Why the move to Moving Magnet

[admin_exported]

When i first got into HI Fi in the mid 70's the better cartridges seemed to be biased towards Moving Coil...Now i have finally got round to ( due to finances) buying some new kit , i notice that most turntable/ cartridge combinations are Moving Magnet....WHY?...My recent purchase of a Roksan Kandy K2 cd player will soon be joined by a Roksan kandy K2 amp...Driving my circa 75 KEF 104 AB's....( I hope it sounds ok )..But i've also dusted off my Dual Cs 721 deck with Grado G2 MC cartridge..Now i know the K2 has a phono stage, but it's for MM..so what are my options ? Will it have enough gain to use my MC or will i need a seperate pre amp....Bill

 

[Anonymous]

If you want to use the MM on the Roksan you'll need a step-up transformer, and they don't come cheap. You might be better off buying a phono preamp with MC input and using one of the line-ins on the amp. Suitable ones would be the Clearaudio Nano, Trichord Dino, Lehhmann black cube or similar. Those models have variable gain which allow you to tailor the preamp to the cartridge more closely than those without.

I prefer MCs on my Technics decks, but they usually cost more and, of course, you can't replace the stylus.

 

[audioaffair]

MC still offers (most things considered) a better sound on average than moving magnet designs, but having said that there are some cracking MMs around nowadays - including the venerable Goldring 1042 - that would match nicely with the Roksan.

Having said that, you will almost always get a much better sound from your turntable by using an outboard phono stage. They don't have to cost an arm and a leg and you don't have to use a step up transformer for an MC - simply use a standard phono stage into a line level input like Aux to use either MM or MC.

At the lower budget end, a Goldring 1042 or Ortofon 2M Blue with a Graham Slee 2SE phono stage would be a good match. Moving up to MC as you've indicated, I'd recommend the Dino as suggested with an Ortofon Rondo Red for a well matched MC set-up.

 

[kusum65]

Moon audio are about to bring in a new model of the LP3 phono stage. I have seen a few web sellers offering the old model for half price ( i think the original price was £500 ).

Its mm and mc and is an awrd winner. Its meant to have a very quiet background.

 

[Anonymous]

By 'standard phono stage' I think Messrs Miles and Field mean one with both an MC and an MM input, as I said. Many phono stages do not have MC inputs.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the swift replies guys..I am now much more educated

.....Bill

 

[audioaffair]

KEFMAN:Thanks for the swift replies guys..I am now much more educated

.....Bill

Glad to help, but have you shortlisted any possibilites? If you're still not sure, try to get a demo of a few options and have a listen for yourself.