2. analog
  3. 133521-22786

Upgrade from clearaudio concept MC cart

The clearaudio concept MC v1 cart is the lone holdover from my previous system (well, other than the dual rhythmik e15 subs) and I’m curious as to how much more I can expect from the following carts or carts in similar price ranges. The one cart similarly priced to the concept is the audio Technica Art9 but everyone just raves about it being the equal of carts double its price so it’s in the running.

Let me say too that the concept mc is no slouch and having been retipped by needleclinic it may be even better than before. I am enjoying my stereo more now than ever but we always want to eek out that last bit of quality.

Current system:

philharmonic bmr speakers
rhythmik e15 subs x 2
van Alstine Synergy amp
nuprime dac10 (pre and dac)
musical surr. Nova II phono pre
Nottingham 294 w/ 12" ace space arm
boston audio mat1 (platter mat)
clear Day double shotgun speaker cables
audio art ic3se interconnects
gik room treatments



carts im interested in: 

AT Art9
Charisma MC2
Charisma Ref 1 or 2
Kiseki Blue NS
Ortofon Cadenza Bronze
Clearaudio Charisma v2 MM

joegator81

Showing 3 responses by joey54

joey54
431 posts
 
You might want to look at the Clearaudio Talisman cartridge as well. It’s a MC cartridge but a major improvement over the Concept MC. I found it to be better than the Benz Glider that I owned for many years, at least in my system. YMMV

joey54
431 posts
 
I heard the Charisma at the Musical Surroundings event at the Audio Connection late last year. It was mounted to the new Clearaudio Concept Black with Satisfy tonearm and used with the Nova II into an Ayre system with Vandersteen 5A Carbon’s. Again YMMV, but I thought it was the best MM I have heard to date. They played a few of my own albums and the vocals in particular were outstanding. On classical music, Gounod: Faust - Ballet Music / Bizet: Carmen - Suite, the leading edge dynamics were outstanding. I had never heard a MM sound like that. You might want to reach out to Garth at Musical Surroundings. He was really helpful when I upgraded my analog front end.

For reference, my analog rig is also a Clearaudio Performance DC with the AMG Teatro cartridge into a Nova II.
joey54
431 posts
 
My sense of the Charisma is that it is more refined than the Maestro but my experience with the Maestro is limited to demos in my dealers showroom so I cannot really articulate the differences between them. It’s also been at least 3 years since I have heard a Maestro.

You might want to ping Nick at the Audio Connection. He is a real expert on turntables and cartridges and can probably tell you much more than I can. Garth at MS is also a great resource and can surely give you a detailed comparison between the two.

From personal experience I did compare the V1 Maestro to the Benz Glider and preferred the Benz, which I bought and owned for 5 years. Overall I prefer MC to MM. The Charisma struck me as a great alternative and I haven’t been tempted to use a MM for at least 20 years. I did seriously consider it, it was that good, but in the end went with the AMG Teatro MC. Again, listening is your best indicator since we all have different listening priorities and different systems, rooms, etc.
More to discover