MM Cartridges $90-120: AudioTechnica VM520EB REVIEW
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- Опубліковано 30 вер 2024
- Dearest Friends, we are back with the new set of cartridges from AudioTechnica and Goldring. First to kick off will be the latest VM series from AudioTechnica: the VM520EB, the VM530EN and the VM540ML!!! Let us hope all of them do well.. I paid for all of them as usual from my own pocket.
My appreciation for the very generous, kind and thoughtful VCLT from Tone Scott from California. He was the former Director of Operations at Silas/MCA Records, later the Artist Manager at Handprint Entertainment managing Jennifer Lopez, Babyface, Will Smith, Sean “Puffy” Combs, etc. He moved on to establish his own companies later on: Platinum One Entertainment, and then Music Life Enterprises. He is also the Director at D&AGuitar. An amazing list of credentials and I am very humbled and honoured at the same time, to receive his VCLT gifts for me, and with a heartfelt letter!
******
AudioTechnica VM520EB
BASS
DYNAMICS 6
EXTENSION 6
CONTROL, DEFINITION 5.5
TREBLE
DETAIL, REFINEMENT 5.5
EXTENSION 6
MIDRANGE
NATURALNESS 6
SIBILANCE-FREE 6
TONALITY 5.5
DETAIL & HARMONICS 5.5
IMAGING 6.25
SOUNDSTAGING 5.75
RHYTHM AND TIMING 5.75
OVERALL SCORE FOR AUDIOTECHNICA VM520EB = 69.75/120.
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Referencing equipment:
Turntables:
1.Technics SL1200Mk5, 2.Rega Planar 3, 3.Technics SL1200GAE and G, 4.Avid Sequel SP with SME V arm,
Phonostage:
1-Schiit Mani, 2-Avid Pulsare2, 3-IconAudio PS1Mk2 with Harma Cryo-treated Burst-tested ECC83,
Amplification:
1-Vitus RI100, 2-Leben CS300XS with Mullard Blackburn 1972 NOS ECC83s and Harma Cryo-treated Burst-tested EL84 valves,
Speakers:
1-B&W 804D, 2-AudioNote AN-K/Lx,
Shunyata Research power and cabling.
*****
Dearest Friends and Buddies,
I am Ian and I love our Vinyl Community and Vinyl Music. Vinyl analogue playback is utterly blissful, and I want for fellow friends and buddies to engage in vinyl music for many, many years in their life. Vinyl music is blissful, free of time smear, phase shift, pre-ring and post-ring that plagues digital playback. Vinyl buddies and friends can all attest to that. It is not warm in the “bassy warm” sense, it is not soothing in the sense that “everything gets smoothed out”. It is because it is analogue, very detailed, calm, invigorating, enthralling, dynamic, refreshing. In a word, blissful. Utterly :-D
I want for all to get the very equipment that will get us there. These equipment, I firmly believe, are present, and existent, even at affordable price points!..and I started off in Dec 2015 hunting out for them, selling off my own Rega RP6 (which my wife and I loved) to fund the first batch of cartridges for review: the 5 cartridges in Group A ($70-$80), and the 7 cartridges in Group B ($90-$130). Subsequently I told myself to set aside $500-$1000 per month from my monthly salary to buy equipment to review. My own money. Quite a hefty sum monthly, significant to me, as I am a salaried man. I know this is crazy. But I believe in every field, there are people who have to make the sacrifice to pursue their love for the greater good, and to serve, the community of friends. I have also downsized my car in mid-2017 so as to commit these monies to fund these projects. I totally, rigorously, and kindly reject all forms of donations, be they from friends, from retailers, from manufacturers. This is a hobby, and my teachers and advisors in life have advised me that to bring balance to life, and to be wholesome, one will engage in a livelihood (daily job or business) that earns the monies, and one will also simultaneously engage in a hobby/service in life that is non-competitive, non-monetarily-remunerative. Friends also of course, know that my videos cannot be monetized due to the inclusion of music clips. Vinyl music is a lovely hobby I hold dearly. Friends and buddies are my ultimate responsibility and my love. I want the very best for them, and to provide totally honest reviews. Moles exist in hifi forums, moles also exist from benefactors who donate. I do not want to remotely encounter any moles masquerading as benefactors donating to my cause, only to find out sooner or later that such donations were/are from certain manufacturers or retailers. Everybody will do things differently. I want to maintain my status as a common-folk, aspire always to adopt the Shokunin spirit: of spending the utmost diligent care, through unhurried work, never caring for returns, in perfecting their work for the community. The personal satisfaction of getting to the very best equipment in each price class to help all my lovely buddies and friends is, the only thing, in store for me :-D We toast to the joy and bliss of vinyl analogue music. Vinyl Music deserves our love and attention. Our listening. Our care.
Let's go, buddies and friends!!!
Warmest Regards,
~ ian :-D
****
Music:
www.bensound.com
very good Ian, my word you must get tired of aligning cartridges :o)
Hey my brother! I’m glad you got the package! Always look forward to another one of your videos!
I had a feeling the Grado (green) would Edge itself ahead of the others in this review! It’s a great, great entry level cartridge. I’m actually surprised though, that VPI didn’t offer a higher-level cart with their entry level tables. Keep ‘em coming!
Love ya brother Ian!
TONE Scott Thank you for your generosity and friendship Tone and A. Very well thought out gifts and specially prepared. M and i are listening to the cd you have given us. It indeed contains really beautiful music!!!! We love you both 💚too!
Hifi-wise😅...yes we are on the same page:... i also noticed the vpi 'tables don't come arranged with better carts, e.g. the new Prime Scout. Never mind...i hope the great Grado Green will garner lots of positive reviews for their Cliffwood decks...and make VPI management realize something and henceforth latch on with better quality carts😄 for their decks.
Warmest Regards and have a great time cooking dinner with A today!!!..
I'm glad that you compare new stuff with the one you already have tested - this gives me clear conclusion what is really good among many models of cartrides, preamps etc... Thank you! 😊
I went and ordered a VM520EB before I saw your review, or I would probably not have. I found this video very compelling and could not stop wondering what a Nagaoka cartridge would sound like on my tonearm. This week I have been setting things up and doing a lot of listening. I am very pleased with the Audio-Technica all-in-all but I recognize the shortcomings. Not 100% satisfying, but what about break-in? Do you prescribe to that theory in cartridges? I ordered a Nagaoka MP-150H right from Japan a few days ago btw 🥴. Thank you for these great videos for the audio loving community.
Dear Buddy :-D Hi!!!! How is your SL1400 doing?!
Yes Buddy, i do realize along these years and all the testings, that some cartridges do need some running-in before they sound their best!! I congratulate you for getting the MP150H!!! You're going to have a lot of fun and joy!!!and amazement at how much performance you are getting for the money!!!
Warmest Regards and thank you for coming by and catching up!! Sorry for my week's late reply...
:-D ~ ian
ah another drive by shooting of an AT product ? Seems Nagaoka cannot do anything wrong.
Brother, I do not have any agenda. Perhaps you have?
I have great relationships with both Brandon of Audio88 who retails Rega turntables, and Keith of Eighteen77 who retails Pro-Ject turntables, and Mr H K Loo of Retrophonic Records who retail MoFi turntables. I am not bounded by my friendship with them, and i shake my hands with them every time I pay for the P1, P3, ProJect Primary, ProJect JukeBox E, ProJect DebutCarbon, MoFi StudioDeck and carry out the box myself to my car. I told them :-D smilingly and firmly each time, that I will report the sonic performance as I hear them. The same with cartridges, Sammy for Goldring, random ebay sellers for Nagaoka, Mr Loo for Grado, Audioline for AudioTechnica carts, David of AudioNote Singapore for Ortofon cartridges. David wasn't angry with me for writing his Quintet Blue MC down, his Ortofon 2M Bronze down on the pecking order for performance reviews. My allegiance I told all of them,
... is to the vinyl community of friends.
Many of them come by my home in my locale and they can, too, hear for themselves.
Honesty is not always the best policy,
It is the only way of life.
Rest assured.
