Nagaoka Cartridge fans?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by DaleClark, Feb 15, 2022.

  1. beowulf

    beowulf Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chula Vista, CA
    Can anyone compare the MP-500 to a Rega Exact 2? Would be interested in hearing your thoughts.
     
  2. Pmds55889397

    Pmds55889397 Forum Resident

    Has anyone compared the higher end Nags vs Sumiko Amethyst Oister range ?
     
  3. Davey

    Davey NP: Rosali ~ Bite Down (2024)

    Location:
    SF Bay Area, USA
    Yea, with the yen falling again, the retail price (minus tax) of 81,000 yen from Japan is back under $600. Think it got down to around $550 back in Sep/Oct, but now is still a good time to buy. Did you go through CDJapan, or someplace else?


    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Feb 28, 2023
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  4. Merrick

    Merrick The return of the Thin White Duke

    Location:
    Portland
    I got a NIB unit from a seller with 100% feedback on eBay. With shipping that includes full tracking from CD Japan it would have cost about $630 and I’d have to wait for it to come back in stock, which they’re quoting as 2-4 weeks. The eBay unit was $644 shipped which I considered an acceptable surcharge to get it within a few days instead of a few weeks.
     
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  5. Davey

    Davey NP: Rosali ~ Bite Down (2024)

    Location:
    SF Bay Area, USA
    Yea, sounds like you made a good choice. The cheapest I see on ebay right now is $658 with free shipping, but I'd pay another $60 sales tax, so around $720. Anyway, deals usually do turn up if you look around. You can also buy directly from the Nagaoka site at the same price as CDJapan using Amazon pay, but I don't know if they do international sales and shipping (their retail price is shown with the 10% Japan tax).

    There are some cheaper Jpn sites, but you'd have to use a proxy and pay the Jpn tax and added shipping, so it gets more complicated and probably no savings in the end.
     
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  6. Ulises

    Ulises Forum Resident

    Location:
    Denver, CO
    I currently have both in my collection. Exact is pretty laid back and has a nice tolerance for pressing imperfections. It might pair well with speakers that have too much zing vs. the Brit monitors I’ve tried it with. I don’t find it particularly engaging or addictive—even with my p8 where there should be synergy.

    Nag feels faster and more dynamic to me, with a greater sense of scale and more precise resolution. For similar money, I think the MP-500 represents a better value, especially when you consider you can replace the stylus. Before I put the MP-500 on my technics, I used to cartridge swap a lot. Not so much anymore….
     
  7. Dafox

    Dafox Forum Resident

    Location:
    Northern Colorado
    In my reading the forum i am under the impression that the mp 200 might be the sweet spot between accurate and musical. The gold sure looks a lot cooler than the purple tho.
     
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  8. beowulf

    beowulf Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chula Vista, CA
    Thanks for echoing my sentiments towards the Exact cart! I too find it quite un-engaging and somewhat drab. I can't think of anything that it particularly does wrong, it just doesn't move me the way I've heard other turntable cart combos do.

    I think my next budget range for cartridges will be in the $500 - $1000 ( perhaps stretch it a wee bit more if it was really special) ... and the MP-500 falls into the reasonable price range (all things being considered in this crazy hobby) IMO.
     
  9. Merrick

    Merrick The return of the Thin White Duke

    Location:
    Portland
    Purple is my favorite color! If the 200 had a metal body and advanced shaped stylus I would have gone for that. :)
     
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  10. Cyclone Ranger

    Cyclone Ranger New old stock

    Location:
    Best Coast USA
    The Exact is a good $350 cart (what it currently costs in the UK) that is ridiculously overpriced in the US ($675).

    It was always going to lose to the MP-500, because it’s not really in the same class (and ‘cuz the Naga is excellent). :thumbsup:
    .
     
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  11. mrkrinkle

    mrkrinkle so long and thanks for all the fish

    Location:
    USA
    My favorite carts are the MP110 and the Amethyst. I think the MP110 has better separation than the Olympia, which I also love. They both sound analog and fun, but the 110 sounds more balanced to me. The Olympia mids overpower the sound signature, IMHO. Not a bad thing, just not where my head is right now.
     
  12. fendersrule

    fendersrule Sixty-minute man

    Location:
    Idaho
    Just FYI, a Naga MP-500 cart is $50 cheaper going through CDJapan vs the current cheapest eBay option. Yes, there's a 2-3 week delay or whatever, but I'll easily take that delay since I have plenty of working carts to use.

    I'm trying to think if it's worth just throwing on an MP500 stylus on my MP200 cart rather than paying more than double the price to get a full MP500 stylus.

    Do you guys notice less inner groove distortion (at the end of records) with the MP500 vs other Nagas?

    Is there any deficiet in sound going from an MP200 to an MP500? Anything you notice "less" of?

    FWIW, even though I LOVE my MP200 (I nickname it "butter" as it does everything very well) I prefer my HO MC DL-160 cart and will be spending some money getting that retipped/upgraded first. I tend to find myself using my DL-160 table more than my MP-200 table (pretty much the same table). I feel that there's something more transparent about it.
     
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  13. Merrick

    Merrick The return of the Thin White Duke

    Location:
    Portland
    Did you take shipping charges into account? When I checked I believe it was $30 for a shipping option with full tracking.
     
