Best cartridge you've never heard of: the Audio-Technica AT33PTG/II

There is a ton of love for this cart. Not just on here, but all over the internet.
I was able to pick one up from a fine member selling in the classifieds. Looking forward to trying it out.

 

I've nearly pulled the trigger on this cartridge probably 100 times, but it still does not grace my cartridge "collection!" I do have another from the 33 series (AT33Mono) and it is a good cart, rarely do I hear anything bad about ANY cart in the 33 lineup.

Would love to hear your thoughts....

 

I've recently gotten back to vinyl and glad I did. I own an ATLP120 Turntable and if I were to upgrade to this cartridge, would I have to replace anything so this cartridge would fit?

 

I own an ATLP120 turntable. If I upgraded to this cartridge, would it fit properly or would a need a new head shell, etc?

Thanks for any advice.

 

The AT33PTG/II is probably about 2 grams heavier that the stock AT95E with the longer hardware needed for attachment to the headshell. The 33PTG has a higher compliance, around 20cu compared to probably around 15cu for the 95E, so higher mass and higher compliance means tonearm resonance will be a little lower, not sure what the effective mass is of the AT-LP120 arm, might help to use a lower mass headshell. I'd worry more if the tonearm and table is worth this much cartridge, guess it also depends on what you are using for a LOMC phono preamp since it won't work with the one built-in.

 

@Davey didn't say it --- but I will , the AT33PTGii is probably a couple rungs up the ladder from what I would personally put on an LP-120. And not talking from observation, this is from someone who owned a 120, then traded up to a 1240 for quite some time... IMHO you aren't going to get the most out of a cartridge like the 33 on a table like the 120..... carts like the AT-440, MP-100, DL-110 are great matches for the LP-120 IMHO.

 

I wasn't planning on replacing my Hana SL; but due to a strange set of circumstances I came into possession of a brand new AT33PTGII. My arm is a Sumiko Premier MMT, which I wouldn't expect to be a great match at about 16g with the stock headshell. I mounted it on the lightest headshell I could find and after some break-in I think that the Hana may never see another piece of vinyl. Resonance measures 8 hz on my test LP. Go figure...or maybe don't take the figures too seriously. The AT33 at $200 less than the Hana is my new love.

 

AT33PTG/II arrived and it matches very well with Sony PS-X65C. I knew this cartridge from some Hi Rez recordings and now it sings very nice to me...

 

Has anyone ever compared this cartridge to the Denon 301II? Both of these MC's seem to be held in high regard by many, and are fairly close in price.

 

Interesting! How would you compare the sound of the two carts?

 

Good endorsement!

Funny, I was at my local dealer over the weekend and he had a Hana set up on one of his demo ‘tables. He sells a lot of gear distributed by Musical Surroundings, which also distributes Hana. He said after all the praise on the internet he thought he’d give Hana a try.

Now this particular dealer has a certain “house sound” he likes, and apparently the Hana isn’t it. I asked him about it and he got a look of disgust and said “you might as well listen to a CD.”

 

AT33PTG/ii for the win. Bigger soundstage, better tracking, more air and separation. I really liked my Denon 301mk2 but the AT33PTG/ii is just better.

 

Stop it, both of you! I need to stop clicking on this thread. I really love my 301 but one gets curious...

 

I picked up an older NOS AT-33E on a whim a few weeks back out of curiousity. Installed it on a Technics SL-1000mk2. I had spent the last week enjoying my new SL-1200G with ART9 cartridge. When I dropped the needle I was shocked at how beautiful this cartridge sounded. It's not coming off any time soon. I am assuming this is basically the same cartridge as the PTG/II, only with a nude .2 x .7 elliptical diamond. It does seem to ride a little low, but it hasn't been a problem yet.

 

The Denon 301 II is a wonderful cartridge. It was my first MC and I still play it from time to time. It was supplanted by the Hana SL, which has now been supplanted by the AT33PTG/II.
I should say that I like a certain type of sound. I refer to it as sparking clarity. The AT has the most of that without sacrificing any balance. It just seems to have more of what I think is referred to as micro-dynamics. The soundstage is deeper and higher, though no wider than the Hana. Vocals are more out front of the other instruments and each is defined in it's own space with 'air' in between. There is no trace of listening fatigue, unlike the AT14Sa that I have used on another system. The Denon sounds very close to the Hana to me, just a slightly smaller sound stage and maybe a tad less weight.