Me, i spend all my hard-earned monies for these equipment and UA-cam does not pay me due to the inclusion of audio. I am unlike those reviewers bound by obligations to their advertisers (a.k.a. their paymasters). I would of course, hope that all the equipment I purchase, perform well :-D!!!so that I have more, many great products to play with, to listen to our vinyl records with.
Warmest Regards Buddy,
~ ian.
@@HiViNywschannel whats up with agendas my friend ? It just seems to me that every AT product you review carries a sense of "nastiness" - there is always just that one extra comment you make that seems unnecessary when you are trashing their products. Just makes your review seem personal and not professionally neutral. (Nagaoka on the other hand can do no wrong in your world) I am just a vinyl hobby lunatic, I have a few AT products, as well as Ortofon Blue and Black. Recently I started using Benz which are amazing. About Nagaoka, unfortunately in Europe each model is about €100 more than its competitor, so while they may be good, lousy ROI. So chill out a little brother, lots of folks enjoying their vinyl on AT as well - keep on spinning and wishing you a fantastic 2019 - peace.
@@viktor4860 Exactly my friend!!! At the same token you feel I should chill out, I feel the same way about you my friend🤗. It goes both ways.
Guten Tag Brother in Germany first and foremost.
Should all my viewers who are using Rega P1 and P3, talk in the same vein as you did about me "adding that extra line of nastiness", when I very heavily criticized Rega in my recent comparison video between the P3 and the MoFi StudioDeck?
Many of my viewers didn't see me the same way as you see me. I trashed Rega, critiquing Rega's "shed-like" construction.
That Rega P1 vs Pro-Ject Debut Carbon review was another major one, as I heavily critiqued Pro-Ject's poor sound...and this would be then against tens of thousands of people who bought the DebutCarbon, which is Pro-Ject's most successful model. Pro-Ject sells the most number of turntables in the world, and my words would probably then be viewed "against" Pro-Ject? And one of my three closest vinyl Buddies in Singapore owns a DebutCarbon during then🤗.
It is great that we talked about this✌ Danke, Freund.
I really like this capsule. It is very soft and suitable for long listening without hearing fatigue. thank you very much and greetings
Interesting review however the at520eb might have disappointed in your set up but you might find that it performs well in another system as other users have reported.Have you given the cartridge an opportunity to break in or is this a straight out of the box test. Have you also tested it on your Avid player.I have found over the years that some cartridges immediately impresses out of the box and some require a few hours of play before their performance improve. I use an ATVM 95eb in a Townshend Rock7 with Origin Live encounter and the results are superb.Just some food for thought.
I bought this cartridge and realised the high amount of sibilance. Changed back to my old AT30HE and what a difference.
Why one earth are you making any comparisons useless by recording through some cheap mic rather than a direct line? Even if you had the best mic on earth your amp and speakers and room would be colouring the sound.
Ian, congratulations for your great channel. You have a contagious enthusiasm that makes a joy watching every eppisode you make. I got a Nagaoka mp150 to replace my Clearaudio Concept after watching the past cartridge shootout....what a sound, I LOVE IT! Thank you so much for your passion, it is highly regarded. ^^
Damn, you really gave this a good honest review. I will try the nagao
Fantastic video, so glad to hear from you again. My best to you and your family. Keep up the great work, it is very inspired and inspiring to us, your viewing audience. Cheers my friend.
Luis Sanchez Brother Luis....thank you so much for chatting up with me every time. Thank you immensely. Hope your family is having lots of fun today on a Sunny Sunday too🤗✌!! Nice to see your children grow up through the months!
Bonanza! It's ALWAYS a great day when your next video arrives.
On another note, you wouldn't believe the sound coming out of my Schiit Mani that you recommended.
For the price, it's a miracle.
Brother, thank you for updating me of your Schiit Mani!!! Yea.. for the price... a miracle!!!!! Hahaha... let us enjoy it!!!!!
Warmest Regards my friend... enjoy your Sunday!...
Once again, another well done and in depth video.
Thank you my friend for your support and encouragement :-D !!! Will continue to do my best for all of you friends in the Vinyl ecosphere. Very happy to be catching up with all of you too. Best Regards brother!
If I were you I woudn't store my Records right beside a Window....
A review recorded with a Cam Microphone is pretty pointless by the way....I recommend to record your demonstration Samples directly from your Soundsystem , so we can actually hear the things you're talking about.
No offence....
Hi Buddy, 😄👍yes you are right. I have been waiting for somebody to point that out: so I can reply: at the back of my record cabinet by the window, there is a backing of two layers of polystyrene and another piece of plywood to block off all heat and whatever energy Ray's from outside😄so I am okay! There is another bigger record cabinet in my storage room. I don't use a cam microphone, I was using the Rode Stereomic during this. But then again, it still isn't direct enough, so starting early last year, I have acquired the Schiit Jil Analogue-to-Digital Converter🤗 and been been using it to record direct to computer since the review episode on the Ortofon Quintet Blue, Hana EL vs MP-150, and so on ever since. Thank you and we look forward to more vinyl fun and joy😄!! Thank you very much for your kindness and help. Warmest Regards Buddy 🤗🤗🤗🎵🎶🎶🎶
It's good for upgrade my at95?
Dear Buddy Maurizio, i believe this is still an upgrade over the at95.
Thank you for catching up here my friend!!!
Have fun and warmest regards :-D
~ ian.
Ian, looking forward to another set of cartridge reviews. I bought a Grado Green recently (it was good price plus I used an ebay coupon) and I'm really impressed. I do experience some low level hum but at roughly the same level as the pink noise I experience on other cartridges. I still prefer my MP-110 but it was almost twice the price I got the Green for. I think Grado gets unfairly overlooked.
Thanks so much for doing all the work on these cartridge shootouts! For people who are new to the hobby this is a huge wealth of information! I really appreciate it!
Chad Roberts Thank you for your time Brother🤗.
Thank you for your kind words and support. I will continue to work hard on these. Vinyl playback can be affordable and supremely clear, detailed and musical...we continue our journey together okay 🤗!!
Good to see another excellent video from you friend. For a good while I hesitated to take the vinyl plunge but finally did. Your channel was a big part of encouraging me to go through with it. I ended up with a Pro-Ject The Classic TT and a Schiit Mani phono stage. An entry level system for sure but honestly I just love the sound and can't stop listening to vinyl. My premium DAC has been neglected for the last few months. When I compare the same music my Pro-ject table just sounds better. I rarely listened to an album straight through on digital but with vinyl I do all the time. Sounds more dimensional, natural, and alive with less fatigue. Did not realize I was buying so much vinyl until my wife suggested I slow down a bit at least until her birthday and I agreed. Then she started to ask for John Williams movie sound tracks on vinyl for her birthday! Me and my parents got her some great John Williams pressings. Now my wife and I listen to vinyl together! It is like a miracle! By the way my wife's newly released pressing of John Williams Raiders of the Lost Ark sounds amazing and the music is amazing. Also got a vacuum record cleaner and some of my very old LPs cleaned up nicely. Have found that some of my original pressings sound better than the 180g vinyl reissues. Do not remember the last time I have enjoyed music this much. And I have been an audiophile since the 80s. Will keep watching. Will enjoy learning all I can before future upgrades.
Ian thank for the quick and detailed response. I am going to trust your endorsement. I will buy them sight unseen. Plus they are the silver version spe. I will let you know when I have them in house. 4-6 weeks delivery though:( currently I am using a Musical Fidelity m5si....I absolute love the amp, it make everything sound right! I have a feeling valves will be in my future with these speakers though. Once the kids are out of college of course...until then maybe a nice prima Luna entry level or such. Again thank you for taking the time to answer my question. You should be the benchmark for how to manage a UA-cam channel. Keep up the outstanding work!!!!!
