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(1) Yes.. the entire High End has gone on the deep end in search of "detail". I recently heard a $1M system ( Wilson, D'Agostino, DAC, etc...) that had so much detail that it was sterile and didn't sound anything like an orchestra... just a bunch of instruments under the microphones... weird. It was not enjoyable or believable -if you're heard a live orchestra.
(2) From my side of the Atlantic, by the shores of the Pacific, "german" sort of blends.... no insult. I know they are Danish, but the search for "order" is prevalent in the Northern Latitudes of Central Europe. Although, it's true the Danes are a lot more flexible and happy than the Germans. Must be the aquavit and better fish.
(3) By Linn... I mean the guy who likes the sound of Ortofon is the same guy who maintains and upgrades my Linn turntable. We know they have their cartridges made elsewhere. In fact the guy doesn't like them because he says they are too fragile and like to drop their stylii.. This guy likes the sound of Ortofon and lived in Germany for a long time...
I've been an audiophile since '74 -the year I bought my first separate audio components.
There's a couple of Supex cartridges in eBay... hmm.... low hours, claimed great shape, from Japan...
(2) From my side of the Atlantic, by the shores of the Pacific, "german" sort of blends.... no insult. I know they are Danish, but the search for "order" is prevalent in the Northern Latitudes of Central Europe. Although, it's true the Danes are a lot more flexible and happy than the Germans. Must be the aquavit and better fish.
(3) By Linn... I mean the guy who likes the sound of Ortofon is the same guy who maintains and upgrades my Linn turntable. We know they have their cartridges made elsewhere. In fact the guy doesn't like them because he says they are too fragile and like to drop their stylii.. This guy likes the sound of Ortofon and lived in Germany for a long time...
I've been an audiophile since '74 -the year I bought my first separate audio components.
There's a couple of Supex cartridges in eBay... hmm.... low hours, claimed great shape, from Japan...
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I consider myself VERY lucky as I have both the HA55 head amp and PS X9. Am still looking for the XL88D though 😁
Blasphemer! Actually I tend to agree. Ortofon cartridges are extremely well made but don't really do it for me. Have you considered an AT? I like my AT OC9 XML pretty much, will report back re. the Umami.
Made me think back to the day, Sonus Blue, Ortofon M15E Super.....Okay, that may have been late 70's.
I also remeber playing w/ a Koetsu Rosewood Signature that had a slightly roached suspension, not an uncommon issue, in the late 80's. Diddn't have much in the way of high frequency, but the mids were like I died and went to heaven!
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Congratulations on your Hana Umami Blue! I would be interested to hear impressions, even if they are subjective by definition. Does this stage do justice to expensive cartridges? And how does it compare to commercial offerings? I will be testing mine with a Benz LP-S btw.
Benz makes some excellent sounding cartridges, unfortunately I have found their QC to be unacceptable in recent time.
Sooo, I'm just thinking about the load selector. Wouldn't it be nice to have access to it without opening the top cover?
Why won't we mount the switch on the bottom of the PCB and have a cutout in the enclosure? So you can flip the whole thing and change settings in 15 seconds. Then add some descriptions to make it easier and we're good.
@Gianluca @6L6 @wayne what do you guys think?
Why won't we mount the switch on the bottom of the PCB and have a cutout in the enclosure? So you can flip the whole thing and change settings in 15 seconds. Then add some descriptions to make it easier and we're good.
@Gianluca @6L6 @wayne what do you guys think?
Not mine, not just yet anyway. This was sent for us/me to evaluate for the store Haha!
I'm thining about using velcRo to hold the top cover in place to facilitate changes.
Yes, the cantilever on mine is slightly skewed to one side, but I can not hear or measure anything wrong with it. No way of seeing whether the tiny diamond is mounted straight, or maybe offset al little in the other direction. Same with a Goldring Elite I once had. Every AT I ever got from cheap to more expensive has always had the cantilevers dead straight. How do they do that?
Fremer likes Ortofon:
http://www.troelsgravesen.dk/Kuzma/anna-d-MF.pdf
To my ear it sounded very nice when I got a listening experience at Troels Gravesen.
That said I am very happy with my 2MBlack 250 LVB. It tracks 80um without any problems. But my cartridge experience is very limited.
Right now I can't see why I should spend a lot of money for a MC. Maybe later when I gain more experience with TT's and P3 is up and running.
The large output from a MM is an advantage regarding noise.
http://www.troelsgravesen.dk/Kuzma/anna-d-MF.pdf
To my ear it sounded very nice when I got a listening experience at Troels Gravesen.
