MM Cart. With Low Compliance
- Thread starter AudioSoul
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I'd start with the VE databases. Arm mass is 16 grams.
There's a wide range of carts that should work for that arm, so much so that you really shouldn't have to worry about anything until you get up into the high 20s on compliance specs.
There's a wide range of carts that should work for that arm, so much so that you really shouldn't have to worry about anything until you get up into the high 20s on compliance specs.
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Maybe the AT150MLX? Probably the best MM performer in that price range.
Any reason you don't want MC?
Any reason you don't want MC?
KentTeffeteller
Gimpus Stereophilus!
Fidelity Research and Moving Coil are natural marriages.
neobop
Well-Known Member
Agreed.
16g eff mass is not a typical MM arm, it's not really med mass. Go to that resonance calculator and plug in 6g cart weight (typical) and 1g mounting screws. A cart with 18cu will resonate at 7.81Hz. Get it down to 15cu and you're at 8.56Hz. To hit the ideal 10Hz you'd be at 11cu.
The 150MLX weighs 8.3g and cu is 10 @ 100Hz. That's about 18cu @ 10Hz.
All the Clearaudio carts are 15cu.
The AT7V is about 16cu (7 @ 100).
The Nagaoka MP150 is about 14cu (6.0 @ 100), MP200 is about 16.2 cu (7.2 @ 100)
Benz used to have a HOMC in that price range. Maybe you could find a NOS on Agon.
That's not to say other carts won't work, but if you're trying to match mass with compliance.....
If you reduce the body weight of the 150MLX to that of a 440 and use lightweight screws you'll be close to 8Hz. The 100E has the same motor as the 150 and you could use that stylus (is within budget). Now you just have to guess at the sound you're looking for.
neo
Some of your math is a little off. To convert compliance measured @ 10Hz to 100 Hz, multiply by approximately 1.75. Thus,
AT-7V is 12.25 CU @ 100 Hz
Nagaoka MP-110 is 10.5 CU @ 100 Hz
Nagaoka MP-200 is 12.6 CU @ 100 Hz
The acceptable range for resonant frequency is 7-12 Hz, with 8-11 Hz being preferred.
While I agree that the AT-150mlx would not be an ideal match for the FR-54, it is priced well above the OP's nominated budget so it's a moot point for purposes of this discussion.
To the OP, here's some MM's and high-output MC's that will mate well with your 'arm and are within your budget that should be on your list:
Denon DL-110
Audio Technica AT-440mla
Audio Technica AT-7V
Clearaudio Concept V2
Sumiko Pearl
Nagaoka MP-110
Nagaoka MP-150
If I was shopping for a MM/HOMC in this price range, the DL-110 would be at or near the top of my list.
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For $300, you could buy a DL-110 and a bunch of records. Hard to go wrong there.
The AT95 family can be surprisingly good for chump change...
If you then fit them with a HE or Shibata needle (from LPGear or Turntableneedles) - you have a seriously competitive cartridge for not much money, which is well suited to that arm mass...
You can take it even further by potting the cartridge.
Alternatively, purchase a Clearaudio MM with a broken stylus, and fit it with one of the same AT95 family styli - the CA's are already modded for additional sonic goodness (they are from the same AT95 family )
Hope that Helps
bye for now
David
If you then fit them with a HE or Shibata needle (from LPGear or Turntableneedles) - you have a seriously competitive cartridge for not much money, which is well suited to that arm mass...
You can take it even further by potting the cartridge.
Alternatively, purchase a Clearaudio MM with a broken stylus, and fit it with one of the same AT95 family styli - the CA's are already modded for additional sonic goodness (they are from the same AT95 family )
Hope that Helps
bye for now
David
neobop
Well-Known Member
The DL-110 is a good suggestion, but for the rest of your objections, afraid not.
There is no single multiplier that converts 100Hz cu to 10Hz. It's more like a sliding scale. The AT95/CA is 6.5 cu @100 Hz, yet 10Hz cu is 15 (more than double).
The AT150/440 is 10 cu @ 100Hz, and approx. 18 cu @ 10Hz.
My 100Hz figures are from LpGear, a dealer for these carts with published specs. My apologies to OP if there's a mistake, but I don't think so.
The suggestion of a 150MLX wasn't mine. I was merely offering an alternative with virtually the same performance. Having lived with a 16g arm (Zeta) for years, and currently owning even heavier arms, I'm of the opinion that SQ entails more than matching cu to eff mass. The 95/CA suggestion is a good one IMO. There's a NOS Benz Silver (HO) on Agon for $325 I believe.
I tried a Benz Gold and I think a 95/CA has the potential to outperform it.
neo
I find this comment problematic....
Any two decent cartridges should sound very much alike... the better they are the more they should sound alike.
If it "sounds like the moving coil that it is" - to me that is a sign that it is a lower-end / lower-performance cartridge.... there must be distinct colourations that make you say that!
I am not saying it sounds bad mind you - but perfection (IMO) is neutrality, and allowing the music/recording shine through unimpeded and unmodified...
And yes I do have some cartridges that have a "distinct" sound - and sound delightful on certain types of music... but I am hesitant to say that they are "good" cartridges, as I consider that particular distinctiveness a major flaw!
My observation is that this type of flaw is particularly common among lower end MC's - a price range within which the MM's tend to be much better.
Is it that you don't have the option of LOMC in your set-up, or is it a matter of preference? Makes a difference in what folks might suggest. Replaceable stylus a necessity? In the case of MM carts the match can depend very much on which stylus is selected as well. If it were my druthers and with that lovely arm I'd be headed into MC territory. Also, you can vary effective mass with shell selection as well, right? Something like a DL-103 would like the heavier shell for example.
