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GEAR USED IN THIS VIDEO FROM
▶ http://fosiaudio.com/products/box-x5-phono-preamp
▶ http://audio-technica.com @AudioTechnicaEMEA
========== VIDEO INFO ==========
TLDR: MC is ACTUALLY superior especially in HF detail but they are both incredible. Buy the MC if you are rich and care about the extra tiny quality gain.
Raw recordings as WAV: https://drive.google.com/file/d/10MzpR_oJxotJmy9ubZgfb-l0sRjFUINn
I do extensive AB tests of MM (moving magnet) vs MC (moving coil) phono cartridges to hear the differences. Audio Technica were kind enough to lend the carts and Fosi audio was kind enough to supply the phono preamp. I didn’t label the ABs because it’s obvious from the shiny gold which is the MC cart.
People think my position is that everything sounds the same and nothing matters. Wrong. Transducers are where the BIGGEST differences are. Speakers, mics, carts…
PREAMPS
There is no huge difference between the preamps on first listen, however, I have noticed through boosting quiet signals that the Fosi audio preamp has a MUCH better signal to noise ratio, less hiss, less hum. It obviously has considerably better features and has some kind of cool relay stuff going on inside to switch the gain values and power on.
CARTS
In terms of the carts, depending on your perspective there is a huge difference or no difference. I’ll explain… no difference if you just want to listen to a bit of music. They are really close. There’s not that much difference in frequency response. That’s good because both are very high quality carts, without spending stupid amounts of money, from arguably the best manufacturer. And they are both a microlinear shape. So they sound similar because they are both good and quite true to the source.
Where they sound different is in transient response and also stereo imaging. Not the kind of audiophile woo woo mumbo jumbo “4D soundstage” blah but literally there is a difference in channel balance and maybe also crosstalk between the two carts. The channel balance seems right of center on the MC. There could have been suboptimal contact on my headshell or suboptimal alignment, but I did the best I could, and unless there is a big difference in crosstalk, this should be correctable with a small level adjustment.
It is clear that the MC cart has better transient response. I’m not entirely sure if that is just a HF bump on the MC cart making it easier to hear detail or whether the lighter assembly really does result in more detail to be pulled from the grooves. Again, BOTH ARE INCREDIBLE. The difference is kind of minor but the MC cart did sound superior. Is it worth hundreds more though? If you are rich, probably yes.
SONG NOTES
The Beatles – Norwegian Wood
Hard panning, nice HF content with the guitar/sitar. Good crosstalk test.
Ed Rush, Optical – Pacman
VERY LOUD cut by Simon at the Exchange. ER & O had a significant and often unappreciated impact on other styles of electronic music.
Bloc Party – Helicopter
Classic brit indie track, one of my favorite albums of that era. VERY clear HF differences between the carts easily identifiable by listening to the cymbals.
ORL – Rapid Fire Tollbooth
One of Omar’s cuts which ended up getting turned into a Mars Volta track. Although Pridgen’s drumming on the Volta track is ridiculous, Omar’s brother lays down an extremely solid beat here on the original version, and I kind of prefer this more laid back original. Very clear differences in HF here. In fact I prefer the MM cart here, MC is kind of shrill BUT that is likely the recording, which also has an unbalanced stereo image.
Shakti – Live
My personal favorite live recording of all time.
Autechre – LCC
Very low level intro, can hear surface noise differences.
Stranglers – Dead Ringer
Early Stranglers are amazing. Pretty loud cut for an LP of its age.
Brittsommar – Tell Me
I recorded, mixed and mastered this and also played drums. We built the songs around single take solo acoustic guitar/singing takes. This was many years ago in my first studio. Can hear big difference in transient response between carts by listening to the ride cymbal.
Kraftwerk – Die Roboter
Ultra classic electronic track. Nice transients and LF content.
อังคนางค์ คุณไชย – อีสานลำเพลิน
My favorite record of all time. Absolute perfection. There is nothing possible that can be improved about this recording in any aspect whatsoever. This is the Japanese repress.
0:00 – Intro
0:30 – Background info
2:41 – AT-OC9XML (MC cart)
3:16 – AT-VM95ML (MM cart)
3:49 – Fosi Audio BOX X5
4:45 – The Beatles – Norwegian Wood
5:34 – Ed Rush, Optical – Pacman
6:26 – Bloc Party – Helicopter
7:11 – Omar Rodríguez-López – Rapid Fire Tollbooth
8:10 – Shakti – Live at South Hampton College
9:06 – Autechre – LCC
9:56 – The Stranglers – Dead Ringer
10:41 – Brittsommar – Tell Me
11:28 – Kraftwerk – Die Roboter
12:12 – อังคนางค์ คุณไชย – อีสานลำเพลิน
