[martyo]

On another circle in a cartridge thread there is alot of talk about  current Grado versus AT cartridges and an Ortofon was also mentioned. I remember in the 70's having a middle grade Grado (this was at the time of the original Signature) and an Ortofon. The Grado had a beautiful and live sounding midrange with a low end as clear as mud and didn't track very well. The Ortofon sounded okay but i must have went 4 or 5 stylus' because of cantilever fatigue. Started hearing about the AT, (I even think it was a high output moving coil) they always tracked well but this one sounded very good. Flat response and very rich sound. Interestingly, it sounds as if some of the same characteristics still apply to the Grado's.
That thread got me a little nostalgic. Am I suffering from long term remember the good old days memory loss?

Marty

[TheChairGuy]

More or less the same, Marty, on the Grado's and AT's.

Signet no longer exists - it was folded away into AT and never saw the light of day again.  I think it was AT's higher end line back when.

Grado's track fairly poorly...and require a lot of optimizing to get right, but when you do, it's a wonderful device.

Don't know why Ortofon failure rate for stylus was that high.....they seem to have pretty good QA in Denmark 

[Wayner]

The Audio Technica OC9 Mk 2 is still avalible from sources such as music direct for $289. It is supposed to have the same sound as the Signet. It is an MC with a .4mv output and tracks at the optimum 1.5 grams. I have been tempted to try it, but I would then need a pre as I am strictly MM right how.