MC Cartridges are the best. Or are they?

[omishra]

I think it was At 150ea cart with Beryllium cantilever not Shure iirc.

Regards
Sachin

Ohh..yes, thanks sachin for correcting, it was AT.

 

[Hiten]

I guess (not sure) the theory of moving coil implementation was to have as little mass of tip+cantiliver as possible to keep it in contact with record grooves and have good transient response to groove modulations in motion. (Remember development of vinyls was from 78s to 33 to 16 for same reason) Also it will require very low mass tonearm, which ultimately will require fluid damping. to control resonance and vibrations. (again not sure)

But there are examples of very low mass MM cantiliver also. I think Technics had one. Forgot the number.
Regards.

 

[Tanoj]

Hi Friends,

Found this Article on net which explains the evolution of Cartridges, so sharing it

Is It Time To Reconsider Phono Cartridge Design? - Audiophile Review


Regards

Tanoj

 

[kuruvilajacob]

I guess (not sure) the theory of moving coil implementation was to have as little mass of tip+cantiliver as possible to keep it in contact with record grooves and have good transient response to groove modulations in motion. (Remember development of vinyls was from 78s to 33 to 16 for same reason) Also it will require very low mass tonearm, which ultimately will require fluid damping. to control resonance and vibrations. (again not sure)

But there are examples of very low mass MM cantiliver also. I think Technics had one. Forgot the number.
Regards.

You are probably right about low mass tone arm is more suited for MC. I have never found good results using MC carts on any arm other than low mass ones except Denon DL 103

 

[G401fan]

Most MC cartridges (there are a few exceptions) are designed for use with high mass tonearms, mainly because they need a VTF of 2 gms or more. Low mass tonearms, like the SME 3009 Series II Improved, do not offer VTF beyond 1.5 gms, and are suitable primarily for MM cartridges that track in the 1gm to 1.5 gm range.

 

[sachu888]

Most of the MC carts are very low compliance, so requires high mass tonearm.

Regards
Sachin

 

[Hiten]

Yes, G401 and Sachu You are right. I was guessing at the one aspect of MC advantage of having low mass cantilever combined with low mass arm (which would require high compliance cartridge (My mistake in previous post)) and less tracking force so record wear would be less, and tracking/transient response would be good, compared to other combinations.
Regards.

 

[G401fan]

A low VTF does not necessarily mean lower record wear - it needs to be optimised for that particular cartridge's manufacturer recommended tracking force. If VTF is set too low - say, 1gm instead of a recommended 1.5 gm - the stylus might just start bouncing around in the groove, causing more damage than an MC cartridge tracking at 2.5 gm. The tone arm compliance is a critical factor also in track ability/record wear.

 

[Hiten]

Yes of course it is given that VTF should be as per recommendation. As a habit I use slightely more VTF than recommended. I was comparing two different tonearm+cartridge system, heavier and lighter one.
Regards.