Allaerts MC2 Finish

I have had one for several years. I must admit that its very low output has caused me many headaches. I have been using it with the Loricraft phono which presently is not imported into the U.S. You need a 845 ohm load on it. I am presently using a Decca Jubilee which is quite different in sound and soundstage.

I've heard one several times for a couple of hours each time at GT Audio in the UK. I have a MC1B myself (on a Schroeder Model 2 and Platine Verdier). Certainly in the set up at GT Audio, the Finish sounded very musical - natural timbre, deep soundstage, good dynamics and tracks well. At GT Audio, it was on a Schroeder Reference, DPS TT, with Avantgarde Trio horns. The amps were GT Audio's own TRON tube brand. Graham Tricker has been making high end tube amps for years. His circuit are very quiet ie with his Meteor tube preamp, 300Bs and Trios - silence when the volume is turned to full on phono! By the way they sound great too - so much so that I will be buying one of his Meteor preamps.

Hi Topoxforddoc
Its great to hear from a fellow Schroeder Model 2 owner! Mine is on the Kuzma Stabi with a Dynavector Te Kaitora mounted on it. With the 0.2mv output, it does pose some problems for phono stages. I'm just wondering if the Herron with 66db is sufficient for it. The TK is 0.25mv and its very quiet.

One other question is compared to the MC1b, which I'm quite familar with, does the MC2F have better dynamics? While the MC1b has great detail retrieval, I felt it presented the instruments as a whole and not as individuals - very coherent, but somehow I longed for a little more in dynamics.

Lastly, is it worth to spring the extra $$$ for the MC2Finish in your opinion?

I also use the Allaerts MC2 Finish in a Schroeder arm, the Loricraft version of the Reference. It is mounted on my Garrard 501. I am impressed with its dynamics, wide sound stage, and tracking. I think it has the best channel separation of any cartridge.

The Decca, of course, is unrivaled by it dynamics and the Jubilee tracks pretty well.