Oooh Brother, nice amplifier with 150W per channel into 8ohms :-D.... Yup Prima Luna tube amps are often mentioned! You are getting the higgher spec version the AN-K/Spe!!! YipPEEEEEEEE (pun intended!) :-D
Brother, just to let you know... these speakers need 100 hours to run in, as the instruction manual state so. They sounded dynamic, bassy, coherent, clear and transparent in the showroom, and they did at my home as well!! Do not worry in the first 50hours. I worried. But my salesman David of AudioNote Singapore kindly reassured me they will open up and become very dynamic and ever-ready with transients and harmonics once runned in... and boy was he right. Now I am on cloud nine with these speakers. I hope you get them with the AN-K stands too, these are made for the AN-Ks, and they fit beautifully, perfectly!!
You will find that AudioNote Snell type speakers are often paired with many different types of ampifiers because they are so easy to drive, and so coherent!! You are going to have fun. Ignore all the hype in audio magazines always catching on the "next big thing", the next 5 star speakers, the new Editor's choice speakers. No magazines will ever mention and recommend at the top of their list, an old design speaker, an old model, a product from a brand that never pay advertisement dollars towards the paypockets of the audio magazines' boardroom. Thus I TOTALLY APPLAUD YOU TO STAND FIRM, STEATHILY PROUD of your most amazing speaker purchase! They are simply lovely!!!
Sincerely,
~ ian.
Hi Ian, another great review!! I read that you used in your system the Audio Note AN-K as part or your reference speakers to analyze the cart. I don't recall you ever reviewing, or even showing those speakers during one of your videos. I have an opportunity to procure a pair. I am considering those or the new B&W 700 series, and Dynaudio Special 40. I have no access to hear the Audio Note. Can you please provide your impressions? Thank you in advance, and once again keep the honest videos coming!!!",
Dear Bill,
I read with delight your enquiry! Ready? Here goes :-D !...
Brother, I have shown that system of a Leben CS300XS together with the AudioNote AN-K/Lx speakers in my room, in the videos for the Group D carts, e.g. the Nagaoka MP-150 video. *The AN-K is a very scary pair of speakers.* I have owned Dali speakers, Harbeth Super HL5plus, auditioned and homeauditioned the fellow myriad of speakers: the DeVore Fidelity OrangUtan 0/96, DeVore Fidelity Gbbon 3XL, Chario Aviator Ghiblis, ProAc Tablette 10s, Chario Aviator Ghiblis, KEF LS50s, Quad S and Z series standmounters, etc, and ALL of them, fell WAY short of the AN-Ks for providing that amazing level of performance!!! (Singapore has this Adelphi Mall where it houses 40 shop spaces of Hifi stores, retailing close to 400 brands of audio components in the industry, and as such, accessibility and auditioning to various hifi products in the market is second to none in the world, even better than Japan, I AM NOT JOKING... I will make a video of our Singapore Heart of Hifi soon too on this channel). The AN-Ks look old-fashioned, drab and maybe even "low-tech"... but my word, when you HEAR them, they will shock you after you listen to the above series of speakers... the AN-Ks are so transparent! So clear! So ready with microdynamics, details and amazing harmonics!!! Ever ready!! Macrodynamics? Oh wow! My word they ROCK!!! And thus you get it: the AN-Ks are just so pure heaven at low-level listening at night, and also when you decide to turn the volume knob up with Rock, Orchestral and EDM music!!! The bass doesn't reach as low as a few of the above series of speakers, but i totally fell in love with the AN-Ks for being so coherent AND ARTICULATE and detailed in bass!!! Bass roll off VERY GRADUALLY and smoothly, unlike the ported designs that somehow would sound incoherent oftimes and with that chuffing bass noise. With ported designs, bass frequencies drop off fast and without a good design and very capable amplifier capable of supreme drive and control, many ported speakers suffer when compared to these AN-Ks. Baritone saxophone that grooves and Fourplay's Nathan East bass notes have so much grunt and power and articulation with the AN-Ks!!! These are sealed-box design speakers yet they rock and are so ever-ready with everything: transparency, dynamics, detail, HARMONICS. My word. Amazing!!! They are perfect for a modest room system, e.g 3.5m-by-4.5m to 5m-by-6m rooms. You can tell I am very excited to share with you. And purposely sat myself down properly besides my wife playing piano now with my doggie daughter snuggled up with me on the armchair. I want to share my absolute joy of owning and listening to these crazily superb speakers!! They are so musical and transparent, clear! And very easy to place! Slightly toed in and smacked close against the wall/corners :-D !!! Brother, get 'em!!!
What is your amplifier my friend? I will follow-up fast with you my friend.
Sincerely,
~ ian.
If you like that Al Jarreau album, make sure you get a copy of "We Got By" if you don't have it already. That's an incredible jazzy r&b album that's sadly underappreciated these days. The track "Lock All the Gates" is especially great.
SL1200 Brother, thank you again for your advice and recommendations! Okie i have got that down. Al Jarreau "We Got By".... hmmm... i love jazz & r&b fusion!!!! THANK YOU!!!! THANK YOU :-D!!
i think that deficit of AT cartridges comes from technology of cartridge, the tracking mechanism of AT is very critical for accuracy of touching stylus into 2 magnetic system... channel separation might be good... but from overall perspective not sufficient :/
If i compare AT311 and Shure m92e... price difference is aprox 20.. but shure m92e provides better sound :)
Dear Buddy Juraj, thank you for catching up here!!! Warmest Regards :-D
Hi Ian,
As everybody here, I agree that you are a valuable source on info around the low to medium budget cartridges. You have very likable way of describing the characteristics of every piece of equipment you review. I even got my mp-110 after watching your review. Because my philosophy sounds: it’s better to spend as much as you can on a good tonearm and then use lower budgeted cartridge, I always come back to watch your reviews before purchasing a new cartridge.
A few days ago I stumbled upon an AT vm520eb - AT HS10 head shell combo for a third of its normal price and I bought it blindly. I could only imagine its general characteristics because I already own a vintage AT33E and couple of 95e which I use to experiment with different mods and tweaks. So, to get in the point of the reason of why I write this post, I must say that on this one I will disagree with you, and from this one I kind of understood that you are prone to like the vintage warm sound of the moving iron cartridges (see Nag & Grado). By itself its not a that bad, I like it myself if that matters. The thing is that in your reviews you aren’t objective enough and you tend to guide the less experienced people in what to find likable or not. Let me explain myself why I came to this conclusion.
First of all, it is general rule that the kind of sound characteristics is likable to one or another is totally personal and secondly all the cartridges will sound differently on different systems. Yes the technology that they AT uses in the new VM series is several decades old, but look at the Denon DL103’s sixty year technology and the crowd of its fans out there. VM philosophy uses double magnet that provides unmatchable channel separation, the new series uses also 6N copper coils even on its cheapest cartridge (Nagaoka starts implementing these coils only with the body for M150 for example) and as update to that “old” technology they implement a shielding plate between the coils (I am sure you have noticed the impressive channel separation). The only negative in their stylus gamma is that they don’t provide option with boron cantilever. For further info on the technical data and some measures you can visit this article www.lowbeats.de/test-audio-technica-vm520eb-und-520ebh/
Yesterday I have mounted the AT VM520eb / HS-10 combo on Jelco SA 750D tonearm (without using damping fluid), first positive impression after running the test record at the recommended 2g.VTF was about its great tracking ability and how it cleared even the most difficult test (never seen this with another bonded elliptical stylus). At the first needle drop the result was very different from what I expected, it was very closed with fair amount of slightly muddy low end warm midrange and sparkly on the top end, it missed also some energy and attack, but hey, it was on its first record ( no, not a sign of pronounced upper midrange).
Because of the experience that I have with tweaking the AT95, I knew that if I make the cartridge’s body more rigid it will tighten and speed up. So I unscrewed the top plastic, applied some epoxy glue and screwed the plastic top back again. That tightened the overall sound and broadened the total image. Experimenting also means making mistakes. I had an idea that placing some damping oil in the tonearm might have a positive effect, except that it didn’t. Suddenly I got the too bright upper midrange that you mention and that was very annoying to listen to. Conclusion: this cartridge likes slightly heavier tonearms then the average Technics one. So I took out the damping fluid out and mounted the cartridge on the Jelco’s original head shell that has 2gr. Extra weight. After this change the sound became more balanced and very very pleasant to listen to.
