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Cartridge recommendation for Magnepan Unitrac 1

hirscwi

hirscwi

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
I recently acquired a Linn LP12 with a Magnepan Unitrac 1 arm. I've done some research to find cartridge recommendations. So far most recommendations have been vintage: Ortofon M20 FL Super; Nagaoka MP-50; Empire 1000ZE/x; Empire 600LAC and Empire 888TE. Current versions I've seen recommended are Denon DL103 and Ortofon 2M Black.

I think I'd like to find either the Ortofon M20 or the Nagaoka MP50 but don't know how often they come available. I may also try a DL-103 modified by Soundsmith.

This Unitrac arm doesn't seem to be much in use anymore but it appears to be a high quality arm from the reviews I can find (and it kept the price of the LP12 fairly low). Fortunately the wiring is completely intact.

I'd love to hear from others with recommendations relative to cartridges or sources for the vintage carts.
 
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Shure V15 VMR. I had an LP12 with the Unitrac arm (still have the arm, in fact) and I found this to be a great combination. IME the arm did poorly with most MC cartridges (including the Denon 103 and Dynavector Ruby). A high-end Grado Signature also worked well for me.
 
I'd recommend a Koetsu Black Goldline cartridge. I have one on my Zeta tonearm,via Linn LP12.. It sounds real nice.
 
The Shure v15, as mentioned, is a good match, as is the Sumiko Blackbird I'm currently running on mine. The Sumiko SHO & Ortofon OM-40 sang on it as well. Honestly, I've found the Unitrac to be a very cartridge tolerant arm. I've never fount any cartridges that it really doesn't work well with, but I'm sure there must be some odd fringe designs it wouldn't like. I suppose it wouldn't mate well with a particularly low compliance cart, but there aren't too many of those around any more except a few really pricey LOMCs.
 
The Unitrac has an eff mass of 7g. I think you'll have better results with med/high compliance carts. I wouldn't consider using a 103. That's way to stiff for a Unitrac.

They were often originally paired with the 103 D, hi cu version. I would think a 301 would be a good match.

Of current carts 100 series ATs, Grados, and Ortofon 2M should be good. There are lots of vintage MM/MI like Grace, Empires, Shure, AT, Signet, Ortofon OM.
Stanton 981/881 works great. There's a Pickering 3000 on Agon now w/orig stylus - should sound great. The Ortofon M20FL Super will work good, but it's a little distant. I loaded it at 53Kohms and really liked the full bass and sweet/detailed top.

There are others, including MCs that are appropriate, but don't put a heavy tracking, low compliance cart on there. In general it's best with a compliance of at least 18cu @ 10Hz or 10cu @ 100Hz.
 
Thanks for all the great information. I will now start the fun process if finding and trying a few. Thanks for the tip on the agon pickering.
 
I will add that the Unitrac I is a forgiving arm, and will run many low compliance cartridges. I have run the following:

Ortofon 2M Blk
Ortofon MC 20 Super
Audio Technica AT15Sa
Micro Acoustics M2002e
Dynavector 17D2mr
Dynavector DV20xM
Sonus Gold Blue
XYZ Omega
That being said the lower compliance Cartridges sounded great in the Unitrac but blossomed in a heavier arm.
I am currently running an Ortofon 2M Black, and a AT15Sa in my 2 Unitrac1 arms. FWIW

Regards,
Jim
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the additional suggestions. I have an AT OC9ML/II that I will try and an Ortofon M20 FL Super on the way. It looks like the Ortofon 2M Black gets several votes so I should be on the lookout for one of those. But the Denon 103 is nix. Looking will be part of the fun - but listening will be more of it. Now I just need to make sure the arm is set up properly...
 
One challenge will be that I'm overwhelmed by the proliferation of cartridge models offered by AT...
 
Darn, I think I missed the Picker cart on Agon...
Several on the auction site but I worry about those.

neobop said:
The Unitrac has an eff mass of 7g. I think you'll have better results with med/high compliance carts. I wouldn't consider using a 103. That's way to stiff for a Unitrac.

They were often originally paired with the 103 D, hi cu version. I would think a 301 would be a good match.

Of current carts 100 series ATs, Grados, and Ortofon 2M should be good. There are lots of vintage MM/MI like Grace, Empires, Shure, AT, Signet, Ortofon OM.
Stanton 981/881 works great. There's a Pickering 3000 on Agon now w/orig stylus - should sound great. The Ortofon M20FL Super will work good, but it's a little distant. I loaded it at 53Kohms and really liked the full bass and sweet/detailed top.

