Fiddling about with the pizzas of licorice

mhardy6647

OK, that sounds really tawdry, sorry

Let me try again. Trying to pick a good tt/cartridge combination for phono preamp comparisons.

Don't really want to use the DL-103 as it would necessitate adding a SUT to most of the preamps for adequate gain.

I am - it may be recalled - really lazy.

There's a Pioneer PL-12D in the basement with a Shure M97xe on it. Grabbed the headshell & cartridge, and stuck it on a Technics SL-1350 (for which I only have the multi-disc spindle!), balanced and set up and gave a listen via mrbiron's Reduction preamp.

The M97xe gets so much bad press -- but I like the way it sounds. Mellow, I think would be a fair way to describe it. Unquestionably musical, though,I'd say. Pleasant.
Very pleasant.

DSC_6946 (2) by Mark Hardy, on Flickr
DSC_6949 (2) by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

I tried the b&o TX-2, which has a b&o MMC-4 MI cartridge on it. A nice record playing "system", but sonically kind of lifeless. Not bad, but not "involving"; doesn't suck me in.

DSC_2913 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr
(earlier photo of the pairing)

I also have a nice ADC P-mount cartridge (don't remember the model offhand, but not BOTL) which sits upon an almost laughable "Fisher" branded belt-drive plastic tt from the late 80s or so. Almost laughable. The cartridge sounds quite nice -- and the arm and table don't really keep it from sounding good. I am sure it might sound better on a better platform -- but really not bad. It's also incredibly intolerant of record warps. It can track them OK, but the stylus doesn't raise up high enough to clear much of a warp when cueing!

DSC_2912 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr
(earlier photo of the pairing)

Stay tuned for further developments.

motorhead43026

I have the exact same TT the SL-1350 fitted with the M97e, and I like the combo.

mrbiron

Woohoo.....I know that preamp!
I have the same inexpensive cart on my turntable as well.

Stock tubes?

mhardy6647

No, I popped a pair of Dutch-made RCA 6DJ8s in. I think they sound better than the tubes that were in it -- but it's been so long, at some point I need to back substitute & see.

I was ahem gonna pass the "RCA" tubes along when the preamp goes home -- it probably doesn't remember its "home" any more.

halo

mhardy6647 wrote: »

I am - it may be recalled - really lazy.

That is simply not possible as vinyl is labour intensive, albeit a labor of love

mhardy6647

Naaah, it's more like obsession

You'll see...

mhardy6647

continuing the assessment of hardware here

Last night's/today's volunteer: A Philips AF777 that happens to have a Microacoustics QDC-1e cartridge on it. The MA cartridges were rather strange birds -- they're "low output" (relatively speaking) ceramic cartridges that do require equalization.

Ceramic cartridges, many of you will know (maybe even remember!) were widespread in massmarket "hifi" record changers, all-in-ones, and consoles. They have something of a bad reputation (somewhat undeserved) as record-gougers.

Ceramics of that ilk had a "self-equalized" ca. 1V RMS output that could directly drive an amplifier (i.e., no MM preamp/RIAA equalizer required) -- it was perfectly capable to make a "hifi stereo" record player amplifier that used only two tubes (e.g., two 60FX5 power amplifier tubes) and preamp, equalization, driver/voltage amp stage, nor any power transformer! (Kids, don't try this at home).

Over the years, there have been occasional attempts at producing hifi ceramic (piezoelectric) cartridges. No less than the likes of Grado and Electrovoice, e.g., have produced ceramic cartridges designed to compete with MM/MI cartridges.

Microacoustics was one of the last (though not, IIRC, the last) to do so. Their cartridges have an output of a few mV (like most MM or MI cartridges) and, amusingly enough, an on-board "microcircuit" to de-equalize the signal so that the cartridge output could be used to drive a standard MM phono preamp!

Opinions on these cartridges were decidedly mixed, so I thought it would be fun to try this setup (which I bought at the Harvard, MA townwide fleamarket many years ago) to see how it sounds.

DSC_6964 (2) by Mark Hardy, on Flickr
DSC_6962 (2) by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

mhardy6647

MA cart info 1977 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

It's interesting to read about these cartridges. There's a certain amount of intrigue around their claimed vs. actual performance. You can get an inkling of that in the footnote of this 1974 brochure capture (the document's available at vinylengine).

MA QDC specs 1974 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

How does it sound, I hear you ask

Well, it's -- interesting.
I cannot vouch for the condition of the stylus on this one, nor the accuracy of the setup nor how happy it is driving the phono preamp currently hooked to it (mrbiron's Bottlehead Reduction, equipped with a couple of RCA-branded, Dutch-made 6DJ8s), but I can comment on how it sounds.

It sounds very warm. Bass is full but kind of soft, for lack of a better word. Highs seem rolled off but not mistracked.

Not too interesting so far, right?

What's interesting is the midrange; in particular the vocals. The vocals are superb. Clear, immediate and natural. Borderline stunning. I didn't really notice anything else about the midrange that was impressive (though I've only listened to a few tracks so far). But I thought the cartridge's performance on vocals was noteworthy.

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mhardy6647

Pretty crusty.