If you want to push the limit even further, you can also cut the plastic around the stylus ( as they do by the Clearaudio cartridges ) as it only ads unwanted distortion on the cartridge bodey.
I know that you do your reviews on cartridges in their original form as they come from the producer, but would you do me a favor? Mount those new VM series cartridges on a 15gr head shell and then give them another try and come back and share your opinion with us.
Greeting,
Oliver
Dear Brother Oliver! Wow you have done a lot of tweaking indeed, lots of patience as well!
I have zero preference to warm sound. If you have noticed in my reviews, I purposely veered away from labelling any cart as warm or bright, and being better in being warm/bright!!! I have divulged this plan to my close gurus as well, and they also advised me not to criticise nor praise, any equipment based on, or even partly based on, the premise that they are warm or bright-sounding. Oliver, there ARE warm carts that do NOT sound good, e.g. Shure M97xE, Ortofon 2M Red, 2M Blue, and there are slightly bright carts that sound good. In fact, Oliver, there have been some people out there who perceive Nagaoka MP-110 as bright but sounding good! Thus, knowing all these, my friends have specially advised me never to dwell upon, nor judge whether a cartridge is better sounding with high fidelity, rhythm & timing, dynamics, imaging, soundstaging, and muddle these factors up with MY preference for bright or warm sounding carts. This is very important to me. Again, there are indeed warm sounding carts that are poor. I have no preference for warm nor bright sounding carts.
Record shop owners have divulged to me that 99% of vinyl listeners are not audiophiles :-) Knowing this fact, much less are they going to tweak and do DIY. It is my great joy to guide them to great affordable turntables, cartridges, phono stages and swiftly and smoothly get in, and stay in vinyl listening.
Cartridge reviews, like phono stage reviews, amplifier reviews, speaker reviews, all have to entail a level playing field: AUDITION and review the gear in its original form. It would be an amazing task to buy all the same-price class of phono stages / amplifiers / etc gear, and expect the reviewer to do special tweaks on this tube, that tube, this capacitor, that capacitor, and give a review, as it won't be fair, the directions this kind of review can go, is ENDLESS :-D ! You have already taken lots of time, and mistakes here and there, over the years to tweak and listen and relisten to just one cartridge, two cartridges,... just imagine you need to do that for 5 cartridges in a product class? I would probably take 2 years to tweak 5 cartridges, and eventually the reviews would venture into being TENUOUS, almost boring and EVEN less objective and MORE SUBJECTIVE, depending on the tweaks one does to each different cartridge, capacitor, resistor, tube, etc. Most audiophiles are also not DIY-capable, I hope you understand that. Venturing into such realms, will discourage and further confuse the new vinyl users. Most of us too just want to enjoy the music, set it up, do the basic cartridge set-up, connect the phono, amplifier and speakers, and get down to listening. Most audiophiles are not DIY-capable.
There is a subgroup of DIY audiophiles who are very active in Singapore, and they have a specific group forum, and hold their own kit exhibition. These DIY audiophiles (
Arigato gozaimashta. Keep on rockin in the free World, friend (o:
Is that the Nagaoka MP-200 I spy sitting on your desk there?
I've been desperate to hear your thoughts on that for what feels like forever now hahaha
Ah yes, it is the MP-200... purple coloured :-D... however, I have yet to fully run in the MP-200 and I have not fully acquired all its competitors in its price class yet. I also have the 2M Bronze and 2M Black, and the Nagaoka MP-500, all ready to pitch some serious battle in their fights with the Grados and Goldrings in the Group E and Group F cart shoot-outs and reviews. Apologies deeply for the delay, I need to spend diligent time auditioning and presenting the findings carefully as the responsibility in reporting is huge. I must get everything right and as precise as possible. I also have the ATVM530, Goldring E1, E2 and E3 carts on hand. Quite a number of things to accomplish for all of you friends... and I hope the Schiit Sol turntable will be released soon :-D!!! We shall see. Best Regards Buddy!
I'm negotiating with my dealer to send you cartridges to test, cause in my honest opinion you are one of the best reviewers there is. smooth, collected, and very descriptive of every pro and cons of every individual part of a turntable. My dad was a radio host during the Vietnam war up until the late 90's So I received a heck of a collection at a certain point, and due to your videos, I finally bought my first good quality set. Keep doing what you're doing. Because you are very talented and good at this.
shadowbl4zer Dear Brother. Thank you very, very, VERY MUCH!!!! I feel very honoured to be blessed by your goodwill and earnest efforts. Very humbled by the opportunity too my Brother in-Vinyl 💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪👋😄✌✌✌! I am contactable by hivinyws@gmail.com . Again, extremely pleasantly shocked and humbled by your generosity and goodwill 🤗😄! Thank you Brother! ~ ian.
Thank you was close to replacing my atn150mlx with this one. I Will buy a used at33e instead.
Yes Buddy ... a used AT33 low output MC would be A SUPERB CHOICE.
@@HiViNywschannel yes! Everything from 150mlx and above is great. It just takes a bigger investment than buying a goldring 1022 as a example
Great Review! I love my Schiit Mani you recommended awhile back. I had the Emotiva XPS-1 Pre-Amp and like you said, was lifeless & dead. Thanks again & keep up the Great reviews!
Brother! Thank you for coming by and sharing your experience too. Thank you!!! Hope you have already started enjoying a great weekend starting with some lovely records spinning in mood lighting and some nice drinks! Best Regards!!! Enjoy!
Thanks for your honesty and hard work Ian, glad to see you have a P3 in your armoury, I use one along with my Acutus:)
Gavin Sherlock Dear Brother Gavin💪😄!!! Wow!!! Avid and Rega. Same! Have fun with your impressive double clamping system that totally quieten and couple your vinyl record to the platter channelling away the vibrations to the suspension! Super double clamp indeed. I saw it in action before and how my retailer taps the record while being clamped, amazing😄✌. Congratulations my friend!!!
Get this man a better microphone! Great video as always.
Hello friend. By chance can you review the AT VM540ML cartridge? I hear its really great with the grooves since it uses micro-line stylus.
Dear Buddy Ariel :-D, i have to say that, cartridge performance relies on many factors, that are even more important than the stylus profile. So far, the AT carts have failed to impress. Apologies my friend :-D...
and, thank you for catching up!
Have a lovely 2020!!!!
@@HiViNywschannel My 2m blue has around 45 hours. I may keep using for now since it's really low on hours and spend on different one when I put way more hours on it. Thank you and happy 2020 to you and family.
See you Buddy!
Thank you! Great review! Old At100e or this vm520, which one is better?
Brother, i have not compared them both, apologies.
Thank you for coming by and talking to me :-D
Warmest Regards vinyl buddy!!!
@@HiViNywschannel you are great! I bought a nagaoka mp110. I hope it sounds good with audiotechnica lp120 and yamamoto headshell! 👍
@______________27 it may depend on your system but I can say relying on my experience that AT sounds better than MP-110. Actually I prefer cheap AT91 to Nagaoka. AT-VM520EB may be too bright for your taste but with right capacitive loading it probably could sound nice. Personally I tend to prefer more bright sound.
You always create an atmosphere that makes me want to go spin a disc.
sulkierlou1754 Let's go💪
Fantastic, informative and unbiased review. I am sure you are influencing many around the world into the seductive claws that are Vinyl Records! Just goes to show that you don't have to spend a fortune for great sound quality, just a bit of homework and demonstrations like with the MP110 and Schiit Mani. I haven't posted a video in a while as I have sold my ATC speakers and I have spent the last few weeks home demoing replacements. An interesting and maybe controversial replacement I now have firing the good stuff towards me! I found I was listening to be critical of music rather than the pleasures of actually letting the music speak for itself. Thanks again Ian!
Steve P Dear Steve, thank you👋😄! I am very happy to be of service to the community. I really believe that we CAN find that elusive jig that 1)beats digital music/sound anytime without going above $1k and also 2)REALLY giving us great, great sound quality: clear, transparent, detailed, dynamic, musical💪😄✌. I started off this project passionately in early 2015 having this firm belief, but yet without any guarantee i would be able to find the solution to fulfil the above two requirements, and in the end when i found it, i was absolutely delighted, excited...HAPPY!!!!!...