That said I am very happy with my 2MBlack 250 LVB. It tracks 80um without any problems. But my cartridge experience is very limited.
Right now I can't see why I should spend a lot of money for a MC. Maybe later when I gain more experience with TT's and P3 is up and running.
The large output from a MM is an advantage regarding noise.
@SomekPoland
Why not?
One issue might be that you're cutting a hole -- another hole -- in the shielding device (aka the enclosure). I don't know if that matters. As you illustrate, it's been done.
I'd thought of doing that too when I was considering using Hammond 1590 cast alloy boxes: mount the PCB on the inside of the lid cutting a hole for the bottom-mounted switch. The jacks would have to be on pigtails and secured from the outside. The Parts Connexion has some from Eichman Labs (sp?) that would work.
With my cookie tin design you'd just open the tin and slide out the back to back PCB assembly attached to the lid. The switches would be right there at the top.
Why not?
One issue might be that you're cutting a hole -- another hole -- in the shielding device (aka the enclosure). I don't know if that matters. As you illustrate, it's been done.
I'd thought of doing that too when I was considering using Hammond 1590 cast alloy boxes: mount the PCB on the inside of the lid cutting a hole for the bottom-mounted switch. The jacks would have to be on pigtails and secured from the outside. The Parts Connexion has some from Eichman Labs (sp?) that would work.
With my cookie tin design you'd just open the tin and slide out the back to back PCB assembly attached to the lid. The switches would be right there at the top.
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That's something doable! 🙂 It would be required to substitute the steel bottom cover with an aluminium one otherwise it cannot be drilled but other than that I don't see any issue
Hello SomekPoland,
this can be made so easily. I have made some nice little pcbs for the R-/C-load switching and put it into the back of my PEARL 3. Easy access and switching.
Some worry about the DIP-switches... But the good thing - you can parallel resistor- and cap-values.
Cheers
Dirk 🙂
Attachments
In fact it is the cult from japanese for the Ortofon SPU that kept that cartridge alive (and maybe Ortofon) to these day (and its many variation).
German ? Looks for EMT and Neumann. Good «soul» reputation has well.
My Denon DL-103 has soul. It is a cartridge that let the music shine for not much money if you can accomodate it. Also, my reading let me consider that a Decca cartridge is also a cartridge that have soul (or caracter, personnality, etc.). One day I will send my FFSS MKII for a rebuild and ear what it is all about.
You like your 2M Black. That´s fine. Can only say, that you probably haven´t heard a really revealing cartridge yet then 😉 .
I would say, that one of the absolute best buys out there right now is the Audio Technica AT-PTG/II. I really recommend getting
one, before they´re obsolete. Costs around 4000 danish kroner, if you buy it in Sweeden. Needs around 50 hours of
break-in and then performs well beyond it´s price range. Set up properly it´s soundstage is HUGE, and it tracks 80µ problem free.
A bit OT, but wanted something to nerd around/restore and polish, so grabbed a second hand Thorens TD-318 for 150$.
To my surprise, it was fitted with an almost unused Sumiko Talisman-B. I consider this buy a superb vintage cartridge for 150$
and a Thorens thrown in for free. Paired with the Silk Audio MC220-A trafo´s, this cartridge is totally amazing 😍
Or why not, since the dip-switch is already on the edge of the pcb, just make a hole in the back panel and use these???
Hello out there,
for those PEARL 3-builders, who want to seperate the R-/C-load - switches from the main pcb...
I offer here my gerbers from the R-/C-selector for free.
It has to be stuffed with SMD 1206 - resistors (I like the PANASONIC and the SUSUMU), the Cs have
a pitch of 15mm. So you can use CornellDubillier SilverMicas, Styroflex, WIMAs, KEMET-foils and more...
You have to order the pcbs on your own. I have tried it at JLCPCB - worked. And I will be in no case responsible
for any damages!
Have fun!
Cheers
Dirk 😉
for those PEARL 3-builders, who want to seperate the R-/C-load - switches from the main pcb...
I offer here my gerbers from the R-/C-selector for free.
It has to be stuffed with SMD 1206 - resistors (I like the PANASONIC and the SUSUMU), the Cs have
a pitch of 15mm. So you can use CornellDubillier SilverMicas, Styroflex, WIMAs, KEMET-foils and more...
You have to order the pcbs on your own. I have tried it at JLCPCB - worked. And I will be in no case responsible
for any damages!
Have fun!
Cheers
Dirk 😉