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My $55 M97xE arrived today

Ordered my second one yesterday, in anticipation of the arrival of a Tech sl 1200 MKII.
But now that i am looking at them pictures, i think my first M97xe, has a wonky cantilever, mine rides alot lower than that (or, are my eyes deceiving me) ... Oh well it still sounds good (to me anyway).

IMG_1327.jpg
 
Zodia said:
Ordered my second one yesterday, in anticipation of the arrival of a Tech sl 1200 MKII.
But now that i am looking at them pictures, i think my first M97xe, has a wonky cantilever, mine rides alot lower than that (or, are my eyes deceiving me) ... Oh well it still sounds good (to me anyway).

IMG_1327.jpg
Click to expand...

Mine seems to ride nice and high, I guess you'll find out when you get the second one. I'm thinkin' about getting a couple(at least one) more just to have around.
 
Hi,

What would you guy's think of a match up with a Rega RB250 and a
Thorens TD125 turntable, you think it's a good Combo for this Cart.

Thanks
 
tube-a-lou said:
Hi,

What would you guy's think of a match up with a Rega RB250 and a
Thorens TD125 turntable, you think it's a good Combo for this Cart.

Thanks
Click to expand...

I wish I could help, but have no experience with Rega, or Thorens. My only suggestion might be to start a new thread, somebody will probably have an answer
 
beatcomber said:
My immediate first impression was "I can see why some have described it as 'boring.'"
Click to expand...

Yes that would be me. :D But the important thing is that the M97XE really is a good starter cartridge, and can even be considered an upgrade over a lot of other cartridges. Its tracking ability is no small advantage either.

Looking at your preamp, have you considered op-amp rolling? I have a headphone amp with a similar-looking circuit layout, and just one op-amp. Playing around with different ones can be a lot of fun. Of course, you'll want to familiarize yourself completely with the Shure first.
 
G'day all, just on 'op amp rolling', I admit that I've done a bit of that myself and in all honesty I can't really say that op amps sound 'that' different.

I have tried in the same circuit, LM833's, NE5532's and OPA2134's and even the old TL072 once or twice. I'm slowly coming around to the view that the OPA2134's 'may' be the lowest distortion op amps of the group and they are supposedly the most 'musical' sounding of the group, but any differences are not 'chalk and cheese', at least according to my ears.

One thing is certain though, the OPA2134's get quite warm in use, whereas the others don't much. Regards, Felix aka catman.
 
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catman said:
G'day all, just on 'op amp rolling', I admit that I've done a bit of that myself and in all honesty I can't really say that op amps sound 'that' different.

I have tried in the same circuit, LM833's, NE5532's and OPA2134's and even the old TL072 once or twice. I'm slowly coming around to the view that the OPA2134's 'may' be the lowest distortion op amps of the group and they are supposedly the most 'musical' sounding of the group, but any differences are not 'chalk and cheese', at least according to my ears.

One thing is certain though, the OPA2134's get quite warm in use, whereas the others don't much. Regards, Felix aka catman.
Click to expand...

It's probably circuit dependent, like tube rolling. If you look at my I+ headphone amp thread I talk about op-amp rolling extensively, and others chimed in with their experiences. I don't hear much difference between the really good ones, but going from average performance op-amps to the better ones - yes, it made a huge difference for me.
 
G'day mate, yes the 'application' is indeed a factor. On my DIY stereo headphone amps the original design specifies that only the OPA2134 be used, and other op amps weren't good enough.

So I used OPA2134's in that circuit driving the BD139/ BD140 output pair. Regards, Felix aka catman.
 
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This talk about op amps is beyond my level of knowledge, so I can't comment. I suppose that's why I had to reply on the generosity of another AK'er to make the preamp for me!

Back to the M97xE...

I had been listening to it with the brush down, and decided last night while flipping over an LP to try it with the brush up, to see if there were any change. I also reset the VTF to 1.25 grams, per the instructions.

NIGHT AND DAY IMPROVEMENT! Greater dynamics, extended frequencies at both ends, deeper, wider soundstage, etc. etc. I was honestly surprised at the difference, which was not subtle at all!
 
thumbs up for the m97xe.
i've been running two of them on different tables for a while now and cant complain. :)

regards,
asmd.
 
I've used mine for two nights now, and it seems like it's opening up a bit with each record I play. I'm also messin' around with the brush. Can't really tell any difference with it up or down.
 
beatcomber said:
This talk about op amps is beyond my level of knowledge, so I can't comment. I suppose that's why I had to reply on the generosity of another AK'er to make the preamp for me!

Back to the M97xE...

I had been listening to it with the brush down, and decided last night while flipping over an LP to try it with the brush up, to see if there were any change. I also reset the VTF to 1.25 grams, per the instructions.

NIGHT AND DAY IMPROVEMENT! Greater dynamics, extended frequencies at both ends, deeper, wider soundstage, etc. etc. I was honestly surprised at the difference, which was not subtle at all!
Click to expand...

DanBa said:
I've used mine for two nights now, and it seems like it's opening up a bit with each record I play. I'm also messin' around with the brush. Can't really tell any difference with it up or down.
Click to expand...
I am with DanBa, i can't hear a difference either.
Either we are both deaf as a rock :D, or others have super hearing :scratch2: ,or maybe my system is not as sensitive to the changes in sonic characteristics with the brush down...??? Besides i like it better with the brush up, at least avoids having the stylus slide along the first track, when using the cue (VTF 1.75+-).
 
beatcomber said:
...
I had been listening to it with the brush down, and decided last night while flipping over an LP to try it with the brush up, to see if there were any change. I also reset the VTF to 1.25 grams, per the instructions.

NIGHT AND DAY IMPROVEMENT! Greater dynamics, extended frequencies at both ends, deeper, wider soundstage, etc. etc. I was honestly surprised at the difference, which was not subtle at all!
Click to expand...

I too noticed a difference with the brush up, I left it that way.

Pete
 
It surprises me to hear that some of you can't tell the difference! On my table (a Dual 1019), the improvement was instantly apparent and dramatic, like a veil of clouds was removed.
 
beatcomber said:
It surprises me to hear that some of you can't tell the difference! On my table (a Dual 1019), the improvement was instantly apparent and dramatic, like a veil of clouds was removed.
Click to expand...

Maybe it's the difference in tables/arms???
 
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