[THROWBACK]

I'm with Soundminded. My first reaction upon hearing a so-called great MC is "Wow." On several occasions the "Wow" feeling has even lasted long enough to seduce me into buying one. Later, I regret it.This has happened several times. Guess I'm just a slow learner.

No more. I am back to MM's for good.

Soundsmith's "The Voice" is my primary cartridge now. I also have a Music Maker II that is being upgraded to a Music Maker III. It's not because MM's tend to be less expensive; to me they consistently sound better. The difference for me between MC and MM (at least in their current incarnations) is solidity, primarily in the bass--from cellos to tympani. I also find MM's less prone to hum (except for some Grado/TT combos).  MM's also sound more natural to me--more what I hear when I go to the symphony. The vaunted superior "detail" of MC's eventually begins to annoy me.

These are all personal observations. Different ears and different systems etc. .........

[woodsyi]

My take is that both MM and MC can sound wonderful if set up correctly.  Having said that, MC sounds more engaging than MM when both are set up correctly, IMHO.  What is a known fact for sure, however, is that LOMC is PITA to set up correctly compared to MM and costs more in every which way.  For me, it's worth the price and troubles. 

I am staying LOMC.

P.S.  Strain gauge is a totally different animal and I like it as well as LOMC and a cinch to set up.

[simoon]

I'm currently using HOMC, and I tend to enjoy MC more than MM.

I already own a very good MC phono preamp, so when I buy a new cartridge, that extra expense is not an issue. All I have to deal with is the price of the cartridge itself.

At my price range, I will usually opt of a MC. While I'm not detail freak, I do enjoy the extra bit of detail that most MC's are capable of. And I don't think I am giving up anything to get it.

I also don't find that MC's are that much tougher to get sounding right than a MM.

[Sonny]

Why would one do that????
To save money?  I think MCs are so much more life like in terms of 'EVERYTHING'!
To save headache?  Why get into this hobby if you want 'ok' sound and not willing to tweak?
Less noise?  Sure, MC has inherent noise issues to be so low in term of output...but you get ALL the nuances of the music, not just the "top" layer of a MM.
Remember, this is just MY OPINION!
Comment with that in mind.

[TONEPUB]

The Voice is a great cartridge....  I've had excellent results with all of the SoundSmith carts I've owned or reviewed..

[neobop]

I don't agree with the perception that MCs are necessarily better or harder to set up.  Who would set-up any cart haphazardly? 
Because it's a MM, you wouldn't bother with exact alignment or azimuth?  Matter of fact, MMs are harder to load, there's capacitance and some are much better loaded other than at 47K. 

I'm not saying HO is better, but it can be. Whatever works for you is better.
neo

[Quiet Earth]

I don't agree with the perception that MCs are necessarily better or harder to set up.  Who would set-up any cart haphazardly? 
Because it's a MM, you wouldn't bother with exact alignment or azimuth?

That's right. Let's assume that you gave it your best effort when setting it all up.

Why would one do that????
To save money?
To save headache?

To get better sound from your record collection. 

[cindy_leigh]

Cindy,
You are right. It can be just that simple. I'm nit picking again, and wondering what else is possible. Welcome to AC!

Thank you for the welcome.  A big thumbs up for that system in your gallery...gotta love Audio Note!

[Soundminded]

Thank you for the welcome.  A big thumbs up for that system in your gallery...gotta love Audio Note!

If you haven't seen the factory tour, perhaps you'll enjoy it.

http://www.avshowrooms.com/Audio_Note_Co.html

I met this man Peter Qvortrup at the VTV show in Piscataway about 5 or 6 years ago when his TOTL system he was demonstrating was about $500,000. I was not impressed. Now his TOTL system is priced around $1.8 million. I haven't heard it yet.

[KBK]

I've probably tried about 100+ cartridges, over the years.

About the same number of overall phono sections. (separates and integrated)

I've always ended up at low output MC's, with well matched step-up transformers.