Trying to maximize MM cart

[preston1000]

Okay fellow turntable enthusias, I admit that I should probably try a MC but it's out of my budget at this time.

I feel I've tried a lot of different tweaks and a few mods to squeeze out every possible detail on my Denon DP45F with a Nagaoka MP50 body and a JN-P500 stylus.

I have to admit, YMMV, the VTA adjustment seems to have the greatest affect on bringing out a wider soundstage but it also has its downfalls. Too much VTA and the vocals become distorted and the soundstage gets smaller. Not enough VTA and the vocals are very clear and the instruments can barely be heard. So after trying different shims to adjust the VTA, I settled with a shim height of 1.19mm, VTF of 1.75 and a hockey puck.



What I would like to hear is the vocals being very clear with a wide soundstage but I don't know if the Nagaoka will do that, at least I haven't figured it out yet.

If someone has some helpful advice on how it would be possible to achieve such detailed sounds, feel free to chime in.

Much appreciated,
Ron

 

[preston1000]

Well,.............
I guess this subject has "been beaten like a dead horse".

It continues regardless to help others that want to know what to do without thousands of different opinions and just give up.

One recent purchase of mine was a JA Michell clamp, not the cheap knock off, and tried it on Scorpions Lonesome Crow Bomb101. I wasn't sure what to expect as the JA Michell weighs in at 70g and the hockey puck I was using weighs in at 165g.
With the JA Michell clamped on the Denon DP-45F without the washer underneath side one of the Scorpions Lonesome Crow, "I'm going mad". The begining of the song was a lot clearer and more up front while other nuances were also being present, something I didn't experience with the hockey puck.
What ever JA Michell did to make this an amazing clamp work so well, it just simply makes the soundstage wider and clearer.

Another question I posted many times trying to figure out was, "why do the first few songs always sound like it was a smaller soundstage than the inner songs while using the hockey puck"? The answer to this question is, "the record isn't making good enough contact on outer edge with the hockey puck, therefore a smaller soundstage and not as detailed from the songs nearest the hockey puck".
With the JA Michell clamp, I get the same wide soundstage from the first song to the very last one on a vinyl with details I never heard with or without a hockey puck.

For now, I will experiment with other tweaks in time and if I come across something that is worthwhile, I will post my findings.



Happy vinyl listening to all,
Ron Eversole.

 

[sqlsavior]

Very interesting observations, thanks for sharing them!

I might ask Santa Claus for a JA Michell clamp.