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Proteus compared to MSL ultra eminent ex

Hi Everyone,

Hoping to find some folks who have experience with both of these cartridges. I already have a Proteus, which I love. I have another, different, excellent cartridge with which I'm having some problems, and I am looking for a low internal impedance (<5 ohm) reasonable output cartridge (> .2-.3 mV) to replace it. As low noise as possible. I am just wondering whether the ultra eminent EX from my sonic labs would sound very similar to the Proteus that I already have. If so, I would probably consider getting something with a slightly different sonic signature. Thanks in advance for your opinions.
arsh

Showing 5 responses by lewm

lewm
12,461 posts
 
That’s a nice simple question.
lewm
12,461 posts
 
To be clear, I don’t think you can say that low signal output per se is a goal of a moving coil cartridge designer. It’s more like that is a byproduct of designing the cartridge to have very low moving mass and very low internal resistance, both of which are desirable in a moving coil cartridge. Unfortunately, it is hard to achieve those goals or move toward them without also ending up with a low signal voltage output.
lewm
12,461 posts
 
Just in general, Ortofon over Clearaudio.  But that's just me.  The Ortofon cartridges in general give you a better bang for the buck, tend to be more neutral in tonal balance.  The better CA cartridges are expensive and tend (I say "tend") to sound a little top heavy to these ears.  None of this is absolute fact.
lewm
12,461 posts
 
I always go by a guideline that says to buy the second costliest version of any line of similar product from any one company.  The second costliest is usually quite a bit less expensive than the top of the line and usually has all of its major features, minus a cosmetic doodad here or there.
I would wager that Transfig will re-emerge under a different name, or it already has done so.  If you take the long view of Japanese phono cartridge development, this happens all the time.  Anyway, I hope the brand does make a comeback, even under another name, because I agree they made some fine stuff.
lewm
12,461 posts
 
Speaking of the Proteus, what’s happened to TransfIguration the brand in the US?
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