MM vs. MC: Sonic Differences?


I've always owned low-output MC cartridges, but now wonder what, as a broad generalization, are the sonic differences between these two technologies? For instance how might the ClearAudio Virtuoso Wood ($750 - MM) compare to the ClearAudio Sigma Wood ($1200 - MC)?

In other words, are the low output MC cartridges really worth the extra expense, requirement for a fairly sophisticated RIAA, etc.?

I know that this is an extremely subjective question. Please don't respond with "it depends." Instead, please educate me regarding your experiences. Thanks in advance.
gthrush1

Showing 1 response by ljgj

A good cartridge is a good cartridge whether it is MC or MM. I have a Virtuoso (mm) and a Sumiko Celebration (MC) and they both sound great. MC's are suppose to be a bit quieter and clearer in sound. They are but an extremely good mm will compete and even sound just as good . The Virtuoso is the best mm I have heard - I tried the Shure bigboy but it cannot compete with the Virtuoso. I also tried the Grado Sonato but I didn't care for its sound - a lot of people like it though. The MC needs more gain in the phono stage so you may have to buy an outside phono amp or a stepup transformer to supply the necessary volume for sound to be produced. A good many preamps come with a mm stage already to go. A friend has the Sigma and likes it a lot - in a little test we really could not truly tell which sounded better - the Virtuoso or the Sigma - but they both sound great.