Nagaoka - Frequency Measurements Of All 6 Carts

Could someone please explain what do these figures mean and how to interpret them?

 

The top line is the actual frequency response. The bottom humping line is harmonic distortion I'm assuming.

 

I see. Yes, that roll off starting at 3KHz is pretty disappointing for the MP-300. I have a 110 and know about it but didn't expect that for the 300.

 

Never saw a need for the MP-300 ... at its price, one may as well go for the MP-500. They're the same cart body anyway, just different styli.

I'm currently using a MP-110 and MP-500. I think the replacement stylus I recently got for my MP-500 is better than the stock stylus that came with it! Absolutely floored at what I'm hearing from my system. IGD has disappeared except on pretty damaged LPs.

The MP-110 is wheeled out for jazz and more ambient or gauzy recordings - for instance, I prefer the Dead Can Dance and Cocteau Twins reissues from 4AD with the MP-110.

I think my next purchase will be the JN-P200 stylus to use on my MP-110 body.

Nagaoka for life as far as I'm concerned at this point.

 

I agree the human hearing is amazing at identifying sonic fingerprints if you will. For instance, when my wife is talking to me in a room we have never been in before, I recognize her voice, hear where it's coming from, and I can make pretty good estimates about the size of the room, materials, positioning furnishings etc. Same with hearing the fingerprint of a cart in a hifi system. Going on step further, we are even listening through the cart to the recorded event, recognizing familiar singing voices, room information, positioning of the players, microphones used, etc. It's truly amazing.

My point is that the relevance of frequency charts is a little overrated in this thread. I feel we should not judge a cartridge's ability to convey all this complex information by its freq chart (unless it is an outrageous curve of course). This thread shows lots of people drawing too many conclusions from these charts, eg about the MP300.

Perception of brightness for instance can be strongly influenced by (small) distortions in the chain, an effect that may outway the cart's inherent frequency response.

 

Hi Ben,

I have a mp-300 with a worn out stylus and i know that the 500 stylus does fit on an 300 body but will it give me the exact frequencies measurements (or very close to it) of a 500, will it sound the same?

BTW the reason I bought the 300 was because I read a quote somewhere (I don’t remember where) that it’s the Nagaoka founder / CEO favorite of all their range pf carts. he must know!

I would describe the 300 as laid back and smooth sounding with not a particularly wide sound stage, I found that it’s works best with acoustic and jazzy sounding records and less with rock, It’s not a particularly energetic sounding cart.

I very much like the tonality of it and think it has a seductive quality that is hard to appreciate at first but have to admit i was very disappointed by it’s inner groove tracking abilities, I’m hoping the fine line stylus of the 500 will solve that.

 

It must be stressed that measurements depend also on individual units and on loading and on the test record. See e.g the measurement of MP11 on TNT audio.

Nagaoka MP11 phono cartridge - [English]

 

It will work on the 300 yes. The line up share their bodies in pairs like this:

• MP-100
• MP-110

• MP-150
• MP-200

• MP-300
• MP-500

 

But internally are the bodies the same?

 

Yes, only the stylus assembly differs within the paired groups.

 

The cart body is identical, so if you place a JN-P 500 stylus on it, it will be a MP-500!

 

Excellent explanation, thank you!!

 

Thanks!

 

Great!

 

Exactly right - the voice of someone we know well sounds the same to our ears wherever we hear it, even though it is greatly affected by the room it is in. That's why I don't believe in room correction!

For what it's worth, I wouldn't place a great deal of faith in these charts. They obviously come from the manufacturer and even allowing for the scale, the variations in EQ look too small to be credible. Less than +/- 2dB 25Hz-20kHz for an MM cart? Gimme a break!

 

Wait, you dont believe in room correction? What does that even mean?

 

He means digital room correction, the fad of all A/V receivers/amps. I don't believe in it either. If your speakers are putting out a nice flat response, you need to fix your room if it's sounding bad. Room correction distorts the signal to the speakers in attempt to "undo" the room effects. The problem is the room effects change drastically from different listening positions. IMO, the best chance for the best sound is to output a neutral response and adjust speaker position and acoustically treat the room if needed.

 

Love a good nagaoka thread
Pretty sure he answered your question above, but thought this chart might be of interest too

 

Looking at chart i can see that the "Inner Impedance" and "Magnetic Circuit" of the 300 and 500 have different values, i'm not sure how these two factors affect the sound but it seems the Carts are slightly different internally, or am i reading it wrong?

 

Has anyone compared any of the Nagaoka(s) with the Denon DL-103?
I have never owned a Nagaoka but I own a Denon that I quite like, and I have been told that they have similar sound signatures.

 

I believe a freq response +/- 2dB from 25Hz-20kHz is tricky. It´s especially tricky at the lower end, where other components than the cartridge itself will be seen. I don´t know how these plots are made, but we will need something very free from resonances and a something very dampened to be able to achieve them. But the response would be doable with the right circumstances I think.
I have this response from about 30Hz and up with an AT cartridge.

 

Perhaps not in the exact same ballpark but i currently run a Nagaoka MP50 and switch between a Denon DL110.....i do slightly prefer the Nagaoka....slightly.....

The Nagaoka is more detailed to my ears, but the Denon is no slouch and just seems to do everything well. It always has me tapping my toes.
The Nagaoka always ends up back on the turntable however..........

I had a MP30 prior and found it had a bit more "rock" to the MP50 which has a bit more "jazz" (hopefully that makes sense to ya'll) haha

I started this thread a while back and its still fairly active now and again, just in case you want to read even more Nagaoka!

Where's my Nagaoka peeps at?!?

 

Interesting testing of the MP-11 for those interested:

Nagaoka MP11 phono cartridge - [English]

 

Thanks, I am getting more and more intrigued by Nagaoga each day

 

... whoa. Hm. Could those specs specifically mean with stylus installed?