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MC cartridges new vs. old

Hello,

In my analog source I have intalled a used Lyra Delos as replacement.

But, I was looking a new cartridge, and found two diferent options, a new and old MC cartridges:

a) New Lyra Dorian at 850 € (special dealer offer)
b) Little used (less 50 h) Spectral MCR Signature at 950 €

All I have read about Spectral is great but is a very low output cartridge (0,2 mV) that is apparently hard to drive and very sensible to setup. Is the first generation of Scantech, is an old but appears to be a great low output cartridge from all reviews from users...

Dorian is a new cartridge, more easy to drive (0,6 mV) and also sensible to setup, is the five generation of Scan Tech.... Jonathan Carr, the designer recomend last generation of cartridge in general...

The rest of analog components:

Wilson Benesch Circle TT
Wilson Benesch ACT 0.5 arm
EAR 834P phone

What are your opinion or election betwwen these two or another similar to the Spectral like Lyra Clavis DC...

Thank you for your opinions and help.

Kind Regards,
geropaa
lewm
12,472 posts
 
Just reading this thread. Frogman, does an EAR 834P provide adequate gain for the Spectral MCR? I rather thought the EAR was an MM-only phono stage with which you would use a SUT, to boost gain of an LOMC cartridge. If so, of course SUT plays a big role in sonics. But maybe Spectral has sufficient output to avoid SUT.
frogman
7,358 posts
 
Geropaa, the arm was an Eminent Technology ET2 air-bearing straight-line
tracking tonearm which, if anything, tends to exibit a character to the lush
side of neutral compared to the pivoting arms that I have used. I did not try
the Spectral with a pivoting arm during the time I had it and can't opine on
its compatibility with the Benesch arm.

Lewm, there are two versions of the 834P: with and without switchable MC
capability (built-in SUT's). One of the criticisms of the 834P has sometimes
been that it has too much gain (46db/MM, 70db/MC if memory serves, but I
am certain I am within 1 db or so) and one of the reasons that I am able to
get such great results using a passive pre with either MM's with + 3 mv or
MC's with + .5 mv output going into a pair of Manley tube mono's. With the
additional gain of an active preamp, in my setup, MC's with .2 mv output
have not been a problem. Given the fact that Geropaa has been using a
Delos, I assume he is talking about the MC switchable version of the 834P
and with an active pre.

BTW, imo, the EAR is inherently better sounding in MM mode and one of
the reasons that I have been using vintage MM's over the last few years.
Of course, one has to consider the potential superiority of any given MC for
possibly better overall results.
geropaa OP
3 posts
 
Frogman, thank you for your answer. Finally ask to Wilson Benesch about compatibility and they answer me that probably there is no resonance problems with these cartridge due to design of the arm...
"The ACT 0.5 tonearm is very highly damped due to the material used and the geometric shape of the arm, resonance in the audible range should not be an issue, but I would advise trying the combination if possible before committing financially if you are unsure"

In other hand, my EAR 834P have MM/MC switch as you suppose, then it´s compatible with the Spectral output from your experience. It use a integrated amplifier Cary SLI80, no preamp.

Thank you all for your help.
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