Reconditioned MMC 20 CL??

17 replies

Greetings to everyone!

I recently purchased mmc 20 CL over the Internet for $200.
Cartridge turned out to be in excellent condition, I looked at it
in microscope: everything geometrically correct and even, no trace
wear.

But I was disappointed when I realized it was restored, not the original! I
always ask the sellers this question, but this time I don 't know what happened,
but I didn 't specify this point!

When I started listening to him, he had a very strange sound:
It is very clean and flat, but very similar to the sound of a CD.
There 's no live sound in it!
I 've never had this model, I don 't know what it really should sound like,
but there are 100% original 20EN and 20S. Yes, this new purchase sounds
cleaner, but it 's Is inferior to 20EN in sound honesty.

I have questions:

1. How different do recovered CL 's sound from the original CL?
2. Will not ruin such a restored needle my vinyl?
3. How different the real CL needle is in sound from
the real EN? What is the feeling of difference?

Making this purchase was a very big mistake on my part,
and I hope for your answers. Thanks!

Maybe I have the original?

Help me figure it out.

The stylus and cantilever look original. As for your evaluation of the sound I can't answer that. Like speakers everyone has different tastes. Personally I love the sound of the MMC-20CL but other people may not. Another consideration is the cartridge is at least thirty years old by now and wear may be a factor in the sound it produces. 

You can probably send it to one of the qualified B&O restoration shops and have them evaluate it. They should have equipment to test it.

-sonavor

Sonavor, oh, I appreciate your answer! I still hope... And I 'm pretty sure it 's original after all.
It has a very clean and even sound with all frequencies.
But it 's very unusual, it looks like a dead sound from a CD.
I didn 't like him at all on retro music from the 30, but it plays pop music well from 80-90
I heard a lot about this stylus and apparently expected huge difference from 20 EN.
But as I understood: not worse or better, and each for its own style of music.

Am I the only one to draw such conclusions about the line of mmc 20 styles?

PS: For example, budget (declared as) 20S is the only one of three of my cartridges

were excellent played by Slayer and generally any heavy music. And in my opinion
with the help of 20S, except heavy music nothing can be heard normally.

If, for example, put Jazz - is a horror, such a sound, just a nightmare.

Back in the 90s I bought a new CL in a shop, because I used my BG8000 a lot. This new pickup came without a calibration print and it sounds a kind of noisy. My old CL had a calibration print and it shows nearly a flat line. And the sound was slightly better.

The more I listen to music with this 20 CL cartridge,i wonder,
how specific his sound is. He has absolutely no problems
with quality, no at all!
Perhaps you need to get patient, and evaluate it much later.
I 've never heard such a special sound from vinyl.
After a very long time, I will try to write my final verdict here.
When I listen to a hundred records or two hundred with it.

The CL is very temperature sensitive - it needs to be at at least 20 degrees - in the old days, some used a light bulb close to the pick up to keep it warm - you really can hear the difference!

My B&O Icons:

BeoCenter-9500.png BeoCenter-9500.png
Beoremote-Beo4.png Beoremote-Beo4.png
Beovox.png Beovox.png
Beovision-11.png Beovision-11.png
Beotime.png Beotime.png
Beosound-Stage.png Beosound-Stage.png
Beosound-Moment.png Beosound-Moment.png
Beosound-5.png Beosound-5.png
Beosound-2.png Beosound-2.png
Beoremote-One.png Beoremote-One.png
Beoplay-Portal.png Beoplay-Portal.png
Beoplay-Earset.png Beoplay-Earset.png
Beomaster.png Beomaster.png
Beolit.png Beolit.png
Beogram-400x.png Beogram-400x.png
Beocenter-2.png Beocenter-2.png

Peter wrote:

The CL is very temperature sensitive - it needs to be at at least 20 degrees - in the old days, some used a light bulb close to the pick up to keep it warm - you really can hear the difference!

That brings back memories. When I worked in a shop in the late 70s we had this Wynn (or Winn, can't remember) Labs strain gauge cartridge that only sounded really superior if you kept it in the refrigerator until right before you played it.

I used the site search, and it gives hundreds of topics.

But I want a topic where this cartridge of MMC 20 CL was discussed in great detail.

I would appreciate a link to such a discussion!

I would be interested in hearing more - as I think I have a NOS MMC 20-CL-B (what does the B mean?)

nice red case, tools, mounting bracket, hardware, calibration test results, something that looks like a frequency response curve test.....

appears to be new, but the needle is so small, hard to tell

 

will with work with a Beogram 8002?

... any value in selling it?

-m

 

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