  14. fendersrule

    fendersrule Sixty-minute man

    Location:
    Idaho
    Yep, that was the final price (Fed Ex shipping option) difference. Also, with the 500 YEN discount code. I didn't include the eBay sales tax either which would make the difference even larger than $50.
     
    Last edited: Mar 1, 2023
    Merrick likes this.
  15. beowulf

    beowulf Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chula Vista, CA
    @Ulises and @Cyclone Ranger

    Do you guys know if a spacer should be used for installing an MP-500 on a Rega RP6 and if so what size?
     
  16. Ulises

    Ulises Forum Resident

    Location:
    Denver, CO
    I don’t have a p6 and use my nag on technics not my p8 but I want to say 2mm for some reason—hopefully someone here can chime in.

    I quite like the following spacer set for Rega because you can add and subtract spacers to taste with relative ease and fine tune to your preference…I use them on my p8 and they are nice to have.

    Acoustic Signature Rega Spacer Set | Audio Advice
     
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  17. Cyclone Ranger

    Cyclone Ranger New old stock

    Location:
    Best Coast USA
    I seem to remember some ppl here using a 1mm spacer with Nagas on Rega TTs with good results, but don’t take my recollection, do some searches on the forum.

    AFAIK, Rega carts are about 14mm in height, while the Naga MP-500 is about 18mm. Allegedly the geo/dimensions on Regas alters the height of non-Rega carts 3-4mm (or is it altering Rega carts 3-4mm relative to non-Rega ones? Hmm…) so seems like no spacers at all might be what’s right.

    But, I would start a thread asking for advice from ppl who are actually running Rega+Nagaoka in their own systems, or who have. I myself have not.

    Good luck. A P6/MP-500 combo properly set up should sound pretty great. :thumbsup:
    .
     
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  18. Pmds55889397

    Pmds55889397 Forum Resident

    No spacer needed as in most scenarios.
    Thats why Rega make their tonearms fixed
    Very few instance you need to raise arm but then the cartridge body need to be very high or stylus tip very sensitive to VTA.
    I'd say 9 out of 10 cartridges, don't worry.
     
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  19. hesson11

    hesson11 Forum Resident

    Keep in mind that, as Michael Fremer has pointed out, it takes a 4 mm change in tonearm height to change the VTA/SRA by just one degree. That's a fairly large change in tonearm height to make a small difference, IMO.
     
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  20. Pmds55889397

    Pmds55889397 Forum Resident

    Thats so true and people should in generel forget the spacers madness.
     
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  21. Dafox

    Dafox Forum Resident

    Location:
    Northern Colorado
    Just a 1 mm change in vta makes a noticeable difference in sound in my set up, I'm glad I have adjustable vta.
    VPI Scout, JMW-9, Nagaoka MP200.
     
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  22. Merrick

    Merrick The return of the Thin White Duke

    Location:
    Portland
    My MP-500 arrived today. Even straight out of the box this is one of the best carts I've ever heard. Technicalities are all there, tone is neutral but not dull, and there is just such a sense of flow to the music. This is easily the best change I've made to my system since getting my Yamaha PX-3. From here on out all I will be doing is buying replacement styluses for this cart because it's the last cart I need.
     
  23. fendersrule

    fendersrule Sixty-minute man

    Location:
    Idaho
    I love nagas, but I've recently decided to end my Naga journey after the MP200 (which is a great cart)!

    I've been listening to my Denon DL-160 for the past several weeks. When I switched back over to the MP-200 table, it sounded like everything got coated in butter..less organic. Honestly pretty just "fine." Things were less spatial, a bit less engaging. The DL-160 on the otherhand was open, powerful, transparent and ultimately more "live" sounding which I like. I felt like the bottom end was a bit rounder as well.

    So I decided to go all in and get my DL-160 retipped/upgraded to a microridge and also order another minty DL-160 to install on my other TT.

    HO MCs are now my best friend!
     
  24. inzite

    inzite Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto
    I made a similar change from my mp500/150 body hybrid to the sae 1000e/lt homc and it has been superb.
     
    ranch 22b likes this.
  25. Cyclone Ranger

    Cyclone Ranger New old stock

    Location:
    Best Coast USA
    I never notice IGD with Nagas, they’ve been shown to track quite well, even their ‘fat elliptical’ models. But I’ve never been sensitive to IGD to begin with.

    Almost everybody seems to love the MP-500. The only knock I’ve heard is that it is almost too good at clarity and detail retrieval, rendering it a bit more ‘analytical’.

    But remember, that’s analytical as compared to other Nagas (aka a very ‘musical’ lineup of carts), not analytical to the extent that say some ppl say a cart like the Ortofon 2M Black can be.

    The MP200 is a really good $379 MM/MI cart (current eBay prices new), but as good as it is, I wouldn’t expect it to be a ‘world-beater’, or all things to all ppl.

    Really, if the sound I was going for was ‘an MP-200, but better’, I’d go MP-300. ‘Cuz that IS an MP-200, just in a better and more rigid body.

    Whereas an MP-500 is different (ML stylus for one) and thus does have a somewhat different sonic character… still musical, but the romance is dialed down a bit. I think it’s the perfect cart for ppl who want to split the difference between analytical and romantic, kinda (aka some of both).

    But that’s my ears, and YMMV. :thumbsup:
    .
     
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