Moving Magnet Magic!

[Jamie]

No mention yet for the yellow jelly baby?

Rega | Exact MM Cartridge

Rega Exact moving magnet cartridge audio hi-fi made in England.

www.rega.co.uk

 

[Ptah]

I loved my V15/III back in 1980. Recently I've used an Exact which is very nice in the midrange, and have had the AT540 - extremely detailed. Recently on a P2 have a Tonar E-Flip which is just the AT33 (i.e. Carbon) but with an elliptical stylus and sounds stunning for £50.

 

[clownfish]

AT VM540ML is my MM of choice. Not that I've really tried much else. Ortofon VMS20E anyone?

I think it is excellent! I am only really able to say that with confidence because I think it is surprisingly close to my DV20XL. The DV wins with fluidity, subtleness and generally gives a little more in overall richness, which is pretty much what you'd hope given the price disparity! However, the 540 is rarely far behind and brings a good ole dose of excitement and involvement in the music. I could easily live with just the 540, but as I have both I switch them about occasionally, mostly because after many years of LP12's I now have a 1200GR instead and I CAN!

 

[Mr Pig]

AT VM540ML is my MM of choice. Not that I've really tried much else. Ortofon VMS20E anyone?

The VMS20E is a lovely cartridge. Never hear anyone saying anything bad about the 540. I think modern Audio Technica cartridges in general are well sorted and great value.

To be honest, I don't think there are many truly bad MM carts available these days.

 

[clownfish]

The VMS20E is a lovely cartridge. Never hear anyone saying anything bad about the 540. I think modern Audio Technica cartridges in general are well sorted and great value.

To be honest, I don't think there are many truly bad MM carts available these days.

You have inspired me to put my VMS20E on the techie. Its been a while since I've properly used the Ortofon. I'm guessing lovely and smooth but not as dynamic as the 540.

 

[Tony L]

You have inspired me to put my VMS20E on the techie. Its been a while since I've properly used the Ortofon. I'm guessing lovely and smooth but not as dynamic as the 540.

Very different capacitance requirements, enough that they will sound tonally different. The VMS likes around 450pF as I recall, in fact Ortofon used to make a little wafer capacitor that clipped on the pins on the back to add capacitance for phono stages that insufficient. They were common, there may well be one fitted to yours! That will narrow the gap to the 540 tonally.

Sadly the VMS Ortofons don’t age well, the suspension fails, so don’t be entirely surprised if it face-plants on the record. Really annoying as it makes any NOS styluses a very risky buy. The more upmarket VMS30E and especially the M25FL were exceptionally good cartridges. The latter is a bit of a cult item in some circles, but very hard to find one that still works right. I had one back in the ‘80s in a fluid-damped AT1120 low mass arm on an RD80 and it was very good as I recall. I was a cheapskate then as I am now and they were being closed-out cheap as everyone was buying K9s and Basik arms (which I never rated).

 

[Hazelberry]

I prefer the AT3600L to the massively overhyped AT95E (or the even worse Linn K9).

I've heard good things about the new AT-VM95 cartridges though.

I have an AT95e in my spares box that I used a long time ago; I can't remember what it was like now.

I ran a VM95ML for a time. I must be one of the few people who went off it. With 100pF in the phono stage it was rolled off in the treble. This was easily remedied with a spot of treble boost but of course I'd forget to turn it back when switching to my digital sources. I also found it skinny & somewhat analytical. Replacing it with the AT100e predecessor was a huge improvement. Its stylus was shot though & I installed the 3600 while I waited for a replacement.

Oh, & having read good reports, I tried the 95ML stylus on the AT95. I found the highs much better & there was more body but the sound was so “hard” that I could only endure half a side!

 

[clownfish]

Very different capacitance requirements, enough that they will sound tonally different. The VMS likes around 450pF as I recall, in fact Ortofon used to make a little wafer capacitor that clipped on the pins on the back to add capacitance for phono stages that insufficient. They were common, there may well be one fitted to yours! That will narrow the gap to the 540 tonally.

Sadly the VMS Ortofons don’t age well, the suspension fails, so don’t be entirely surprised if it face-plants on the record. Really annoying as it makes any NOS styluses a very risky buy. The more upmarket VMS30E and especially the M25FL were exceptionally good cartridges. The latter is a bit of a cult item in some circles, but very hard to find one that still works right. I had one back in the ‘80s in a fluid-damped AT1120 low mass arm on an RD80 and it was very good as I recall. I was a cheapskate then as I am now and they were being closed-out cheap as everyone was buying K9s and Basik arms (which I never rated).

Thanks Tony, interesting.

Mine doesn't have the wafer capacitor. Both my amps have phone stages at 47k ohms but no mention of capacitance is made. The Techie is hooked up to Luxman 505 UX II but I can't find the capacitance the MM stage presents. I do have an Arcam rPhono amp that I can adjust the capacitance on so may be worth playing with that.

Maybe the VMS capacitance needs explain why its always sounded like its got a 'lovely tone' but never really been exciting. Hmmm....

