B&O Cartridges

[ajames]

I managed to fix my 1960 ish Beogram 3000 noisy motor problem, so I thought I’d hook it up in my workroom with a Quad 33/FM3/303 combo into MCX35 speakers. The deck has an SP12 cartridge in it – I’m literally blown away with this combination – the stereo separation is really very good and nearly every record I play sounds fantastic.  I have a Beogram 4002 with an MMC20en and I’m not sure that it sounds as good as the 3000/SP1, the 20en sounds scratchier without as much bass – it’s good but maybe it needs a new stylus. I use a Linn LP12 with Rega Exact cartridge most of this time, but this combination I’m listening to now whilst maybe not as accurate seems more fun. I’ll take them back to my other place so that I can do a better comparison and on M100 speakers instead of the MCXs I have here.

Has anyone else compared the various series of cartridges and drawn any conclusions?

[Manbearpig]

Good evening,

many of us have. My take on it: the 20 EN, CL, etc. series is the best sounding, in particular better than MMC 1-5, at least to my ears. MMC 6000 is the way to go. The earlier SP 8/9 is decent as well, but an entirely different beast on, e.g., the Thorens 3000. A Beogram 8000 or 4000 with working MMC 6000 on it is as good as it gets when it comes to B&O vinyl listening if you ask me. Connect it to a Beocenter 9500 with its superb integrated RIAA and you’ll have a lot of fun with the system.

Cheers,

Kai

[matador]

Hi,

I’d like to chime in even if my point of view may not be useful at a all.

I entered the world of vinyl records just because Beograms were beautiful.
Not because records sounds better or whatever else.

Of course quickly came the question of “what if my cartridge is just not good?”
And even if sometimes, on certains records, I found the sound pleasant, good, nice… I’ll always going to have that little voice in my head: “maybe your cartridge is just not good”.

Reading around people who are blown away with cartridges that cost a lot or using words you would never use to describe music didn’t help.

Also reading about all that can turn wrong in a cartridge (stone, cantilever, suspension, coil…) didn’t help either.

Then I had the opportunity to have MMC4 rebuilt by a reputable man, who’s work can’t be questioned. I was exited to listen to those “like new” cartridges, with new diamond and new rubber. I put them on, put a record and what I heard was… Music.
The same that with my old SP10, SP14, SP12 and not better than my recent old MMC20S.

Just music, good enough, I mean I can hear the difference with a CD or a digital file but music with the added pleasure of seing it spinning and holding the sleeve and so on.

But honestly, in the different cartridge families I could listen to, their condition and their quality level, I never heard any major difference.

I’m not saying they do not exist and that a trained or used ear can make a substantial difference between them. But I may be fuzzy, I want just to say that sometimes its more about hype than music. And forums don’t help: they are so much things that can change the music between the tip of the diamond and the sound in your head: deck condition, preamplifier, amplifier, speakers, power cords (this one is for you M), room acoustics…
I let it go. As long as I can listen to music and have a spare cartridge just in case, it’s good for me. I’d like to have an MMC20EN for my deck, yes, but it’s only because it is silver.
And maybe if it happens, I could wake up in a different world that will make me consider this whole post as stupid, maybe… But, I doubt.

With all due respect to those who ear a difference.

[Author]

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