True 2-Channel Analog Additions

jdjohn

Posting some pics of my Zenn/Klipsch MCZ cartridges here. I already owned a couple of the Klipsch MC carts (and love their sound), so couldn't help but pounce on some NOS (unused) Zenn MCZ carts from a collector in Ireland. My recent (Zenn) acquisitions are on the left in these pics, and vintage Klipsch cart packaging on the right.


Specs on these carts are easy to obtain, but in summary, they are LOMC, with a low compliance.

The most exciting item from my latest haul is a NOS Zenn MCZ/7, which has a Boron cantilever.

I've had an MCZ-2(?) re-tipped with a boron cantilever for a while, but IMO, it has always sounded a little too polite for my system. I am interested to hear how this MCZ-7 with 'native' boron cantilever sounds.

Clipdat

Congratulations Jody on your new cartridges. Will these primarily be collector's items or are you planning on putting them to use?

msg

Clipdat wrote: »

Congratulations Jody on your new cartridges. Will these primarily be collector's items or are you planning on putting them to use?

Moment of truth, @jdjohn -Jody - pick a side.

I've historically had a bad habit of picking up two of things I thoroughly enjoy. One to use, and one (or more) as a backup. (You know, for when jackleg manufacturers discontinue the things I like.) This is impractical for a number of reasons, obviously. Further, I'm still afraid, sometimes, to use the one that's for using!

jdjohn

I will definitely be using them! Hopefully the suspensions are still good

I also took a few pics of my Micro Seiki LC-40 cart.



This cartridge is actually a two-piece design, where I suppose the intention was to have a replaceable stylus.


I've never seen the separate stylus for sale anywhere...shame. This has a very low output - less than 0.2mV.

Don't be afraid, Scott! Use yours!

My question is: why did I choose such a goofy name for this thread? I guess with all the recent chatter about DACs, networking, and streaming, I wanted to show analog a little love here

bcwsrt

Made me click on it!

jdjohn

Many folks know about the Grace F9 cartridge as being one of the best MM carts ever made. The SF-90 is basically the same cartridge, but integrated into a headshell. The SF-90 is somewhat rare, but does pop-up occasionally in the aftermarket.

I obtained two examples of the SF-90, with this set having much of the original packaging.

I removed the protective stylus sleeve for this pic.

Those who are informed know that SoundSmith still makes hand-made replacement styluses for the F9. In this pic, I've installed the RS-9U replacement, which has an aluminum cantilever.

Top view:

The original Grace F9 stylus body has a rounded shape, but I actually like how the SoundSmith replacement continues with the angular look.

Obviously, the integrated cartridge/headshell configuration does not allow for alignment adjustments, but I have found that tonearms with pivot-to-spindle lengths in the range of 222-230mm will work fine with the SF-90.

Since the F9, and SF-90, are high-compliance, a lighter mass tonearm is more suitable. I have also found that a lower capacitance load sounds better.

jdjohn

Another installment here, this time of the Technics EPC-205C MM cartridge, and a couple of NOS styli I found. The EPC-205C is one of the better(best?) MM carts ever produced. These are well-regarded enough that JICO still makes several different replacement styluses for them, ranging from simple aluminum cantilevers with bonded tips, up to boron and sapphire cantilevers with the famous JICO SAS diamond tips.

Again, for this post, I found two NOS replacement styli. First, an EPS-205EX, which I think was the standard stylus on the EPC-205IIX cartridge. This stylus even came with original packaging, and although the box was opened, the case was still sealed.

Here it is mounted on the cartridge.

Here's a close-up of the cantilever and diamond.

I thought this might have been a gold-plated boron tube, but I think it is actually a titanium tube since the end is crimped a bit.

Next is the EPS-405QD, which is a nude Shibata stylus.
Here it is mounted on an EPC-205C cart.

Here are a few different closeups of the tip.



Notice the typical Shibata scalloped facets on the rear of the diamond. Still breaking this one in, but it seems to really minimize vinyl surface noise. Luckily, the suspensions on both of these still seem to be intact.

