Ditto on the Ortofon Black. I have been an MC fan for years, with the Lyra Delos my current MC, but recently I added a MM rig and chose the Black becuase it sounds so much like an MC with that incredibly good tracking shibata stylus. The Ortofon Bronze might be a strong second contender for substantially less $$$.
What cartridge do I get now?
I think my Decca Mk vii is on its last legs -stylus looks shot and it's starting to jet even more jumpy. So I started listening on my LP12/Ittok/Ortofon MC3turbo and even though more colored than the 401, I was surprised with the extra detail. Maybe the Decca wasn't doing as well as I thought.
So I swapped it into the 401/Jelco 750L and the system sounds way better! tighter bass, more detail, wider and deeper sound stage and more air. The only concession is that the Decca has slightly cleaner more upright presentation, probably faster.
So where do I go from here? A Denon 103R with a Bob's Devices CineMag 1131 or a Dynavector 10x5 or Ortofon Black MM? Money's a little tight but I want to improve the sound of the rig, not merely replace the cartridge. I had thought of retipping a la J. Wright but TBH, I'm disappointed in the Decca now that I've heard the MC3 in the 401. If I go the Bob's SUT route, I can always move to other LOMCs in the future. I dig detail, timbre, color, nuance over loudness.
Thanks.
So I swapped it into the 401/Jelco 750L and the system sounds way better! tighter bass, more detail, wider and deeper sound stage and more air. The only concession is that the Decca has slightly cleaner more upright presentation, probably faster.
So where do I go from here? A Denon 103R with a Bob's Devices CineMag 1131 or a Dynavector 10x5 or Ortofon Black MM? Money's a little tight but I want to improve the sound of the rig, not merely replace the cartridge. I had thought of retipping a la J. Wright but TBH, I'm disappointed in the Decca now that I've heard the MC3 in the 401. If I go the Bob's SUT route, I can always move to other LOMCs in the future. I dig detail, timbre, color, nuance over loudness.
Thanks.