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Once you listen to it for a while you will, I suspect, come to notice the cd like quality that moving coils have in comparison.
We have a comedian in our midst!I wonder what MCs you've listened to if you're experience is that they sound like CDs?
I wonder if you and Browntrout mean different things by "cd-like." A commonly occurring "fault" of moving coil cartridges is a rising high end. Likely there are exceptions, but it's a fairly common generalization. As Positive Feedback wrote, "if you play many cartridges through many tone-arms, you'll find that some cartridges have personalities of their own which mounting them in various tone-arms does not change much. We say, "Most moving coil cartridges have a rising high-end." We arrive at this after listening and measuring many of them."Many reviewers have noted that this rising high end leads to timbral inaccuracies. Jonathan Valin of the Absolute Sound wrote, "With their rising treble response, moving coils tend to brighten up or thin out timbres in the upper mids and highs." In reviewing Grado's top of the line Statement, Silvio Fernandez said, "Indeed in practically all cases, one way or another the moving coil alters the structure and timbre of the musical tone." Many have commented that digital also fails to get instrumental timbres right, so from this perspective I see how a person could view moving coils as having a cd-like sound.Robert Greene once commented, "The inaccuracy of the rising-top moving coil sound is a matter of fact. Its musical significance is a personal "value judgment." But if live music remains our standard, as I surely hope it does, a judgment in favor of this rising-top sound seems misguided." Though I don't know that he'd attribute the same cause to the phenomenon, in this thread John the ChairGuy wrote, "I am consistently and regularly let down by the lack of naturalness of any moving coil heard . . ." I have just the lower-end Statement Platinum1, but I agree with him that Grados have an ability to present instruments in a natural way.
A good MC will be extended and smooth everywhere, with great dynamics and presence and tone.
I've heard inferior MC's sound very hard on top, like a bad CD. But I've heard great CD's too with no hardness. A good MC will be extended and smooth everywhere, with great dynamics and presence and tone.
Excellent post jrtrent. A sincere question for Bob :Can you name one or two that does not cost more than 1000 US dollars?
It is the top of the line bar the Reference Reference and is available in 5.0v and 0.5mv output though you can request a 2.5mv output version to special order which is what I shall do when I need to retip.
I have to get my Sonata retipped so I was planning to move up the line to the Statement but it only has the 0.5mv output.
I can't urge you enough to move up the line of Grados as I did as the improvements just justify the design completely.
Sounds like a really good MC is gonna cost a lot more than a really good MM or MI cart.
There are two things keeping me from moving up to either a Reference or Statement cartridge: the big price and the bigger price.Well, maybe three things. My present system was built with the idea of owning American-made, entry level products, and so I have Well Tempered's least expensive turntable, Audio by Van Alstine's lowest-priced solid state preamp and power amp, and Vandersteen's little 1C speakers. In addition, I use Grado's PH-1 phono stage and RA1 headphone amp plus a pair of Koss Pro/4AA headphones I've had for a couple decades. The Statement Platinum may be stretching a point, but at least it's the entry level offering among Grado's wood-bodied models; I really can't go higher in the line and be true to my system goal of using entry-level products.No, make that four things. While I don't doubt you are correct that the higher-priced Grados offer real improvements, at some point a person has to decide when they're satisfied, and I'm finding the sound I get from the Platinum to be fully satisfying in my modest system.As to the question of the .5 mV output versus the higher output models, I've never compared them. Grado claims advantages for the lower-output series, and I think it's great that they offer this for every model down to the Platinum rather than reserving it only for the highest-priced units. The dealer also likes the low output series better, and since I had Grado's phono stage that will accept either, I just went with his recommendation.
Start playing records while doing other things. I log 150 LPs before critically listening to a new cartridge. Listening during the break-in process is not recommended due to the changes that take place which can be confusing. There will be improvements early on and then BAM some hashness or muddyness passes through. Better to wait till all is settled in nicely. When I've done this (twice) I will play records before work and when I get home until bed, most time at low volume, sometimes through headphones. So get a clean sheet of paper, write Grado Master Break-in Log at the top and let er' rip! Let us know how it sounds in a few days.