Clipdat

Good stuff, Jody!

BlueBirdMusic

Jody some really great detailed photos.

jdjohn

I've got a couple of Fidelity Research cartridges to post about. My newer acquisition is a PMC-1 MC cart. It has a cool, red glossy finish.

The stylus is not the clearest, or prettiest, gem, but still a nice nude elliptical, mounted on an Aluminum cantilever.

The unique thing about these cartridges is that they have 'air coils', which basically means that the coil wires are wrapped around a non-ferrous core. This equates to less moving mass, which is a good thing.

The resulting sound caused me to document a few initial notes.

- I'm a fan of Eva Cassidy (RIP), thanks to my wife, and with this cart, I found her voice even more soulful, and the musicality of the accompanying players also jumped out at me more than before.

- While listening to some Genesis tracks, I picked-up on an extra drum beat (eighth or sixteenth note) that I had never noticed before.

- Some Atlanta Rhythm Section tracks also had extra depth and detail that were new to me.

Overall, I noticed greater dynamics from quiet and loud passages, with more layering of sounds from front-to-back, so basically, more depth. Apologies for not having a direct A/B comparison cartridge to mention. All of the above bullet points are exemplary to my previous listening experiences, which is to say: the PMC-1 may have exceeded the sound quality of all my previous cartridges. Needless to say, I am really enjoying it, but I realize there are many other modern, higher-end options out there. Personally, I just love playing around with these vintage beauties

While on the subject of Fidelity Research cartridges, I thought I'd also include the FR-6SE, which I think may have been their best MM cart.

The original stylus was a nude-mounted square-shanked elliptical, and this cart is in my MM top 5, especially in the low-compliance realm. Sadly, replacement styli are non-existent. I would describe the sound as one click towards warm, yet still analytical.

jdjohn

Recently, there has been somewhat of a surgence of new Chinese MC carts coming onto the market. As everyone knows, the Chinese are quite capable of copying original designs of practically anything, and they typically manufacture 'cheaper' versions. Of course, there are always concerns about quality, in both materials, and skill.

I took a chance, and bought two new MC carts from Chinese eBay seller es_hovertech_audiolab. One cartridge has an Aluminum body, with a Boron cantilever; the other has a Sandalwood body, with exposed internals, and a ceramic rod cantilever. Both cartridges have an elliptical stylus, from unknown origin.

Here are pics of the carts as I received them. One box had a clear acrylic lid, and the other box was all wood, but I removed the wooden lid for the pic.


Here are individual shots of the cartridges in their boxes.



And here are the cartridges mounted (sorry for the graininess).



Specs for the Aluminum body, Boron cantilever cart:
-Cartridge type: Stereo moving coil cartridge
-Needle point shape: super elliptical
-Needle rod material: Boron rod
-Shell material: Aluminum alloy
-Cartridge weight: 10.6g
-Coil type: 5N OCC
-Output voltage: 0.34mv (1KHz, at 5cm per second speed)
-Phono impedance: 9Ω
-Frequency response: 20-25KHz±2dB
-Channel separation >28dB
-Left and right channel balance <0.5dB
-Recommended injection pressure: 1.8g
-Recommended acupuncture pressure range: 1.7-2.3g
-Shield compliance: 15um/mN
-Break-in time: 20 hours

Specs for the Sandalwood body, ceramic cantilever cart:
-Cartridge type: Stereo moving coil cartridge
-Needle point shape: super elliptical diamond stylus
-Needle rod material: Ceramic rod
-Shell material: black sandalwood
-Cartridge height: 18.2mm
-Cartridge weight: 6.5 g
-Coil type: 5N OCC single crystal copper
-Output voltage: 0.45mv (1KHz, at 5cm per second speed)
-Phono impedance: 6.5Ω
-Load impedance:＞=60Ω
-Frequency response: 20-25KHz±2dB
-Channel separation >28dB
-Left and right channel balance <0.5dB
-Recommended injection pressure: 1.8g
-Recommended acupuncture pressure range: 1.7-2.3g
-Shield compliance: 15um/mN
-Break-in time: 20 hours

Both cartridges have threaded inserts in the body for mounting, so no screw nuts are needed.