Brother, i hope you can indulge me in your speakers interesting you so much: write to me at hivinyws@gmail... thank you very, very much!! Warmest Regards my friend😄✌.
HiViNyws channel email sent my friend :)
Well, you didn't like the 520 at all - yet it got many well meaning reviews in magazines. Serious question - not even a critique: What is your take on that? (Dis)honesty on their side? A question of gear and setup? Would another protector make a noticeable difference? Personal preference?
Do you experience it more often, that your own testing seems to counter the press?
Cheers. J.
Brother, thank YOU🤗🤗🤗for coming by and chatting with me!
Yes, the press reviews, are, suboptimal, that is what I want to put it as, politely.
🤗🤗🤗🍀🍀🍀
@@HiViNywschannel yeah, I get your meaning. 😁 Thank you for the quick answer! Much appreciated.
But tell me - do you sweat over choosing protractors? Or is that a minor issue?
@@j.m.w.5064 Thank you Buddy! Yes, the protractor, I do use a common mirrored one which one can purchase easily from ebay for less than $10. It works!🤗😄🍀
AT cartridges generally have good reputation in forums and among vinyl enthusiasts. I can say in my experience even the ridiculously cheap AT91 sound better than Nagaoka MP-110.
hello hivinyws, i'm a fan of yours, but noticed that you only reviewed cartridges/needles which are branded and unaffordable to a common people like us which love vinyl sound as real analog source other than live performances. can you please review a cartrdige/needle like PIEZO needle which is in my opinion a rugged, cheap and very good sounding needle which many poor turntable users put in their turntable. i don't know if piezo is some type of material or a brand, but will appreciate it if you can make a review of a less than a $50 cartridge/ needle for us poor people, thanks....................
👍
Hi. Can you tell me something about Tonar Diabolic E DJ Cartridge & Stylus? I search for it in youtube but i didnt get many information...
Thank you :)
Hi Ian, I own a vm750sh with is not even broken in yet and I love it own many cartridges but I do like this one just you're thoughts on this cartridge if you ever get a chance, oh and great videos very informative thanks
I have this cartridge and have to say what an overall good cartridge it's been. Stellar review thanks !
Hello, there is the possibility, that you put in Spanish, the final conclusion
I brought this to replace a very worn out rega carbon, as an upgrade i feel its worth it with less sibilance but as you said its still there. I found it can be upgrade through the stylus so when this wears out I might upgrade the stylus to see if there was an improvement.
Another excellent review there Ian. Too bad this new cart from Audio Technica kinda sucks, innit? I do have a quick question for you though. I'm hoping in the next few months to be able to upgrade to something better than what I have now, a budget mid 80's Kenwood turntable that once belonged to my parents and am seriously looking at a Rega, though it may well be a used one but was curious if the current Rega tables still exhibit hum with Grado carts as that's been an issue in the past, especially as the arm gets near the end of a side due to where the motor sits on these tables and the fact that Grado does not shield their carts, or didn't if they do now.
I hope AT steps up the game with the next two carts.
Woohooo hi Ian 👋🏻👋🏻 man I’m goofy about audio technica cartridges that has been the only one I have used since the 70s thanks for reviewing be well take care- Lisa
I'm awaiting your review of the VM530EN (which I have and love). I decided to steer away from the 520EB, thinking it would be too similar to the 2M Red, which I don't like a lot (sibilant, doesn't track inner grooves well, so-so treble response, boomy-ish bass).
Try loading at 100kOhm you can then play around with the load capacitance. The problem with most phono stages they are usually set as if all moving magnet cartridges are the same. Moving permalloy, moving flux and moving iron types can be superb. The v series cartridges when you get to the top of the range and have boron cantilevers and line contact or, special elliptical profiles are really good the 700 series are competitive. I have the AT150ML on one of my turntables and it is pretty special.
Also, I went back and looked at the group D videos and did see them. Amazing that they even disappear in the video! The mark of a great speaker!!!!
Dear Bill.... I am very excited for you! Where do you reside? :-D . What is the price of the AN-Ks that was availed to you? :-D Yum yum.. lemme know bro... lemme know!
I am living in Illinois USA. As for the price, I am getting a sweet deal, but will leave the price out as I am still negotiating. Let's just say I am smiling about the purchase price. Once the deal is finalized I will disclose the price. As for the stands, I am considering them, but i have very heavy and long console that is exactly the correct height for these speakers. I plan on placing them on the console initially. I hope they sound good in this setup, if not it will pose a problem in the room going forward. Fingers crossed. Easy room placement was a significant draw to these speakers. I have to consider the wife factor😚
As for the run in time, I have heard the 100 hours is the absolute minimum, 400 hours is not out of the question. That's fine by me, just means I will go through my vinyl catalog/collection in the process. Which brings up a question. I was wondering when you will do the record cleaning video. I was hoping you could bring everyone up to speed with what you r using these days. Maybe you should work out a deal with your vendor in Japan to put together a kit for the US/Canada market. Things to make say "hmmmmm" I bought a bunch of used albums a little while ago, but too many dirty records, afraid to hurt my stylus.
Ah I see Bill :-D :1. Okies, no disclosure of price yet. Yup! I agree. Later then, totally understand. You can also email me at hivinyws@gmail.com to disclose.2. I have seen the AN-Ks being placed on sturdy consoles before and they sound equally coherent! In fact, it was back 2 years ago that I was struck by the Leben CS-300XS playing music beautifully... at my audio retailer's store, and at this vinyl record store: (watch the 2:45 to 3:50 mark of this video I made of the AN-Ks!)
ua-cam.com/video/Sb9BBmLgA4Q/v-deo.html
3. Unfortunately, the cleaning products are not easily acquirable as most customs do not allow shipping of liquids, and hence, I noticed that I have probably disappointed many... I thought it not so a good idea to show and laud a method/product which though the best I regard and recommend supremely, would not be available anyways easily. I am saddened by the fact as well...
4. Your long console is going to be a sturdy platform for the AN-Ks to shine. In fact, brother, since you are definitely going to get standmount speakers, TO BE USED AND PLACED on the console..... ALL THE MORE the AN-Ks become the top top choice.... as rear-ported designs will sound chuffy placed near the rear wall, front-ported ones would still need to be placed further from the wall, and down-ported ones (e.g. Chario Ghiblis which I have tested) sound boomy blowing bass waves against the console. The sealed-box design of the AN-Ks is going to WORK with the room boundaries to amplify its musicality and projection. Though placing on stand would still be better, having the only practical option to place them on a console means the sealed box AN-Ks would be best-suited!
Ian that is unfortunate that the shipping of these items is the hurdle. There are different solutions out there that might work, more interestingly is the process and the platter potentially. I am sure the platform can be shipped? I still think a video showing the process would be valuable.
I am getting more and more excited about the speaker purchase. The counsel weighs in excess of 350 pounds!!! I may buy the stands just to be safe. I will produce a video also to inbox and review. I will email u with the price shortly
i hope you have some record album of perez prado, james last, tadao hayashi and other oldies with lots of instrumentals.
YES! A new cartridge test series, of NEW cartridges!!! Thank you!
Hello Ian, thank you for another great review...I look forward to the next two in this series. Can I ask a question...what do you do with all of the carts when you've finished reviewing them? Do you keep them or sell them on?
As always a superb piece of review Ian! Thank you for re-starting the great cartridge race of 2017!!! Plus very nice to see an appearance by China Moses!!! :-D
Thanks for another great video 📹 nice to see you out and about at the end of the review also! Looking forward to a review of the ortofon 2m black vs it's rivals one day maybe..
The 520EB is simply a new version of the old AT100E. I wouldn't be surprised if these two carts are pretty close to identical.
dietchapstick *You are so right Brother👐. They sound almost identical too....perhaps changing the suspension and increasing the usage tracking force from 1.4g to 2g, trying to gloss over what is a rudimentarily not a good cart and skirt around the issue. Instead of injecting some real inspired design and engineering prowess.* I hate to think of it this way... but i think the results tell you and i so👌. Brother, thank you for pointing this out👋.