 

[Curtis]

I enjoyed the Reson Reca back in the day.

 

[Chris]

I went back to my A&R P77 3 years ago on my lp12 and Ittok LVIII when I decided against retipping my Troika again. Fortunately I had sent my ancient Rega Elys (bentcantilever) and my P77 (no cantilever) to be “looked at” as a previsionary measure to tide me over while the Troika was away and after giving carte blanche to the guy that looked at them to do what he thought best, he “fixed “ the bent cantilever with a splint at zero cost after deciding that his favoured hyper elliptical tip and modified suspension gave better results on the A&R. I was shocked when I heard it and decided to look around for some other P77 stylus assemblies ( I now have 4) toget them “looked at. Duringthe search, I also managed to get a P77Mg cartridge body with an unused PN7 stylus assembly which I still have so that, along with the 2 other retips c/w suspension mods he has done for me am well served from here to posterity ….. With my ever deteriorating hearing stereo considerations don’t really come into the equation but Ijust love that dash of retro warmth that I hear along with the detail and dynamic that his work on the suspension provides, I feel I now have a modern retro or retro modern sound that suits me fine, maybe something like the shortlived P78. I never heard that Weinz Paroc tip on boron cantilever.

 

[Darren]

I enjoyed the Reson Reca back in the day.

Great cartridge. Funky as hell and lots of deep bass.

 

[davidavdavid]

My current and favourite MM cartridge is the Audio Technica VM 760 SLC. It is mounted on my vintage Denon DP-61F turntable here as pictured below:

atmv760slcmm.jpg

drive.google.com

 

[Tarzan]

Goining to get hung , drawn and quartered for this but fill yer boots - The Ortofon 2M Red MM sounds chuffing good on a lightly tweaked Technics SL1200MK2/ Audionote Arm1v2 ( sorted this combo for Wife) so she could play her records and she stated " that sounds really good" - on that basis the it has to be good and to be fair to her it does!

 

[Fretbuzz]

Audio Note IQ3. Really was sublime!

 

[freefallrob]

A vote for the Rega Exact here. In the right setting it’s terrific.
Another memorable one for me is the Shure M55e, Bruce SpringsteeN through an EAR834P never sounded more right.

 

[Mike Reed]

You have inspired me to put my VMS20E on the techie.

I'd be interested in your findings, though we have different ph/stages. Although I don't use it, my VMS20E mk 2 is on my 12" N.A. arm and into EAR 912 pre. onboard stage. I only mounted it years ago to evaluate its condition and was very surprised indeed, considering that I've used upmarket MCs for decades.

Tony brought up the capacitance issue before and I think he suggested that valved stages may have had a cap. advantage. Certainly, the tonearm is way heavier than recommended for the VMS. (note to self; check the manual, though it's a bit sparse on spec's detail.

 

[Tony L]

Certainly, the tonearm is way heavier than recommended for the VMS. (note to self; check the manual, though it's a bit sparse on spec's detail.

The VMS20E is very much of the high-compliance/low-mass era like the V15/III, ADC XLM etc. It really wants an arm such as a fixed-shell 3009 Improved, Series III, Hadcock, Black Widow, AT1120 etc. This era cartridge will turn warps into speaker cone-flap with a more massy arm. IIRC it was about 25cu.

 

[cobbers]

Tony brought up the capacitance issue before and I think he suggested that valved stages may have had a cap. advantage.

Unfortunately amp manufacturers so often fail to state the cap value of the MM stage which makes it a lottery whether you get a proper match or not.
So often people complain about a particular cartridge sounding 'wrong' in some way or other when in fact the real problem is the mismatch.

 

[Del monaco]

The VMS20E is very much of the high-compliance/low-mass era like the V15/III, ADC XLM etc. It really wants an arm such as a fixed-shell 3009 Improved, Series III, Hadcock, Black Widow, AT1120 etc. This era cartridge will turn warps into speaker cone-flap with a more massy arm. IIRC it was about 25cu.

I had one on my Thorens TP 62 arm. Lovely cart.

 

[GordonM]

Moving magnet has become my cart of choice since hearing the Shure M95EN or was it M97EN.
I heard one with a Lenco and it seemed a perfect match. Nice to hear a full bodied sound and pace.
The Shure M44-7 is also a great, fun cart.

And more recently the Audio Technica 540ML. I think this is destined to become a modern classic
and certainly one of the best value carts ever. I don't think it can be beaten even if it were 3 times the price
be it MC or MM.

Glad to hear your comment re the 540ML. I bought one a few months ago after agonising for ages. Don't buy a cart very often. It's a real gamble and you can spend a fortune without finding the right one. The 540 tracks very well after very careful set up, and completely cured the slight sibilance I had before. It does have a nice full bodied sound but I'm no expert.
Only real issue with AT is getting the loading correct. I ended up disconnecting the loading cap on the phono cards and rely on the 100pf capacitance of the Ittok tone arm cable.