Who Is An Expert On Acutex Cartridges?

Shootout, yes.

I did say that I thought or hoped the MMC20 bass would flesh out over time. The Grace Ruby with SS OCL would surprise any $10,000+ cartridge owner with an open mind; actually any of these we’ve been discussing would do so. But the first 10-20 hours with the retipped Ruby were a bit vexing until it came around.

Timeltel, thanks for the tips about tracking weight and break-in! Will look for changes in staging. Unfortunately (??) I've got a DaVa cart on another arm on the same table that I'm focused on right now.

Lew, I also have a 20CL that I like a lot, tho wouldn't say it's a bass monster. It is a low rider, tho, and I reduce the tracking force when using it, tho it still tracks great.

For what it's worth, I realized the other evening that the MMC20CL was adjusted so that the tail was "up" just a bit.  It's sometimes difficult to level the very short vertical arm wand of the DV505.  Anyway, I did lower the vertical pivot just a tiny bit so that the wand at least looks more exactly level to the surface of the LP, and bass did improve.  I am tracking at 1.2g.  What do others recommend for VTF?  One internet source recommends 1.0g VTF, but that was the spec for a brand new cartridge in 1987.  I figured my suspension must have stiffened over time, so chose 1.2g to start out.

Installed the 20CL. It's ever so slightly higher in back, but still delivering prodigious bass, VTF is at 1.0. Did the low riding heal itself over time?

Max, if you are asking me about low riding, mine never was and is not a low rider.  What I said was that I had inadvertently adjusted VTA such that it was "higher in back" or tipped up with respect to the pivot.  Leveling it did improve the bass impact.  I will try going down to 1.0 g from 1.2g VTF to see if that is better.