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Cartridge break-in

ssmith3046

ssmith3046

Super Member
I'm 57 years old and I'm getting back into vinyl. As a kid growing up I had record players and played 45s. In my early teens I had a "stereo" record player. My first good turntable was an AR-XA with a Sure V-15 bought in 1972. Anyway, I'm using a Technics table and Ortofon blue cartridge and the sound is fantastic. I've read about cartridge break-in so what exactly needs to be broken in on a cartridge?
 
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How would that improve the sound quality of the cartridge? Does it track better once the suspenion is broken in?
 
My (uneducated) guess is that the broken-in suspension achieves the compliance and sonic properties that the designer had in mind.
 
Right on all accounts. I suspect that for some low compliance (stiff) cantilevers, this might take a longer time. However your Ortofon if more towards the low-medium compliance end of the spectrum. A few record sides should have it broken in.
 
finnbow,

I want to thank you for the heads up on the Ortofon X1-MC. :tresbon:
Quite a few of us have benefited from your alert.
That cartridge is now sold out on the NeedleDoctor site.
 
In my experience some cartridges require more break in than others. Sometimes it's very apparent, other times I can't hear a difference. One that really changed to my ears was the Audio Technica AT-150mlx. My Denon DL-103 has kind of always sounded the same.
 
Balifly said:
finnbow,

I want to thank you for the heads up on the Ortofon X1-MC. :tresbon:
Quite a few of us have benefited from your alert.
That cartridge is now sold out on the NeedleDoctor site.
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I'd be curious about your feelings about this cartridge. FWIW, mine are a little mixed. Namely, my recent cartridges have been Grado's and a Denon DL-160, both brands being nice and possessing their own sonic signature (in spades, perhaps). I find the X1-MC very neutral and flat (almost to a fault). Though I normally consider these attributes to be positive, such neutrality can also be a little less engaging (than the DL-160, for sure). OTOH, the sound is very close to the neutrality of a good CD player. But sometimes I think I want my TT to sound noticeably different than a CD player. Accordingly, I'm a bit conflicted, but certainly pleased for the price. Your thoughts/review?
 
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finnbow said:
Accordingly, I'm a bit conflicted, but certainly pleased for the price. Your thoughts/review?
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I have just received my last week, it has not been tested yet.
From what you have indicated, I think I will try it on a warmer setting.
Luxman amp, Yamaha NS 70T speakers, Pioneer S arm (?) turntable, I will post back on a new thread.

As my friends would call it the ZEN approach.:D
 
hifi_nut said:
Deleted. I was just being an asshole, sorry.
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If it was a difference of opinion, by all means, repost in a better fashion?

I love the fact that A-Karma's Moderators give us some very good free reign here, and this group would be awful boring if everybody blew sunshine up each other's Dupas! Mark
 
markd51;3381717 Dupas! Mark[/QUOTE said:
that's hilarious : the only thing in that language I know (pardon the spelling) is "smerdji dupas" ...that I learned on a construction site 32 yrs ago.... not enough to start a conversation with ......;)
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Well the one thing that confuses me a bit about Cartrudge break in is this.....
Take Benz Micro for instance. With many of their better Cartridges (Glider Ruby etc) that I know of, they they supply a supposed frequency response test graph with each Cartridge.

The thing is, they often show wonderfully flat frequency response curves, but how can they come up with this, when the Cartridge is not yet broken in, that both ends of the frequency spectrum are quite a bit less than what is heard after break in?

I often note the word "modulated" being applied to such graphs, so I have the vaguest idea what they're talking about, but I can attest, that often, fresh out of the box MC Cartridges sound like somebody strangling a chicken! lol Mark
 
markd51 said:
Take Benz Micro for instance. With many of their better Cartridges (Glider Ruby etc) that I know of, they they supply a supposed frequency response test graph with each Cartridge.
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You said it yourself. That supposed FR curve is what you would expect after breaking-in.

markd51 said:
but I can attest, that often, fresh out of the box MC Cartridges sound like somebody strangling a chicken! lol Mark
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I´m confused. Does it sound like that somebody or the chicken?:D
 
Ive noticed my Ortophon Om5 seemed good from the start. My At 120e however took alot longer to break in.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stanton681EEES View Post
also has to do with the electrical properties of the cartridge as well.

barkerd said:
statements like this always confuse me : please elaborate
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In addition to the cantilever suspension reaching compliance, the coils and magnets and even tonearm wiring (if it's been idle for long enough) can use some warm up before they're all doing their jobs optimally. With some carts, it's hardly noticeable, and with some, they're positively brutal until they've had their first cup of coffee -- er, couple of LP sides.

The Benz frequency response graphs thing may make more sense when you realize that something can be broken in fully, and then set right back up if left idle long enough. I got some used Thiel CS6 speakers once that I was ready to take to the dumpster after the first 20 minutes -- they were horrid! -- but after about 5 or 6 hours of playing at low level, they got sweeter and sweeter until they were some of the best speakers I ever heard. And they'd been plenty broken in by the time I got 'em. Those caps and inductors needed to be charged up again with current.
 
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Different folk perceive things audible differently. For instance, I am hearing impaired yet readily hear absolute polarity issues and early stylus tip attrition. Others with normal linear hearing and good listening skills may or may not hear this things. I take them at their word and expect the same courtesy in return.
 
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