Let me put it this way, I did a lot of A/B comparison between the Hana and Denon before I got a handle on their differences. When I mounted the AT33PTG/II the differences were clear immediately. It only took about 12 hours of break-in for the bass to open up and it is more controlled than the Hana. I can hear the pluck of the Freebo's fretless bass on Bonnie Raitt's "Taking My Time", for instance. If you like big fat bass, the Hana has an edge there, maybe, and the Denon is not far behind; but the AT33 seems to go lower. Now measurement wise, using a test record with calibrated frequency bands I can't actually hear anything below 40 Hz on any of the 3 cartridges.

Contrary to other's experiences, I found the AT33PTG/II very easy to align and calibrate.

I hope I was clear in my descriptions. The rest of my system consists of an Oracle Alexandria with a Sumiko Premier MMT, a Musical Surroundings Phonomena II (the AT33PTG/II needs the max 60 dB setting, I have it loaded at 280 Ohms), a Primare I32 integrated amp (class D) and a pair of Canton Ergo 1002DC towers.

 

Just curious as another data point, back-calculating the measured resonance frequency of around 7-8 Hz on my Micro Seiki 14.5 gm tonearm puts the AT33PTG/II compliance at around 20-22 cu, I wonder what you measure with the 20 gm Sumiko/Jelco MMT? Cool that it works OK, the damping would probably help in this case, do you use the damping?

 

I use the AT33PTG/II with a Sumiko MMT using a 12 gram HS-25 headshell. It sounds excellent and tracks every record I've thrown at it perfectly. Before learning about the AT33PTG/II via this thread, I tried a 2M Bronze with the MMT, which didn't seem like a good match at all.

Regarding damping, the manual for the arm states that it should be used only with very low compliance carts, so I've never tried it.

On a side note, I also have a AT33EV that I use with this arm with great results.

 

How can it track better than the 301 Mk2? That thing tracks anything!!

 

The calculated compliance at 10 Hz (AT specs their cartridges at 100 Hz) would be 15 - 18; but that's just a calculation. I started out with a very slight amount of damping. I'm running it without any now and the resonance is at about 9 Hz using the HiFi News Test LP, but the wobble is not as great as the Hana is at 7 hz.

 

Agreed; I went from the Denon to the AT and although the former is a very good cartridge, the latter is head and shoulders above.

 

True. I have only 3 LPs that can get the Denon and Hana to mistrack slightly for less than a second. They are Linda Ronstadt, Hasten Down The Wind on Down So Low and Someone to Lay Down Beside Me; and A Retrospective Just a Little Bit of Rain. (Strangely no mistracking on the Stone Ponies version.) And finally Alison Krauss Windy City, All Alone am I. The Denon track these as well as the Hana; but with the AT distortion is negligible. Also, I set the VTA on all at or below the recommended weight. I just think that my pressings of these 3 pieces of vinyl are at the far end of the spectrum. I hear no distortion on my MFSL Gold CD of Hasten Down The Wind. BTW, I heard the distortion on Hasten when it was brand new with a Shure V15 V.

Please understand that I think all three are very good. I had the Hana EL before the SL. I don't feel like the SL is quite as good of a bargain as the EL; but the Denon and AudioTechnica are just really good values for the expense in my opinion.

 

Mine is mounted on my LP12/Ittok LVII. Ive been enjoying this cartridge for about 2 years.

 

Interesting. I calculated the compliance from the resonant frequency results based on the mass of my tonearm, along with the cartridge weight and hardware, not from the 100Hz number. I know the HFN record isn't very accurate, but 9 Hz seems higher than I expected, even so (probably closer to 7 Hz). Is that vertical or lateral? Think I used my Shure test record, I'll try the CBS. Maybe you have a lighter headshell too? Guess my cartridge could be higher compliance too, it's a few years old, and I don't think they are all that consistent anyway.

 

Remember that I am using the AT33 with a cheap headshell that weighs 8g with the wires. Do you think I could get away with a better headshell?

 

Since everything sounds great, and I haven't noticed any wobbling or other issues, I've never tested my setup for resonance. I have a HiFi News test record and can check it out when I get home from work this evening. If your current headshell doesn't have the ability to adjust azimuth, the 4 extra grams from the Jelco HS-25 (or LP Gear Zupreme rebrand) may be a worthwhile trade off.