Jelco SA-750D cartridges

The reason I’m not interested is simply that its so very easy to buy a cartridge with equal or better sound at a lesser cost than "your" vintage Audio-Technicas. An AT33PTG/II for example.

They are not equal and can’t be equal because you’re comparing MM and MC. I owned various AT LOMC cartridges and they were good, but not equal and not better than AT-ML170 and AT-ML180. Also you ignoring the fact that you can see with a microscope and actually can hear too, but since you never owned those top AT MM i have nothing to say. I think to compare what is better you will have to buy at least 30 different cartridges and you need time to compare them in your own system on matched tonearms. If you think each new cartridge is better than old one you are very naive, i guess i already gave an example of the NOS tubes that are almost always better than any new tubes with a few exceptions from very specific brands. Claiming that next new model is always better is 100% marketing strategy to sell more, making them cheaper is another marketing trick, but it has nothing to do with the quality unfortunately. Vinyl is not the main media today like it was before. 

If I was a collector or a an obsessive fan of vintage MMs it would of course be different, but I’m neither of those.

I’ve been able to find and buy at least 4 mint or NOS samples of AT-ML170 and AT-ML180 with sealed NOS styli for them.

I am surprised that people 20 year older than me on this forum never owned some of the best cartridges that was so easy to buy (and much cheaper than today) in the 80’s. This fact makes me think that some people are not interested in High-End cartridges and know nothing about it. The lack of experience indicate it very well. Luckily we’re another category of people too, but most of them simply stop posting on audiogon, probably because it is became extremely boring (maybe i’m wrong).

They are not equal and can’t be equal because you’re comparing MM and MC

I’m not, I’m comparing sound.  As heard by my ears, in my system.

I think to compare what is better you will have to....

You don’t know me from Adam, nor what I’ve done or haven’t done, owned or haven’t owned. You’re incredibly good at making baseless assumptions though, I’ll give you that.

Claiming that next new model is always better....

Which is one thing I haven’t done. Good at building straw men too.

i have nothing to say

If only. However, you keep postulating your subjective opinions as if they were handed down from the heavens and not to be disputed. For some I’m sure it sounds impressive and is quite convincing, but for someone who’s been round the block more than a few times it gets really old, really fast.

mink, what kind of music is  your  favorite ?

@schubert


I listen mostly to rock, blues and jazz. No heavy metal, though, unless you consider Led Zeppelin to be heavy metal!

For rock, I lean more toward stuff like The Band, The Kinks, Jeff Beck, Warren Zevon, Little Feat, old Fleetwood Mac (before Buckingham/Nicks), Steely Dan, etc.

For blues I like Buddy Guy, Savoy Brown, Little Walter, John Mayall, Paul Butterfield and the like.

Jazz artists I like are Charles Lloyd, Les McCann, Eddie Harris, Herbie Hancock.

So far, the VM 740ML is doing an outstanding job on everything I've thrown at it. Missing is the random occurrence of distortion at certain vocal frequencies that I was getting from the Denon.   

Good to hear you struck gold with the 740ML.  My own examples from A-T's previous top series are superb performers, so I'm not at all surprised.