Post Your Needledrops (Part Five)

Definitely bright and detailed with standard 100ohm loading, etc. The cartridge came with a printout showing a rise in the highs starting around 6kHz and gradually reaching about 1.5dB at 14kHz. However, on my turntable, I measured a +3dB peak around 12kHz when I checked the frequency sweep track on the HiFi News Test Record. Thus, I've been recording my needledrops with a compensating EQ that I adjusted to flatten that peak. It seems to really smooth out the highs. I'm thinking this may be some sort of mechanical resonance that's part of my Pro-Ject Xpression II setup since it always seemed to be there. I damped it down with loading/capacitance with my MM cartridges, but the OC9 being an MC doesn't seem to respond to those tricks.

This resonant peak aside (or resolved), I'd characterize the OC9 as extremely revealing of whatever is in the grooves and an incredibly accurate tracker. I've got a couple of records I could never get my Ortofons to track properly in the highs that the OC9 glides through without problem. For example, last week I tried Romeo Void's Instincts LP (they had a minor hit with a song called Girl In Trouble (Just a Temporary Thing). With my 2M Bronze and Black it was unlistenable due to having extremely loud sibilants the Ortofon's just could not track. the AT tracked them very accurately. They're still sibiliant, but smooth. Same goes for several other records I always assumed were just badly abused by their previous owners.

Overall, I'm delighted with the detail and delicate nature of the highs. Cymbals sound more real to me, as they sound in a room where the real cymbals are played. I also get a keen sense of space, air and separation around all the instruments.

The OC9 is not really lean in the bass end as some folks report, but rather it accurately renders whatever bass is on the LP. For example, Steve's excellent mastering of Can Morrison's Moondance has huge, thick bass on it. Same goes for Bernie Grundman's recent mastering of Dire Straits' Communique. On the other hand, some older records I have with weak bass really do sound lean.

I also notice the OC9 is much more sensitive to that damned Pro-Ject motor noise than the 2Ms (my old AT150MLX was the same way). For needledrops I have iZotope's RX denoiser removing the motor noise on the input of my recording in Reaper so it's not so much of an issue but f I were listening to my rig without the denoiser, I'd be unhappy. I hope to get a better turntable later this year that won't have such an issue.

 

Here is a sample of the superior mono version of Happy Jack by The Who. I love Keith Moon's crazy drumming on this song. I'm still trying to break in the new turntable and cartridge.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/v69sv2

 

Thanks for the detailed reply. I always liked cartridges with a flat response but a slight rise above 10kHz doesn't bother me much. Three of four db at 10 kHz is usually too much. I think records are usually rolled off a bit at the inner grooves so a little rise isn't bad overall.

These can be damped with loading capacitance but it takes values in the nF or uF range depending on the internal impedance of the coils.

My Adcom cartridge is down 1db at 7kHz, up 2db at 10kHz and peaks at +4db in the upper ranges. I haven't noticed the brightness yet though.

 

I love that de-noise feature, highlight an empty area click learn and run it through, make's cutting tracks easier for me also

 

It depends on the source material as well. Some records from the mid-80's really sound bright because it became fashionable to goose the highs compared to the 60's and 70's.

What I've also noticed is that it's not so much a raw measurement of frequency response that determines our perception of brightness but how cartridges respond to high frequency transients. Those little rises in the highs may actually make a cartridge sound more open and airy, but then if they don't handle a transient without distorting, the rise can be detrimental and just highlight the distortion. Take for example, Faders Up's comparison of the Rega Bias 2 and Nagoaka MP-200. The tonality of both was similar yet the Bias seemed to have edginess on transients whereas the MP-200 sounded more refined. I felt very much the same on my system comparing my old 2M Black with my OC9. I spent the whole time I had the 2M constantly tweaking alignment and VTA trying to get rid of edginess. I'd succeed for some records only to find others where it was still there. So far with the OC9, the sound has been much more consistent. Ironically, I keep reading reports from folks who describe the 2M Black's sound much in the same way I describe the OC9, so it really does underline the importance of the other factors in a system: tonearm, turntable, phono stage, etc.

 

It didn't seem bright to me at all and sounds fine.

 

Another good drop. Which release is this from?

 

Its an original U.S. mono copy from "A Quick One".