Cartridge and phono pre decision

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by DaleClark, Nov 11, 2019.

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  1. DaleClark

    DaleClark Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Columbus, Ohio
    So I went down the rabbit hole and I am leaning toward the 1210gr Technics tt. I have about $600 left for a cartridge and preamp. I really like the Mofi StudioPhono since it has a mono switch. I have lots of mono albums.

    I was leaning toward the Ortofon Blue. However, I’ve read that quite a few Technics owners like the AT VM540ML over the Blue.

    Any thoughts on the AT vs Ortofon? From what I’ve read it’s been quite a mixed bag with the Grados, Hanas ,etc on the Technics. The Blue and the AT has accumulated lots of positive reviews for the price range.
     
  2. vinyldoneright

    vinyldoneright pbthal

    Location:
    Ca
    The Studio Phono's capacitance is 100pf so depending on your cables and what the tonearm wires bring to the capacitance party you might be in the "treble rise" zone of the 540ML, if you can limit your capacitance you would be fine
     
    patient_ot likes this.
  3. DaleClark

    DaleClark Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Columbus, Ohio
    Thanks for info
     
  4. patient_ot

    patient_ot Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    I have used the Studio Phono with AT carts. It works fine. AT carts usually have modest output. I would use low capacitance cabling, as low as you can get - something like Blue Jeans LC-1 just to be certain. The Ortofon Blue doesn't match well with the Studio Phono, mainly because the output of the cart is higher than what Ortofon says - this is true of the entire 2M series. And since the Studio Phono lacks a sub-40dB gain setting and is not robust enough to deal with carts that have much more than ~4mV of output at the lowest gain setting, it's a bad match.

    Beyond that the elliptical stylus on the Blue is objectively inferior to the Namiki Microridge you get on the 540ML.

    The only thing I would caution about the 540ML, or any other advanced stylus cart, is that your records must be clean and in reasonable condition. If you don't own an RCM or Spin Clean - get one before moving to one of these carts. I would also strongly consider a cheap conical cart, like an AT3600, for example, if you're going to be playing a lot of beater albums. Save the better cart for your better vinyl. Use the cheap cart on the beater records.

    I also saw your post on 78s. You will need a different type of phono preamp and cartridge for those. The Studio Phono does not have archival curves and such for those old 78s. You can play them using a 78 cartridge and a regular preamp, but it won't be optimal. Of course archival phono stages tend to be more expensive...
     
    Sterling1 likes this.
  5. DaleClark

    DaleClark Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Columbus, Ohio
    I was thinking the AT would be a good choice since MoFi’s cartridges are based on the AT VM series ( at least that is what I read)
     
  6. patient_ot

    patient_ot Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    Yep.
     
  7. DaleClark

    DaleClark Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Columbus, Ohio
    Since the Mofi has the mono switch, I could forgo buying the entire VM 78 mono cartridge and use VM70sp stylus the 540 cartridge. At's literature says to do this the left and right channels need to be summed together (the mono switch).
     
  8. patient_ot

    patient_ot Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    In theory you could do that. I wouldn't recommend it for a couple of reasons:

    1) Styli are fragile. Swapping them often on the same cart needs extreme care. While something like a DJ cart or fat 78 stylus are going to have a degree of toughness, the cantilever an ML cart is going to be very delicate. One slip of the finger and it could be toast.

    2) AT bodies allow the stylus to "snap" into the cart. You want them to snap in tightly and not move. Now, there are folks that say they swap styli in these carts all the time will no problem with anything fitting loose, but I'm not sure how much I trust that, or how often they are swapping.

    Instead I would just get a separate 78 cart, put it on a cheap but decent headshell, and use that.

    My 2 cents.
     
    vinylontubes and Ripblade like this.
  9. DaleClark

    DaleClark Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Columbus, Ohio
    good advice. The 78 cartridge is actually quite affordable
     
  10. patient_ot

    patient_ot Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    Esoteric Sound has some inexpensive 78 carts from a few different brands. You can get an AT3600 with a 3 mil 78 needle for $26 there. No personal experience, but I did buy some cartridge cases from them once and they seem like good people to deal with, especially if you need 78 supplies.
     
  11. DaleClark

    DaleClark Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Columbus, Ohio
    Good Idea. Esoteric might be the first place to start with a cheapo 78 cartridge
     
    patient_ot likes this.
  12. punkmusick

    punkmusick Amateur drummer

    Location:
    Brazil
    I had both and this AT is better. Beware of capacitance though.
     
    Chris Schoen likes this.
  13. Chris Schoen

    Chris Schoen Rock 'n Roll !!!

    Location:
    Maryland, U.S.A.
    This. I have used short length Blue Jeans LC-1 cables (from table to pre-amp) with AT carts, and have had great results.
     
    waaguirr likes this.
  14. DaleClark

    DaleClark Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Columbus, Ohio
    Although I have a few pairs of the BJ interconnects, I was going to start out with the stock cables that come with the TT. Can you explain, in simpleton terms, why I should be concerned with capacitance and what to look for when cable shopping?
     
  15. patient_ot

    patient_ot Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    The cable from the TT to the phono preamp is the one that matters most. The capacitance of that cable, along with the input capacitance and resistance of the phono preamp itself, "loads" the cartridge. Too much capacitance can negatively affect the frequency response of the cartridge. With some AT carts, too much capacitance means a peak in the audible band that is over and above what is intended by the manufacturer, increasing treble around a certain frequency. In general, we don't want that. We want as even a response as possible. It is possible to model or measure the effect more or less capacitance will have on the frequency response curve of the cartridge.

    See here:

    Load the Magnets!!! - [English]

    The reason people like those LC-1 cables is because they are low capacitance and well-shielded. Many cables on the market are not, but many are. It may take some work to find another cable that has capacitance just as low, or lower than the LC-1, and is still well shielded. Cables that are scant on specs, have poor shielding, or no shielding at all, are what you want to avoid for a phono cable. The last thing you want is the cable acting like an antenna and picking up RFI and other sources of interference, and injecting more noise in your system.
     
  16. DaleClark

    DaleClark Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Columbus, Ohio

    I looked at the owners manual of both the AT Cartridge and the MOFI phono pre.

    The load impedance for the pre amp (MM Cartridge) is 47 ohms---the same AT recommends---so what output gain setting should I set the mofi to for the at cartridge? I do not see that in the AT specs. The MOFI manual says start with 40 DB. Is this something I just do by ear? Maybe match the level of my other sources (CD Player, streamer)?
     
  17. JohnO

    JohnO Senior Member

    Location:
    Washington, DC
    I'm just going to note the Parks Puffin preamp. It covers all concerns raised, but it is a digital preamp. I have no experience with it myself and I hope others can weigh in. There is a thread about it on the board.
     
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