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Advice on best match MC Cartidges for these tonearms

Hi all,

I am re starting my vinyl life, cleaning all 700 odd albums and singles... big job!

I am asking for advice from all those with experience in matching cartridges and tonearms. I have an Ayre K3x pre-amp/phono setup.

I have the following tonearms on appropriate turntables and tonearms have matching original head shells.

Micro Seiki MA-505LS

Micro Seiki MA-505XS

Micro Seiki MAX-327

Kuzma Stogi Ref (currently with a CAR-30 boron)

I listen to a wide range of music, mostly rock, blues, electronic, alternative, classical, pop, 60's 70's 80's era, but limited jazz. I was considering the Ortofon Quintet Bronze, the looked at the Cadenza Bronze for its apparent technical superiority over the lower product lines. I like a warm mellow sound, but with high definition of the instruments. I have not heard the latest lines of cartridges available, but I do know of the much older Ortofon cartridges. I would want at least 2 cartridges that I could swap out with the arms. Any opinions would be really helpful. Cheers A.


128x128amg56
sampsa55
71 posts
 
@dover 's point is a good one: If you want to have multiple tonearms / cartridges in your system, changing between them should be easy. 

I have a turntable with three tonearms and I use one for mono, one for chamber & choral (more open & refined), and one for orchestral & jazz (more solid & dynamic). But there are lots of others who think one should choose a single neutral sounding cartridge as anything else amounts to adjusting the sound to your taste rather accurate reproduction.

amg56's avatar
amg56 OP
666 posts
 

I have 5 turntables, 3 have cartridges which are well entrenched and those I won't be changing. The Micro Seiki BL91L (with the LS arm) is the one I would like to see sorted. The other is a Micro Seiki DDX-1500 on which I have 2 mounts, 2 arms, no carts. These are the 237mm (not 327 as I put on my opening spiel) and the MA-505XS.

I really appreciate taking the time to put words in virtual paper. Cheers. A.

amg56's avatar
amg56 OP
666 posts
 

I thought I would get back into vinyl. I bought 4 turntables and 3 arms. Talk about an idiot! I only needed 1, but needed to work out which one. I will keep 2, the Kuzma Stabi Ref II and the Micro Seiki BL-91L.

The others are my trusty JVC YL-5F, a Micro Seiki DDX-1500 and a Nakamichi Dragon CT which is ship shape and great.

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