@lewm @elliottbnewcombjr thanks.
I installed a new Nagaoka MP-700
I installed a new Nagaoka MP-700 cartridge on my tricked-out AudioGrail Garrard 401 turntable with Jelco TK850L tonearm.
I wasn’t looking forward to dealing with London Decca to replace the stylus on my Decca Super Gold (Paratrace Decapod) as it involved sending it to the UK, so I thought I’d give this new top of the line Nagaoka MP (moving permalloy) a shot. I bought the model complete with the headshell.
It’s heavy and pushed the Jelco to its near end limits getting the arm balanced. Tracking is 1.4g. Setup was a doddle.
Initial impressions are very good. Black backgrounds, low noise floor, powerful and well-delineated bass. Fine detail and sharp leading edges. Sweet midband. Nice separation of instruments with good tonal color. Imaging is very good. Not as wide or deep as the Decca, however. I’ll see how it is after 50 hours. First few sides, it was a little shouty but seems to have settled down. Male vocals have a lovely wooden tone. It’s definitely tight like a well-rehearsed band, almost making the Decca sound slow. Low levels of surface noise.
Thomas Dolby, Crocked Still, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Leonard Cohen, The The, Doc Evans, Eagles, Pat Kirby
It may be the best cartridge I've had in by system.
More anon.
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@dover Re MP700 review. I'm the OP above. |
@noromance Is that Crooked Still "Shaken by a Low Sound" in your OP? Stellar performance & SQ! |
@maxson Indeed it is! |
Follow up with around 40 hours on the MP700. It’s calmed down a little but it is still a little strident on bright or busy recordings. Vocals are a little dryer than I’d like. It doesn’t do mono records anywhere near as good as my stereo Decca Gold cartridge on the second tonearm. In fact, the Decca has better separation and depth with deeper bass on both mono and stereo LPs. I just swapped in my 1987 vintage Decca Super Gold Decapod Paratrace and frankly, it almost blows the MP700 away in a number of areas—aforementioned depth and width, but also liquid musicality, deep bass, inner emotional nuance and sheer color. Music flows and just presents itself immersively without feeling there’s a transducer in the way. Admittedly, the Nagaoka is quick and focused with great fine detail but, it ain’t no Decca. The ’you are there wall of sound’ is gone. Granted, the Decca presents huge-head images of close miked vocalists while the 700 is more precise. I’ll run the Nag in some more and see if it relaxes some. Don’t get me wrong, the MP700 is very good with a crisper, blacker soundstage. It’s still somewhat shouty and pinched. It may need more time. It’s close. |
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