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$300 cart vs $1750 cartidge

arcorob

arcorob

Addicted Member
Okay, I have a friend with an MT10 table that came with a Clearaudio Talisman V2 Gold cart. He wanted to try something else and I want to suggest the OC9/II on sale at LPgear.

Now he has a $1750 cart but I cant see anything in the specs or research that make this any better than the $300 AT. I also hear the Talisman is based on the Denon 103R. So again, is it the Clearaudio name or is it really better ?

Anyone own one ? ever do a comparison ? Would love to see him try the AT and tell us...
 
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The Clearaudio MM carts are simply AT's with a different body case on them. I would suspect the MC's are ATs as well.
 
Interesting

marcmorin said:
The Clearaudio MM carts are simply AT's with a different body case on them. I would suspect the MC's are ATs as well.
Click to expand...

I read one Clearaudio review from a user (it was only one so you take it with a grain of salt but..) he said it was fantastic for classical music but hated it for all else..most notably the lack of bass..

I really think he should try the OC9.
 
arcorob said:
I read one Clearaudio review from a user (it was only one so you take it with a grain of salt but..) he said it was fantastic for classical music but hated it for all else..most notably the lack of bass..

I really think he should try the OC9.
Click to expand...

Compared to my Sonata-1 the OC9 ll-lll is lacking bass
 
I've seem it recommended a lot lately,partly due to the fact it is currently on sale at lpgear
 
I do know that a few years ago, some Clearaudio carts were re-bodied AT units. But in the past few years, it seems most of them are original cartridges built by Clearaudio.

In any event, price can not ensure sound quality in ANY audio product. In many cases, it is primarily a psychological factor that keeps sales of very high priced items in circulation regardless of actual performance.
 
That psychological factor usually means someone who owns expensive stuff generally buys expensive stuff. If I owned (and paid for) an MT10, the odds are low that I'd seek out a cartridge that was on sale and wasn't all that expensive to start with. I don't mean that to be an insult to the AT cartridge or the idea of recommending it. It's just that people who have expensive tastes in something are pretty consistent about it.
 
Bob_in_OKC said:
That psychological factor usually means someone who owns expensive stuff generally buys expensive stuff. If I owned (and paid for) an MT10, the odds are low that I'd seek out a cartridge that was on sale and wasn't all that expensive to start with. I don't mean that to be an insult to the AT cartridge or the idea of recommending it. It's just that people who have expensive tastes in something are pretty consistent about it.
Click to expand...

Now, price may create a bias in the way one presumes it would. But it is important to point out that price does not automatically create the bias one might presume. Many subconscious factors apply: even things like color, shape, smell, etc.; they can all create substantial bias and have an even larger skew of perception then the price in some cases.
 
arcorob said:
Okay, I have a friend with an MT10 table that came with a Clearaudio Talisman V2 Gold cart. He wanted to try something else and I want to suggest the OC9/II on sale at LPgear.

Now he has a $1750 cart but I cant see anything in the specs or research that make this any better than the $300 AT. I also hear the Talisman is based on the Denon 103R. So again, is it the Clearaudio name or is it really better ?

Anyone own one ? ever do a comparison ? Would love to see him try the AT and tell us...
Click to expand...

Maybe the AT is a better match to his tonearm than the Talisman. Cartridges perform at their best only when correctly paired with an appropriate tonearm.

Besides that, I've got only excellent results from Clearaudio products (Emotion TT, Nano preamp) and would not be inclined to believe any rumors, that may well be originated in the competing manufacturers.
 
marcmorin said:
The Clearaudio MM carts are simply AT's with a different body case on them. I would suspect the MC's are ATs as well.
Click to expand...

My Clearaudio Maestro Wood cartridge is not dyed in the wool AT cartridge at all.
Perhaps there older MM cartridges may have been.

Al. Wise
 
awise1961 said:
My Clearaudio Maestro Wood cartridge is not dyed in the wool AT cartridge at all.
Perhaps there older MM cartridges may have been.

Al. Wise
Click to expand...

Odd that one can transplant an AT stylus (minus all the plastic holder) in a cart body that isn't AT.
 
Would have thought their MCs would have been OEM Benz Micro, not too suprizing that A-T would have OEMed the MMs.
 
marcmorin said:
Odd that one can transplant an AT stylus (minus all the plastic holder) in a cart body that isn't AT.
Click to expand...

The stylus on the Maestro is fixed and not removeable.
You either send it back to Clearaudio as a trade in, or you send it to Peter at Soundsmith.
I apologize if I am missing something here.

Al. Wise
 
wonder how that AT cart would work on my SOny PS-X6 turntable. Any problems do you think?? Sounds like a heckuva deal if it would work on that table with stock arm
 
marcmorin said:
Odd that one can transplant an AT stylus (minus all the plastic holder) in a cart body that isn't AT.
Click to expand...

Wow! I think that I stand corrected.
After reading your response, I Google Searched "AT stylus for Clearaudio Cartridge" and got some threads on this very subject.
Thanks to you it looks like I will be replacing the stylus in my Maestro for a lot less.
I owe you a beer!:thmbsp:

Al. Wise
 
awise1961 said:
Wow! I think that I stand corrected.
After reading your response, I Google Searched "AT stylus for Clearaudio Cartridge" and got some threads on this very subject.
Thanks to you it looks like I will be replacing the stylus in my Maestro for a lot less.
I owe you a beer!:thmbsp:

Al. Wise
Click to expand...

Why would you do that? Clearaudio has one of the best trade in programs in the industry. Just order a new one through a Clearaudio dealer, and you get a rip-roaring deal on the trade in.
 
awise1961 said:
Wow! I think that I stand corrected.
After reading your response, I Google Searched "AT stylus for Clearaudio Cartridge" and got some threads on this very subject.
Thanks to you it looks like I will be replacing the stylus in my Maestro for a lot less.
I owe you a beer!:thmbsp:

Al. Wise
Click to expand...

LOL.........Yeah, and i appologise for the link before allowing this thread its natural course. I wasn't dogging anything if my post(s) sounded that way.

Instead of a beer, how about instead we discuss our ES-1s off line? :thmbsp:
 
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