Here are some close-up pics of the stylus from the cartridge with an Aluminum body, Boron cantilever, and elliptical diamond tip:



The diamond has a yellow hue, which is not necessarily bad, but the overall appearance suggests that these diamonds are only average quality, which is to be expected at this price point.

Bottom of the stylus after several hours of playback (I've circled the contact patches):


Here is the entire cantilever assembly, including the coils. I think the highly reflective piece is the bottom of the pole magnet.


Next, here are some close-up stylus pics of the cartridge with the Sandalwood body, ceramic cantilever, and again, elliptical diamond tip:



This diamond has a darker appearance (at least from the front view) - not sure if that is from light diffraction, or a 'black' diamond, or what.

Here's a bottom shot of the diamond after several hours of playback; the contact patches look small, as would be expected from a new cartridge.


Entire cantilever assembly:


Here, the right/left coil wires are circled, showing how they are hot-glued to the sides of the generator.


Here are the coil wires routed to the back pins.


Shot of the tension wire, and how it goes into the generator:


As far as sound, I am finding them to be very detailed and balanced. No brightness or sibilance, and very full-sounding in the bass. I'm still evaluating, but so far, I like what I'm hearing.

BlueBirdMusic

Jody, your descriptions and photos are phenomenal.

billbillw

Thanks for the writeup and detailed photos. I'd suspect the wire is not 5N OCC and the diamond shapes lot a lot more conical than elliptical, but otherwise, pretty nice quality. How does the price compare to the more established brands from Europe or Japan? 20, 30, 50% less?

skipshot12

I have a stupid question…..
How much of a difference does the quality of the diamond have with sound reproduction?

jdjohn

billbillw wrote: »

Thanks for the writeup and detailed photos. I'd suspect the wire is not 5N OCC and the diamond shapes lot a lot more conical than elliptical, but otherwise, pretty nice quality. How does the price compare to the more established brands from Europe or Japan? 20, 30, 50% less?

Any particular reason for doubting the 5N OCC? The side views of the diamonds do look conical, but I can see the facet cuts on the front, matching an elliptical profile. But overall, I do think the cantilever and stylus leave something to be desired.

These Chinese MC carts cost me about $400/ea. To get a boron cantilever, you have to move pretty far up the line with Hana, Ortofon, or Sumiko, paying well over $1,000. The Audio Technica AT33PTG/2 has a boron cantilever, and runs about $600. Ceramic cantilevers are new to me, so no real comparison for that.

skipshot12 wrote: »

I have a stupid question…..
How much of a difference does the quality of the diamond have with sound reproduction?

As far as 'gem' quality, probably not much of a difference. In fact, some diamonds used for styluses are synthetic - grown in a lab. But the cut/profile of the diamond can make a significant difference. The diamonds on these Chinese carts have quite a bit of glue on them, so hard to get a really good look, but from what I can see, they look pretty simplistic.

billbillw

jdjohn wrote: »

Any particular reason for doubting the 5N OCC? The side views of the diamonds do look conical, but I can see the facet cuts on the front, matching an elliptical profile. But overall, I do think the cantilever and stylus leave something to be desired.

These Chinese MC carts cost me about $400/ea. To get a boron cantilever, you have to move pretty far up the line with Hana, Ortofon, or Sumiko, paying well over $1,000. The Audio Technica AT33PTG/2 has a boron cantilever, and runs about $600. Ceramic cantilevers are new to me, so no real comparison for that.

I mentioned that because real OCC 5N wire is hard to get and very expensive compared to generic copper wire that might be 3N without the OCC process. It is also very hard to verify or disprove something like that. Chinese manufacturers have been widely known to use slightly (or sometimes very) inferior metallurgy in many of their products. That alone doesn't really change the value of these cartridges. If they sound really good at 40-60% of the price, then I wouldn't give a 2nd thought of the wire used.