Hi everyone, and an MC question

Hi great forum this isn't it ! I have a question, my current system is as below and i'm interested in 'upgrading' to an MC, i've been looking at Denon DL103 and similar, am I on the right track ? I've no experience with MC's.....

Many Thanks.

 

at the price, denon, yes, or ortofon mc15 is a killer. denon a bit soft, ortofon very fast and clear.
avoid sumiko bps, overated, but ok, and dynavector, nice but fragile.

 

Or Denon DL-110/160, very compatible and musical. Or Grado (no MC, but very good).

 

Does it have to be an MC ? The goldring MM carts are very good VFM as well as the Grados.

I've been using a Goldring Elite (which is MC) until recently and thought this was a capable cart at the price.

The Denon carts are very good value for money, I'm not so convinced by the DL103 as others on this forum but I had a DL304 and which is a very good cart and very well priced - better than the Sumiko carts and a better all rounder than the DL103, IMO.

 

Hi thanks for your reply, it doesn't have to be an MC, it's just i've never tryed one before so i'm curious. I've had experience of MM's upto around £150 GBP mark, like OM30, AT120e/t, Grado prestige Gold, Goldring 1012 etc, and fancied something different....

The Denons seem like a good bet then with my set up, i have a switchable MM/MC input, so with the highput MC's i could use the MM input. Do you loose quality when you move from say a low out MC to a high out MC ?

 

It depends at the price you are looking at. Most MC carts tend to be expensive and also low-output. the Sumiko BPS EVO is a similar output as an MM and so is the cart above that (the blackbird, I think).

I think, and I'm not 100% sure here so someone please feel free to correct me, but the output from an MC can be dependant on the number of turns of the coil, the more turns the higher the output.

You have to check the gain from your phono stage and see which MC cart would suit it. Also check the compliance and make sure it is a good match with the arm. Some MC carts can cause problems in this respect - check www.cartridgedb.com as this site has lots of details of most carts out there. It also allows you to check compliance compatibility with your arm.

Not sure whether using the MM input is always best with an MC - just my opinion, which is why checking the gain for the MC input is best. There is a big difference between the output of a BPS and an Ortofon MC15, the DL304 I originally mentioned is very low-output. At this price point, as long as your phono can handle it, I'm not sure it makes that much difference if high or low output - getting a good match with your phono is best.

The reason I had MC in the first place was the fact my first phono amp was MC only and I've stayed with them cos I like them.