G'day all, rotating my Ortofon OM10 into service today it becomes apparent reasonably quickly that it isn't anywhere as 'warm' sounding as my Shure M97xE, yet that perception may not be as descriptive and accurate as it might seem. I think that we can attribute the warmth of the M97xE to the slight upper treble roll off (the 'x' curve), and not bass boost.
Indeed the OM10 has good bass yet sounds to have a slightly 'brighter' sound overall and possibly not surprisingly, more detail, assuming optimum loading in all cases. A few db of lift here and there at some critical frequency can radically change the way any given cartridge sounds in the context of the overall audio frequency response.
In terms of recovered detail the OM10 is clearly the better cartridge yet the warmth of the M97xE gives the M97xE a more solid and beefier sound that I personally find more satisfying. Interesting indeed! Regards, Felix.