There are others, including MCs that are appropriate, but don't put a heavy tracking, low compliance cart on there. In general it's best with a compliance of at least 18cu @ 10Hz or 10cu @ 100Hz.
Click to expand...
 
hirscwi said:
Darn, I think I missed the Picker cart on Agon...
Several on the auction site but I worry about those.
Click to expand...

Yea, I got burned a couple of times on fleabey buying used carts. Unless you know the seller or feel confident about the transaction, you're taking a chance.

I'm told the Pickering 3000 is the same as an 881 - a classic. The problem with them is getting a replacement stylus. You basically have to send it to a retipper to get an original equivalent or an upgrade cantilever/tip.

If you get a new AT MM, they seem to have a long break-in which you'll have to suffer through. It's been my experience that one stylus can improve performance on a couple of different models. You can get an AT150MLX replacement stylus on Amazon for under $200. This will fit the 120E and the 100E bodies. The 120/440 generator is the same basic motor that runs such classics as the 155LC and 160ML. The 100E motor is basically the same as a 150MLX. With these bodies and orig styli + the 150 stylus, you'll be busy for awhile.

There's a used Maestro on Agon right now for $400. It will take a trimmed AT 95 series replacement stylus or you could even change the compliance by using a trimmed 3472 series P-mount stylus. To replace the orig stylus you'd have to transplant a 150MLX or send it off to somebody who can.

I kind of regret selling the M20FL Super. After tweaking it's such a listenable cart, but I don't like having a million unused carts in the cabinet. Guess I'm getting old. If you find it sounds distant, like the midrange is coming from next door, my solution was to raise the preamp input resistance. This isn't always feasible so you could try adding some capacitance. The original version of the cart came with caps attached to the back of the cart. This lowers high frequency resonance and augments the treble.
I have no idea what you're running, but you can order some silver mica caps for a dollar or two each. Values of 100, 200 and 300pF could prove useful. I believe the orig cart came with 300pF.

Have fun,
 
I have an Ortofon 2M Black on my Unitrac I arm. It is a nice match. It sounds great, however I am replacing it with an Ortofon TA-110 arm and a Cadenze Black cartridge. When I find the right armboard you will see my Unitrac I on barter town.
 
Thanks for the information. Very helpful.

I like the options for AT carts and will do some digging.

As regards the M20 FL, I have a couple phono amp options: The one built into my MACs - which are fixed at 47k ohm - and a DIY phono amp from AK (CNC) - which has adjustable input impedance. I don't remember what the input capacitance is on either of the phono amps, but it sounds like adjusting the impedance is better - correct?

If I go the route of silver mica caps, do they attach near the cart or somewhere else - that's probably a dumb question.

I like having several choices with which to experiment.

neobop said:
Yea, I got burned a couple of times on fleabey buying used carts. Unless you know the seller or feel confident about the transaction, you're taking a chance.

I'm told the Pickering 3000 is the same as an 881 - a classic. The problem with them is getting a replacement stylus. You basically have to send it to a retipper to get an original equivalent or an upgrade cantilever/tip.

If you get a new AT MM, they seem to have a long break-in which you'll have to suffer through. It's been my experience that one stylus can improve performance on a couple of different models. You can get an AT150MLX replacement stylus on Amazon for under $200. This will fit the 120E and the 100E bodies. The 120/440 generator is the same basic motor that runs such classics as the 155LC and 160ML. The 100E motor is basically the same as a 150MLX. With these bodies and orig styli + the 150 stylus, you'll be busy for awhile.

There's a used Maestro on Agon right now for $400. It will take a trimmed AT 95 series replacement stylus or you could even change the compliance by using a trimmed 3472 series P-mount stylus. To replace the orig stylus you'd have to transplant a 150MLX or send it off to somebody who can.

I kind of regret selling the M20FL Super. After tweaking it's such a listenable cart, but I don't like having a million unused carts in the cabinet. Guess I'm getting old. If you find it sounds distant, like the midrange is coming from next door, my solution was to raise the preamp input resistance. This isn't always feasible so you could try adding some capacitance. The original version of the cart came with caps attached to the back of the cart. This lowers high frequency resonance and augments the treble.
I have no idea what you're running, but you can order some silver mica caps for a dollar or two each. Values of 100, 200 and 300pF could prove useful. I believe the orig cart came with 300pF.

