-
Feeling lucky? Check out the AK 24th Anniversary Giveaway thread and join in the fun!
First LOMC cart - thoughts?
- Thread starter nalthien
- Start date
muovimies
Super Member
Inner groove distortion shouldn't be an issue, I don't have experience with the 2M Red but for all intents and purposes it should be similar in performance than their older entry models and should track ok. If everything is well setup, then a few possibilities remain. Dirty records or dirty stylus - there's a lot written about cleaning both, I won't get into record cleaning here but if you don't already have one, you should get a stylus brush and use it between every side, it really does make a difference. The records could also be worn, with 2nd hand that's always possible and I do have quite many fine looking records that have inner groove distortion because of the rusty nail a previous owner has used to play the record with. If you can, look at the stylus tip under magnification to see it's clean and in good condition.
muovimies
Super Member
Also regarding the original question, personally I prefer LOMC (or HOMC for that matter) over any MMs I've heard. My guess is it comes mostly down to inductance - every 'normal' MM / MI design I've heard has a distinctive "MM-sound" that I'd describe as a certain sense of slight stuffiness in the treble, they just lack the clarity moving coils seem to provide. Notable expection to this is the Glanz 'moving flux' cartridges, which don't suffer of this to the extent most MMs do and they happen to have a relatively low inductance of around 100mH, and even the entry model with conical stylus has a treble clarity about it most MMs can't seem to achieve.
Looking into inductance I came across some articles which deal with phase linearity and how it gets worse the higher the frequency and the higher the inductance. I can't say for sure that's what I'm hearing, but it would make sense, because what I hear isn't really about treble extension but treble quality. It's kinda hard to point a finger to the exact 'problem' I think exists with how MMs sound and apparently many people don't find it an issue or even prefer MMs to MCs, but to my ears the high frequencies of MCs just sound more natural and the first time I installed a LOMC cart in my system was a bit of an epiphany.
Looking into inductance I came across some articles which deal with phase linearity and how it gets worse the higher the frequency and the higher the inductance. I can't say for sure that's what I'm hearing, but it would make sense, because what I hear isn't really about treble extension but treble quality. It's kinda hard to point a finger to the exact 'problem' I think exists with how MMs sound and apparently many people don't find it an issue or even prefer MMs to MCs, but to my ears the high frequencies of MCs just sound more natural and the first time I installed a LOMC cart in my system was a bit of an epiphany.
dbxdx5
Super Member
I'll second that. If my phono stage gain options weren't too high or too low, I wouldn't be selling my AT33PTG/II on BT.
Fair enough; I really wasn't trying to give the ID of a particular pressing--really only to distinguish between and "old" copy and a "new" copy. My copy of Thriller is a used copy--definitely not a first pressing. Hysteria is NOS--again, not positive of the particular pressing.
I'll pull out another level today to check again--but I did level the table before I did anything else.
I do have a stylus brush that came packed with the 2M Red and I've used it to clean the stylus several times. I know some of my records are older / used; but, at least the Rush album referenced above is brand new (and I have several other new records as well) so I don't think that's the only culprit.
muovimies
Super Member
Yeah I figured but wasn't sure of the condition of your records. I once started wondering what on earth was going on with my setup as I kept hearing this high frequency squeaky sound every now and then, until I realized it was Max Roaches bass drum pedal that needed some oil...
It was some early Mingus live recording.Bryan
Check out Discoges and sign up. You can ID your records and then save them to your collection. When your in a store it will be easy to see if you have that copy already or surch the copy in the store.
I wish I did this when I just started to buying records again, as it's a lot easier to add a few in at a time.
http://www.discogs.com/
Check out Discoges and sign up. You can ID your records and then save them to your collection. When your in a store it will be easy to see if you have that copy already or surch the copy in the store.
I wish I did this when I just started to buying records again, as it's a lot easier to add a few in at a time.
http://www.discogs.com/
I'm already on there.
Thriller and Hysteria both came from Discogs sellers. The challenge I have is that some of the Discogs releases look like actual duplicates so it's sometimes hard for me to tell.
I have a lot more records to add--those are just the records that have been automatically added because they were purchased through Discogs.
Certainly none strong enough to catch my ear.
I'm starting to think that myself. Maybe even just pick up a 2M blue which I hear does worlds better at tracking. Still; if I'm going to spend $250 on a cart, I should just spend the $550 or so it would take to get one of the MC carts I've been looking at.
I hate to rub it in......well maybe not.
Been listening to awesome records all day today. Just finished Sarah Mclachlan Surfacing on Classic Records... my **** is so bad ass
BAHAHAHAAHA! You've earned the right to brag, Dan!
Brian
Why the hell would you buy another cart from the same company you have now that sucks?
Start looking at Sumiko, Benz, Van den Hul, lyra and stay away from AT, Ortofon , Shure.
That said I told you I would help you, I have extra MM carts, Shure,Ortofon and Empire like new, plus extra Sumiko Virtuoso's MC.
charlief64
Active Member
Last edited:
Two reasons: First, it's a very straight-forward comparison with between the 2M Red and the 2M Blue. They use the same cartridge body while the Blue uses a better stylus. Most things I've read about the Red vs. Blue is that the Blue does a lot better with tracking inner grooves.
Second, I'm not willing to dismiss an entire product line simply because of a negative experience with one of their lowest end products. That would be like me saying that Martin Logan is crap because I listened to a $250 pair of Motion 2s and now I'm dismissing a $10k pair of Montis.
I have a very revealing system; I'm not shocked that a low-end cartridge isn't giving me great results.
A lot of people highly recommend the 3 cartridge vendors you suggested I stay away from.
I do remember your offer to help and I may take you up on it. That said, given how new I am to vinyl, turntables, and working with cartridges, I'm nervous about borrowing anything that I wouldn't feel immediately comfortable replacing for you if I screw it up. :sigh: