BG4002 + rebuilt MMC20EN w/ shibata

3 replies

Greetings all ,

I recently acquired a BG4002 locally in Montreal and this turned out to a treat as the condition is VG and it's quite alluring. Needless to say and most important, the sound is music to my ears as I never heard one before. It is fitted with an original MMC20EN and tracking perfectly at 1.03 grams. Digital scale reading Perfect

I also have another MMC20EN that was rebuilt by Axel and improved to Shibata stylus w/aluminium cantilever. This cartridge is mounted on a THORENS TD160 with the 1/2 .. adaptor with tracking set at 1.5 grams. This setting was recommended by Axel for this TT ...

As I now have the capability to swap cartidges, I may be inclined to audition/use the MMC20EN w/Shibata on my newly acquired BG4002. Question : Have any of you mounted this Shibata rebuilt cartridge on the 400x series ? What should be tracking weight ? 1.0 , 1.5 or some other value ?  

Hope to hear some trusted opinions & advice.

Thx, IC

Hi,

I would expect the tracking force that Axel recommended to be the same. However, it won't hurt it to try it with less tracking force when installed on the Beogram. Start with 1.5, then lower it by 0.1. I believe the B&O recommended tracking for for the MMC 20EN is 1.2 grams so that would be the low value to try. You should probably try the other 20EN cartridge at a little higher tracking force to see if you notice a difference in the sound.

-sonavor

I have an Axel Shibata on my 4001 (!) - it was fine tracking at about 1.5g. I tend to play it by ear rather than weight though as each cartridge seems slightly different.

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