Have fun,
Click to expand...
 
If you're going to sell the 2M, please drop me a PM.
capt.chaos said:
I have an Ortofon 2M Black on my Unitrac I arm. It is a nice match. It sounds great, however I am replacing it with an Ortofon TA-110 arm and a Cadenze Black cartridge. When I find the right armboard you will see my Unitrac I on barter town.
Click to expand...
 
So do I understand correctly that an AT150MLX replacement stylus ($155) on an AT100e body ($80) gives me the equivalent of an AT150MLX? That's a savings of $100! Plus I can try it with the 120 body!

Sounds like fun at a reasonable price.

neobop said:
Yea, I got burned a couple of times on fleabey buying used carts. Unless you know the seller or feel confident about the transaction, you're taking a chance.

I'm told the Pickering 3000 is the same as an 881 - a classic. The problem with them is getting a replacement stylus. You basically have to send it to a retipper to get an original equivalent or an upgrade cantilever/tip.

If you get a new AT MM, they seem to have a long break-in which you'll have to suffer through. It's been my experience that one stylus can improve performance on a couple of different models. You can get an AT150MLX replacement stylus on Amazon for under $200. This will fit the 120E and the 100E bodies. The 120/440 generator is the same basic motor that runs such classics as the 155LC and 160ML. The 100E motor is basically the same as a 150MLX. With these bodies and orig styli + the 150 stylus, you'll be busy for awhile.

There's a used Maestro on Agon right now for $400. It will take a trimmed AT 95 series replacement stylus or you could even change the compliance by using a trimmed 3472 series P-mount stylus. To replace the orig stylus you'd have to transplant a 150MLX or send it off to somebody who can.

I kind of regret selling the M20FL Super. After tweaking it's such a listenable cart, but I don't like having a million unused carts in the cabinet. Guess I'm getting old. If you find it sounds distant, like the midrange is coming from next door, my solution was to raise the preamp input resistance. This isn't always feasible so you could try adding some capacitance. The original version of the cart came with caps attached to the back of the cart. This lowers high frequency resonance and augments the treble.
I have no idea what you're running, but you can order some silver mica caps for a dollar or two each. Values of 100, 200 and 300pF could prove useful. I believe the orig cart came with 300pF.

Have fun,
Click to expand...
 
hirscwi said:
Thanks for the information. Very helpful.

I like the options for AT carts and will do some digging.

As regards the M20 FL, I have a couple phono amp options: The one built into my MACs - which are fixed at 47k ohm - and a DIY phono amp from AK (CNC) - which has adjustable input impedance. I don't remember what the input capacitance is on either of the phono amps, but it sounds like adjusting the impedance is better - correct?

If I go the route of silver mica caps, do they attach near the cart or somewhere else - that's probably a dumb question.

I like having several choices with which to experiment.
Click to expand...

If you can get 53K or thereabout, you shouldn't need any additional caps for the CNC. You'll have to experiment. I think it's better if you don't use a lot of additional capacitance if you don't have to.

I have no idea what the capacitance is on your MAC, but you might need some additional. The values I stated should cover it. The caps would go between hot and ground like a load resistor. You can put them on the inside of an input jack or a loading plug would work. Capacitance values are additive, so if you want 400pF, a 300 + 100 will do it. You might want to try the CNC, you'll probably get better results.
neo
 
Thanks. One of my Macs (4100) is 87pF and the other (4200) is 47pF. I don't know why the newer one is lower capacitance. Both are 47k impedance. I am expecting better results from the CNC but the Macs aren't too shabby - some have compared the basic design to that of the CNC. I can't remember the capacitance of the CNC without going back to my build notes.

I don't understand why the change in impedance or capacitance impacts the sound of the carts. Is it changing the filtering? If you can point me to some reading it would be greatly appreciated.

neobop said:
If you can get 53K or thereabout, you shouldn't need any additional caps for the CNC. You'll have to experiment. I think it's better if you don't use a lot of additional capacitance if you don't have to.

I have no idea what the capacitance is on your MAC, but you might need some additional. The values I stated should cover it. The caps would go between hot and ground like a load resistor. You can put them on the inside of an input jack or a loading plug would work. Capacitance values are additive, so if you want 400pF, a 300 + 100 will do it. You might want to try the CNC, you'll probably get better results.
neo
Click to expand...
 
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