Have a good week ahead my friend... appreciate your kindness and time again. Warmest Regards to you and your vinyl playing friends🤗😄!
Putting a stiffer suspension on the cart was a smart idea - it will make the cart more compatible with a wider variety of turntables. The bonded version of this stylus does lack detail. In general with AT carts, they do not sound good in most systems unless you are willing to get the capacitance way, way down and maybe experiment with resistive loading. Most people do not know this, but some tonearms have 150pf or more of capacitance just in the cable that goes from the headshell through the tonearm. Even if your phono preamp only has 100 or 200pf of capacitance you are already way over what the cart needs.
Now, I do think AT should redesign their cartridges (at least some of them) to avoid this issue but they are stubborn or simply don't want to spend the R&D money. My guess is they would rather throw that money at their high end MC carts that cost $1,000 or more. Then again other cart makers aren't really changing their designs either. Grado has stuck with same basic design (that hums badly on many turntables) for decades and Ortofon supposedly only made slight changes (mostly cosmetic) when they went from the OM line to the 2M line.
dietchapstick Sharp observations my friend💪😄!!!! Thank you for sharing again!!
Oops I might have spoke tooo soon sadness......... good to see you again though - Lis
Hello Ian, Good to see another vid from you. Keep 'em spinning
Great video!!!!
Dear Brother, thank you :-)... may you have a happy vinyl journey too!
Do you give these cartridges any time to break in?
So you are saying this isn't a good cartridge to buy :) Great review as always, Ian.
dixielandfarm Yes Brother Kris.... great to see you running along really well👋🏃♂️!!! Please continue to recover well.
Bent my Vm520Eb after 4 hours of playback due to improper setup T_T
Brother, take heart, we learn from our mistakes. I had too, it is almost impossible not to break/spoil a cantilever/cartridge in our vinyl playing journey🤗🙏🍀brother, we march on.
I have a 1982 audio technica at155lc it sounds great the 21st century at carts are no good
Dear Michael!! I am very happy to see you again!...
You are looking good my friend! How is your cassette tape decks and tapes coming along? :-D!!!
HiViNyws channel Mr Ian how are you what's new my friend nice to see you again great review your the best I am listening to Elvis 30 no1 hits on my Sony tc177sd cassette deck vintage 1974 how about that then
Hello Ian, it's been a year since my trip and our meeting !!
Audio-Technica has no way! Looks like it's to grind your teeth!
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha !!
Yes... a year since we met in Japan!! How is your wife?... hope you are always having fun with your tube kits!... You really love Jazz a lot brother!!
Well you have saved me some money as I was considering buying a vm520eb, thanks
There is nothing wrong with it. I have heard it on other setups and it sounds good. I dig it better than the Grado lineup.
A great video Ian. Great to see you again. I even didn't know audio Technica had new ones. Thanks. I started with AT cartridges. I still love mine. Just sounds great on my set up:) But I switches to the Nagaoka 110 for months now. It amazing indeed. Better. Unfortunately I have to recoon my mighty Infinity Delta 60 loudspeakers. We discovered four speakers are disintegrating. For now I had to replace them temporarily with some Teufel Ultima 40 MK2. They are great but they don't sound like the Infinity ones. Once again it proves that your whole system is important. Cartridges and Loudspeakers etc. What a great hobby it is. Gonna watch out for your other two AT reviews.
Lars Eckardt Hi Lars!!!! Yo!... i have to give you the boost needed here: you are going to have fun replacing your Infinitys then💪😄!!! They have performed their sterling duties for you for years and i wish you great fun tinkering and auditioning and placing new ones at home!! Go go go💪💪😉!
Hi what is the cartridge you're using on your AVID
Brother, hope your Meazure or Plumamazing Pixelstick is doing well for you, and that digital microscope :-D !!.. Take your time and enjoy the journey my friend.... hope you have a peaceful and great week ahead.
(i am using the dynavector xx2mk2 on the avid)
it has been a while. good to see some new content shwoing that you are still into music and vinyl. always appreciate your honest opinions like in this case. great music selection by the way. i am still missing the Gal Costa record. damn it :)
Elderin Moi Hi my friend!... don't worry you will be able to find the Bem Bom album definitely😄👌✌!!
Very cool clip of the AN-K's. The kit looks almost perfect together. I would have loved to see a more retro table like your setup😀
Thank you my friend :-D ... give me your suggestions brother! I am excited to see your unboxing video too VERY SOON!!!
I'll need to watch your video again; too distracted by 許美靜 in the background.
Ilove UA-cam Yes Brudder😄... our enchanting Mavis Hee💚👂!! Great to see you buddy with ...gotten your AirTights and AN-Es home i guess!!!
Great job Ian! We always appreciate your work.👍🏻👍🏻
Brother, sorry I had missed out this message of yours. Thank you very much buddy!
I so appreciate your reviews, Ian! I currently have the MP-110 and absolutely love it, but I like to keep up with what's new, and I love that I get honest, factual reviews from you. Thanks for the valuable service!
DJ Mike Brady Wow i see your channel! And i see MP-110 being a loyal servant playing your records💪😄✌!!! I just subscribed as well. Keep it up my friend!!!! DJing the analogue way!
Wow, thanks for the subscribe! I love keeping these records playing!
Heehee, i love to see them spinning and oozing analogue joy to my ears too bro!!
Hi Brother Ian, sure is good to enjoy your new video. Very well done, a big thank you.
C. Sari Dear Brother Sariputra...it is 11:25pm now... have a lovely Penang evening...... hi five and may us neighbours be forever united in friendship✌😀😀✌
What a pleasure to watch your videos! Thank you again for sharing these with all of us.
bareknuckles2u Brother. Thank you too for your time and support. Without you friends support, it would be tiring and laborious. But with your kindness, what is meaningful to me becomes fun to do🤗... very happy to receive your goodwill👋😄!! Warmest Regards!..
You got to love Vinyl and lan. I love seeing his vids so much...
Hope you are enjoying your favourite Krall records too bro :-D!!! Thank you for coming by my friend. Thank you. And see you always. Warmest Regards bro.
Hi Ian, thank you for another great review of the cart. Btw i am a fan of Mavis Hee songs, may i know your opinion of her latest 2 vinyl album 許美靜-1996-1999精選輯 and the one you have. Is the sound ok? Since these 2 albums are remaster from digital source...
Roy Chua Dear Brother Roy🤗, i only have one and it sounds reasonably great on great carts...and keeps getting better when one improves on the carts one is using.
Thank you Ian for the prompt reply and sincere opinion, many of her songs have meaning to me. Would love to support our local artists especially Mavis Hee. Guess i need to drop by Red Point tomorrow....
What is your main go to turntable? The one you use more than all the rest?
Brother, I do use all 4 of them, the Mk5, the G, the P3 and the Sequel equally. I love them all equally :-D... well my wife thus far, had observed so and hence never found any to be a white elephant at home too! Anyway, the tables provide me a spread of non-suspended and suspended, belt-drive and direct-drive turntables to be fair and inclusive of various vinyl users. Thank you for coming by and saying hi again my friend!! Best Regards! ~ ian.
Hi. Interesting channel you have. I am curious. We all know that for a pickup to deliver optimum sound quality it have to be "broken in". How many hours do you play them before testing?
Dear Christian! Hi! Thank you for catching up! Yes I run them in, 100 -120hrs each. For example, now I have completed 30hrs each on the Hana EL and Quintet Blue by yesterday, and I will have to wait a while longer :-D before I can conduct the actual auditioning. Thank you for your time and friendship :-D... see you my friend! Happy New Year 2018.
~ ian.
HiViNyws channel thank you for your quick reply. And happy new year to you too. I must say I am very pleased that you are taking your time to try out affordable equipment. Even though you have a very nice setup there :-D
Another great review Ian. I'll stay clear of the VM520EB and hope the others fare better than this one. Good to see you in video form my friend and hope you're doing well. Your brother in vinyl, Brad.
