Tír Na HiFi

Hi All,
I am sure you have read discussed the above topic many times with many differing conclusions. Thought it may be worthwhile to mention my own experience.
A while back I broke the cantilever on my Dynavector xv1t. There is a huge problem trying to get it properly repaired.
I won't digress into this at the moment as it would take a year and a day.
Prior to the Dynavector I had a Transfiguration Proteous both of these excellent cartridges at a heavy price.
Having got frustrated I decided to try the moving magnet route.
I started with a Ortofon 2m Black which in all fairness sounded excellent and not a far cry from the Dynavector.
A friend of mine in Scotland suggested I try a London Super Gold mm cartridge.
He had one which he was happy to send over for me to try.
This cartridge looks basic in construction and resembles a small tin can on the end of the tone arm. You can also get a pod for it should your arm not be able to facilitate the mounting arrangement.
I have a Origami PU7 12 inch which is more than suitable for the cartridge.
It is supposed to require a fairly well damped arm to function at its best.
Having set it up with tracking at 1.8g and allowing the valve amps to warm up,away I went.
I could not believe what I was hearing for a moving magnet cartridge.
There is a lot of hype in the audio field about this cartridge and initially I was sceptical.
No more,it has a wide soundstage, great dynamics,a clarity to die for.
Vocals come across as stunningly real. There is no doubt it beat the Dynavector and the Transfiguration Proteous hands down.
No more will I fork out thousands for a moving coil. This cartridge would surpass them easily.
It is not cheap coming in at about a thousand euros.
This far better than paying three to five thousand for a high end moving coil which in my humble opinion would not be able to reach the standard of the London Super Gold.
Food for thought !

Brilliant review on a much hyped and feared cartridge.

What happens when it's time to replace the stylus? Obviously you can't just get a replacement stylus and slot it in. Or can you?

Anyway long may it run.....

Hi
You cant get a slot in type replacement stylus but you can send it back to the uk for retipping costs about 250.
Liked your choice of word feared. I had heard many negatives about this cartidge.that was why I went in the first instance for the 2m black.
I dont know if I would have bought one without trying it myself.
Negatives included microphonic, hard to see stylus, damping etc.
But glad I had the opportunity to borrow one.
Dont think negatives are fully warranted.
Great cartridge
Regards
Alan

The slot in type replacement stylus sounds good. Worry and hassle free in one fell swoop!
But, of course, a genuine audiophile would probably go to all the trouble of getting it retipped ;)

Are the replacement stylii expensive?

Anyway enjoy your little piece of fearsome :)

Hi
You need to send it back to uk they do a cartridge rebuild and retip for 300 not bad really.
Rgds
Alan

Me personally, I couldn't go back to a moving magnet cartridge!

I've had.... Supex 900SD, Audio Technica OC9, Sumiko Bluepoint Special, Denon DL304 and currently have the Dynavector 17D3 which has served me well.

I just love the sound of a moving coil cartridge, for me there is just something special it does that moving magnets don't!


In saying all that I haven't heard an expensive (€1,000) moving magnet!

Hi
I can fully understand your view point.
I was exactly the same.
Bit of a story here. My dynavector was and still is away getting fixed supposedly ?
My son was coming over for xmas with records ugh had no cartridge and the arm was away getting checked out.
Toddled off and bought the cheapest rega deck with a rega carbon cartridge 240 euro in total.
Plugged it all in was amazed at what it produced for the price.
Anyway arm came back ,fiitted the cheapo rega carbon to it and was shocked at the sound it was producing.
Then I thought why in the name of god am I spending thousands on mc cartridges without question the price difference is not relative to the difference in sound.
Bought a ortofon 2m black mm sounded great not as good as dynavector but not a million miles away.
Then came the london super gold.in my opinion it beats the dynavector which cost 5K plus.
Only my opinion and it suits my system.You are welcome to hear it and form your own opinion as member is.But totally respect your views
Rgd
Alan

Interesting comments on the Rega Carbon.

A friend of mine expressed disenchantment with his life long Rega Elys. Reason? Having to replace the whole cartridge every time stylus replacement time came around. Then I'd have to round and set it up for him :) Anyway he asked me to recommend a cartridge where you'd only have to replace the stylus. Immediately I thought of the Carbon. He blanched when he saw how cheap it was and didn't believe it could be as good.

So tell me of your own experience with the Carbon and I'll pass it on to him......Thanks!

Hi
The Rega Carbon on the cheap deck was okay and certainly one that could be easily listened to.
It lacked the depth and clarity of more expensive cartridges but certainly wouldnt dismiss it.
For the price it is amazing.
Especially on a good turntable it sounds even better. I use a systemdek 3d signature.
Rgds
Alan

What I like about the Dynavector 17D3 is that you can trade it in against a new one and get about £200 off the price.

Once I switched to moving coil cartridges it never bothered me about not being able to change the stylus. The sound I was getting more than made up for this. The fact that the stylus comes away in a moving magnet cartridge bothers me, I don't like the notion there could be movement between stylus and cartridge body. In saying that the Dynavector 17D3 is not cheap - around €1,250 - and I hope I don't have to exchange for a while yet.