Dear Brother Brad, thank you for coming by again! Yes, better to stick to your Denon DL103R, and possibly a Nagaoka MP-150 or MP-500. You asked me about the MP-500 a while ago. Yes, it is blistering. Another friend Mr V. from Thailand just went to Tokyo and gotten for himself the MP-500 from Yodobashi Camera Akihabara. Brother V came back a month ago and set up, and he went "wow" and wild with jubilation at the MP-500!!!
That's great to hear about the MP-500. I'm ready to go to the next level of cartridge ($500-$750 category). I just purchased a Denon DP-60L last month that came with a DL-301 (I believe). I've been reading up on the MP-500 today and learned the S-shaped arm of the DP-60L is perfect (mid-mass) for the MP-500. When it's time to move on from the 301, looks like I'll be getting the Nagaoka. :-) Can't wait! Take care Ian. Thanks for the fabulous reviews!
another great review,envious of the Al Jarreau on reprise keep up the good work ted
Edward Barr Brother Ted😄👐 good to see you!!! My goodness this Reprise first pressing is in great condition!.. one from Tone's own treasured collection. I'm speechless that he gave it to me.
Brother, have a lovely wind down on your Sunday evening👍😄..
great work as usual :D i'm still searching for 78RPM capable SL1200 because of you :D
12skyline21 Roger Brother 😄👌!!! For your information, DiskUnion Shibuya does have some SL1200Mk4s that can do 33-45-78rpm! If you are diligent enough to check hifido's website every day, occasionally a Mk4 DOES appear too!.. Usually highly prized though💪😄✌for reasons you and i like: 78rpm-ability!
Just wondering what headshells do you use for your cartridge reviews? They look really nice and of high quality. I need one for my Denon DP60Ls s shaped arm.
Dear Friend, :-D they are the Jelco HS-25 headshells, magnesium material, lightweight and strong, and with azimuth adjustability via a small screw at the side near the attachment end of the headshell :-D. Jelco (Ishikawa) probably OEMed headshells for several other brands as well. Warmest Regards brother, ~ ian.
...and ah, for your information, i just bought two more of these Jelco HS-25 headshells, three days ago. Yes really nice and of high quality. They will proudly suit your Denon turntable.
Another honest review bro. Love your short to the point videos. 👍
Rameish Siva Hi fellow Brudder😉....thank you for your kindness too always. I'm not done with the 530 and 540..hope they do well so that i have more good carts to play my records with. Spent quite a fair bit for all of them..but i remain committed to being thorough for the community of friends that we are. Love you friends 😄✌. Brother bump into you in record stores soon!
Hi Ian, Thank you for another excellent and informative review. I thoroughly enjoyed watching your video while I drank my Sunday morning coffee (in California). A great way to start the day!
Steven Suehiro Yo Steven!.. sorry i am 2 hours late replying you... just woke up a while ago. Brother have a peaceful and restful evening with your family & friends 👌😄! Thank you for your kindest time and support again🤗...
Could u review the pioneer plx 1000 ?
Kevin MacDonald Dear Kevin🤗, thank you for your trust in me to do this. I will do my best to finance from my own pocket again and as usual in my reviews, to buy the Pioneer PLX-1000 myself. I will do my best😄. Thank you my friend and hope you're having a fun time in your vinyl journey! See you, ~ian
Another great review Ian👍. Your canine friend is very well behaved!
Thank you Eric yet again for coming by!!! :-D .... yes my baby Moko, the toy poodle... i regard her as my daughter :-D.. Warmest Regards!... enjoy your Sunday!
Love your videos , good to see you back !!!!
alvidrez79 Brudder brudder....thank you thank you😅... sorry i had taken a bit more time this time with the carts because i was helping a few friends with their systems too... that chrome EAR834P (you can see it in those clips where the Technics Mk5 is playing) is one i am helping a friend audition for too... he is choosing between a few tube phonos👂👂.. Getting the new P3 and shifting things around also took up more time..hahaha.. i will continue to work hard😄 See you Brother and thank you again for encouraging me always!!! May you have a lovely vinyl journey too!
Love that Tim Maia, nice video as usual!
lz2k7 Yea Brudder👋😄his voice is just gorgeous💪!! Hope you and family are doing well!
Yeah, indeed, gone too soon. His nephew, Ed Motta, has an amazing record collection.
Thank you dear friend for this video.
Andrea Di Donna Thank you Master.
I'm old enough to remember when A-T put out really good (award winning) merch for the money! Recalling your earlier review on their TT, seems like they've put on a few year and inches around the waist (like me!). Their mojo is gone, if they want to climb back in the ring, they need the eye of the tiger.
My guess is the Goldrings will smoke them in your tests.
Der Ubersau Brother! ..wow great to see you again!.. yes they seem to be great in the past... but may be the corporation has gotten too big and lost the mojo... and they only use a small underperforming AT phono in their quite pathetic small testing station. I can't believe it when i saw they actually use that small peq20 to even benchtest their ART1000... 😓! Maybe they need more inspired people driving the cartridges development and manufacture like nagaoka and grado😄👐! Hahaha... we shall see how the standards of various manufacturers move on time to time.
Well, that explains a lot! How can you benchmark performance using your own middle grade product as instruments? Somebody is living in a bubble.
Hey, AT, if you're listening; lay out the cash for some test equipment! Say, perhaps, a Garrard 301 or Thorens 124 with a Rega arm for starters. Firing your advertising section should pay for it....
Der Ubersau Totally.
Brother, yes hi five😄👌!..we aren't angst-ridden creatures nor fans tied to a particular brand nor be so childish nor free to fly the flags for any particular brands... we are just CONSUMERS who want to buy good sound for our families and for our musical hobby. We are just honest to ourselves and to our fellow friends. Nothing yo gain except the common love and mutual guidance and fervent wish to help one another. That's all actually😄✌. I appreciate very much your kindest presence and friendship.
Ah i love your suggesting test beds of 301 and 124 and Rega arms. Affordable, solidly built and LEGENDARY💪😀.
great video ian,keep up the good work
scotgoth Brother, thank you for coming back🤗👋...have a good day and Warmest Regards!!
Thank you from Texas :D
henry carmona Dear brother from Texas... hope you and your neighbours are safe and sound and doing better after the recent floods... Paul, of "barakapdub" UA-cam Vinyl channel is from Texas too. You must be very proud of him from Texas😄✌!!
I apologize if this has been asked before; how long do you break in the cartridges before reviewing?
I enjoy your videos, but always wondered.
This is an interesting topic, I hear you should play for about 50 hours for carts and other hifi equipment for it to truly sound at its best.
Thomas Bertilsson Dear Thomas... it is okay🤗. I do 100hours or more per cartridge before sitting down to formally listen to them and assess them. Thank you for catching up my friend!!... Best Regards and a good Sunday for you my friend.
HiViNyws channel Cool! That’s what I like to hear.
Thomas Bertilsson It is my duty👋😄 see you bro!
Ian, you should check out the AT95E for a review. It's a true budget cart at $50, but I prefer it to some of the higher end cartridges I've tried.
I hear similar things from my local turntable shop owner. Its a great cart, but if you truly wanted to upgrade ( from a Rega RP1 base carbon cart to be specific) what would you suggest? I want real sound improvement, not slight differences.
Leon thepro hard to recommend something because it's all so subjective. For example, Ian loves the Nagaoka MP-110 and I'm not that crazy about it. He also didn't care for the Shure M97XE and I enjoy its sound.
I'd probably try to move further up the Rega line of cartridges myself. You shouldn't have any issues with setup that way. If you want to move away from the Rega line, then a 2M Blue would be a good fit (Ian thought this was a nice cart too) but beware some folks feel that you need to use tonearm spacers with the 2M series on the Regas.
PS- At the end of the day, you might find you like the sound of the conical Rega Carbon more than whatever you upgrade to.
Jonathan King I see, thanks for the heads up. Ill ask around at my local hifi shops. Ian recommended me the mp110 and Ill ask for that too. Perhaps I might even be able to test some carts out before buying, that would be the best.
Leon thepro Brothers😄👍!!! Great to see you friends chatting and having fun!!! I'm happy for your friends! Vinyl unites. And we have a really warm community. Lovely!!!
Hi Ian, let me firstly just say great video and that you convinced me to buy Clean Bandit - New Eyes. Great album that sounds fantastic on my system, but Im sure it could sound even better.
So I was just wondering about upgrading carts for my Rega RP1 table. The standard carbon cart is getting a bit old but I wanted a substantial upgrade, not minimal sound improvement. With a price range of 100-200$ maximum what do you recommend for my table and listening needs?
Equipment:
Rega RP1 with base cart
Cyrus 2 Amplifier
System Fidelity SF5030 tower speakers
Custom made high quality speaker cables.
Brother!! Hi!!! Great to see you again! :-D okay, here goes, the older RP1 has adjustable anti-skating, that's good. I will spend $120 of the Nagaoka MP-110, and the remaining $80 on getting the Rega tonearm base spacers to prop up the tonearm base by another 6-8mm (3-4spacers, each spacer providing a 2mm height raise), so maybe that $80 can get you 3 spacers, and 1 affordable 2MP 50-500x USB digital microscope from ebay/amazon, which can help with getting the correct Stylus Rake Angle of 92degrees. Best Regards my friend. Thank you for coming by and catching up, and updating me of your system and more!!!!
"Custom made high quality speaker cables".... YUMMY ;-D !!!
Thank you very much for the help!
And I was indeed very lucky that my local turntable shop owner was generous enough to make me those cables at only 20% of the normal cost, he seemed excited that a young individual wanted in on the analog listening experience ;^)
Hello again Ian! Im writing back to say that I did what you suggested and purchased a Nagaoka MP-110 online. Im in the process of setting it up for my RP1 and I think almost everything is fine but I would ask a few questions just to make sure.
- Im not sure that the suggested overhang of 50mm by the manufacturer is reachable on my tonearm, is this bad?
- My tonearm spacers have not yet arrived and the SRA looks like around 85 degrees. Should I wait until they arrive or is it ok to play before?
- Is the Argon Alignment 1 mirror protractor good or should I re adjust with another protractor?
- When I rest the stylus on the protractor the cantilever leans to the side instead of straight down, is this normal? I forgot to turn of the anti skate at first but even when its 0 there is a little leaning towards the spindle. Did I perhaps damage the cantilever with the anti skating?
Thank you in advance!
Leon thepro Brother🤗, don't worry.
1. Most important is for you to hit the 2 nullpoints with the cantilever parallel to the hashmarks.
2. Do wait for your tonearm spacers. Don't rush please🤗👍👌✌.
3. Most established protractors with the Lofgren/Baerwald should work just fine.
4. Okay here goes... i think you may have damaged the cantilever unwittingly. It happened to me before, it could be any brand, don't worry...coz it always happens and we take it on the chin and move on. Luckily, the JNP110 replacement stylus is affordable compared to tons of other more expensive cartridges on the market. Isn't the MP110 very kind to us💪😄✌?!!! Sorry to say it as it is... i really feel so, and i also want to cheer you up. Ganbatte my friend💪🤗👌. You're learning to be even better.
Thank you for the quick answer!
Another job well done!
gazer Ang My friend...thank you👋🙄 for coming by again! Warmest Regards!..
The most honest reviewer online.. Thanks boss
Brother, thank you very much. I see you again in Adelphi :-D. Peace be with you my friend. Today's Friday.
Warmest Regards, ~ ian.
HiViNyws channel Peace be upon you too bro
Big Bad Wolf 👋😄
Good enough for a Crosley TT :)
Murnel Babineaux Hi brother! See you again!!!! 😀😀
Here again, Ian.... ;)
:-D have a good week ahead Vinyl brother!
Which flavor of ice cream does Moko like?
Dear Brother :-D !! She likes chocolate+caramel+coffee+avocado+cheese. Any combination of the above :-D... My wife and I will control her consumption whenever our sons goad her to take some :-D!!! Moko is in very good health, my wife and i promise you!... Thank you my friend for asking! Really adorable question and concern! Moko is nuggled up with me now, wife playing piano, all of us in the study room now... we send our regards to you and your family.
My friend, it sounds like your family had a very cozy, comfortable evening! Just reading about it made me feel cozy, too. Our little dog got so spoiled she got to a point she would not eat dog food...only people food! She was a little chihuahua named Cheeto and we loved her very much. She passed away about a year ago. She lived for 17 years, which is very long for a dog.
i87.photobucket.com/albums/k128/batman144144/Cheeto%20001%20detail_zpssbhsepmf.jpg
Brother, yes... my dear Moko too.. very pampered and spoilt as well... to the point she would not eat dog food, and only human food!.. Thank you for sharing with me the photo of Cheeto. My wife and I and Moko are now seated at Dempsey Hill, Culina coffee house, here at 11:28am. We all saw Cheeto's photo. Idame Natinam Hotu, Sukhita Hontu Natayo. Idame Natinam Hotu, Sukhita Hontu Natayo... Idame Natinam Hotu, Sukhita Hontu Natayo. May you be well and happy lovely Cheeto.
Thank you very much, my brother. All my best wishes to you, your family, and your friends. I'm very glad all of you were able to see Cheeto's picture. It's like part of her is still alive...
It's 11:30am where you are? It's about 8:30pm here in California...
(Brother it is 11:50am here in Singapore, we are at the Culina coffeehouse at Dempsey Hill :-D.)
Thank you for your kind blessings too my friend.
You are staying in one of the best places on Earth, brother!!! Enjoy a nice cosy evening too...
Your reviews are awesome. I'm pretty sure this cart is the replacement of the prior AT 100 model. I have the VM530EN and VM740ML looking forward to your reviews on those. My take so far on the 530EN is similar to the AT120. Quite bright on the upper end but I have not reach 50 hours yet so I'm still waiting to see if it settles after burn in. The 740ML does not suffer as bad on brightness compared to 530. Cheers!
HitsTownUSA Thanks , other reviewers say AT cartridges in general take quite a while to loosen up . So maybe they don't sound too good straight out of the box. I have found that most cartridges need a bit of time to give their best sound.
That's true, my AT carts have not reached their break in time yet either so I'll reserve judgement, but from other folks that I've heard, you will still have that "CD sound", meaning the cart will be quite crisp and still a bit toppy on the high end. I have purchased a Nagaoaka MP-200 and have gotten very positive reviews from subscribers on my channel. It's a natural sound that perfectly reproduces the sound that was meant to be heard IMO. No part of the frequency range is overbearing. Nice bass and mids and the highs are detailed but not fatiguing like my Ortofon 2M Blue or my AT's and this was right out of the box. I would look into getting a Nagaoka
Always curious to see and hear your opinion, Ian. A little surprised to see the cartridge did not do well, had suspended it would sound better. Thanks for another great video. All the best. /Paul
Brother Paul. Thank you very much for your coming by again. Love to see my techG buddy 👋🤗!!! Btw what torque did you settle with nowadays?
Since beginning of the summer I'm using the automatic mode. Very hard to hear a clear difference, even compared to the minimum torque setting. But I like the quick start in automatic. How do you like the new headshell you bought in Japan?
Dear Paul, you are indeed sharp...about the new headshell I bought in Japan. I bought the Zonotone Z-Shell10, Yamamoto HS-3 and HS-4... much cheaper there than from the internet :-D... I like the HS-4 a lot. Thank you for telling me the above about your actual user experience about the torque in the G. I will relay your experience to my other friends in the UK asking me about these as well!! Thank you Paul for your earnest and helpful replies always. I am very grateful to you and your friendship. Warmest Regards my friend and brother,
~ ian
Nice to have a few different head shells to try. Cool, the carbon fibre version is your favourite. I'm going to try an ebony wood version. All the best to you and your family. /Paul
X junkie NL My friend just bought the HS-1 Ebony Wood version too 💪😄have fun Paul!!
Great to have you back. Thanks for the review.
DJBIGSEXYBERLIN Great to see you again too my friend... hope things are moving on very well for you😉!! Lemme know your latest updates! 🏹