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Mission 774 Arm and Moving Coil Cartridges

Vinny said:
Play something that you know well, ideally some solo instruments and vocals - you probably know one or two that you regularly use. If it sounds right/better, it is.
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....I've just convinced myself that swapping from the large to medium paddle was a plus!!
 
Tonewheelkev said:
....I've just convinced myself that swapping from the large to medium paddle was a plus!!
Click to expand...

Live with it a while, then alter something that is not trivial - change the paddle for instance. If your aural memory is anything like mine you will pick up any differences like a shot if they are at all significant, better or worse. Then live with that if it seems better.
For me, picking up subtle differences takes a relative age of listening. Sometimes, after a few hours, something REALLY grates............................... or just fails to engage me.
 
Yup....aural memory's the key....wish I had a switch to flip and compare A with B...:cool:

by the time I've adjusted for B....I've well and truly forgotten how A sounded!!!
 
I had this setup from new before acquiring an LP12.

Od0hSL2.jpg
 
Robert said:
The 774 had a companion 773 MC cartridge, a Dynavector built variant of the DV-20. Worked very well.
Many also used things liked the Supex SD900 and Linn Asak, both low compliance MCs which on paper need a higher mass arm, but they were successful pairings back in the day.
Two reasons. Firstly, the 774 has excellent bearings and and was built with a direct coupled ethos - it's light but also stiff, unlike most other low mass arms which are rather lossy.
Secondly, the damping option mitigated the effects of the mass/compliance mismatch.

I still use one today and rate the 774 as one of the best arm designs of all time.
Someone up-thread linked to the patent paper, and anyone interested in the 774 should read it. The design was well ahead of it's time and incorporated many design features taken for granted today.

The original 774 used sorbothane to decouple the outer counterweight ring from the inner stub and this has almost certainly turned to goo today. Mission dispensed with this on later versions and used a solidly mounted counterweight, but I prefer the decoupled version.
It's an easy fix as sorbothane sheet is readily available.

Oh and that arm wand - Don't we temped to buy a 3rd party modern wand if you want to hear the 774 as intended. The original is double skinned to self damp tube resonance, the after-market replacements I've seen are not.

The threaded head block can be a problem with modern cartridges with threaded bodies but is otherwise fine. Best solution is look out for a spare wand and have it drilled through (preferably countersunk for neatness).

If you want a good MC which sounds good and looks like the original 773/774 pairing, the Goldring Elite and Eroica work well. Very light and similar body to the 773.
AT33s match well and sound excellent, but look wrong to my eye - too fat and wide for the svelte 774 :)
Grado in the traditional plastic body sound excellent and look well matched to the headblock, plus they make good use of the fluid damping.
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Hi Robert,

I just wanted ask you as you seem to be a bit of an authority on the Mission 774 on here.

I’ve just acquired a 1979-1981 pre cirkus LP12. It comes complete with a Mission 774 and Grado F-1+ cartridge. The stylus has blue dots on it but I have no idea how old it is. I know the needle was examined and that it’s in very good shape.

Now getting to the question finally! Do you think it would be worth upgrading the stylus to another Grado that I can easily slot in such as a 8MZ or MCZ or perhaps try a whole new cartridge altogether further down the line.

Effectively I’m just wondering if I can bring it up a notch or two performance-wise or if I should just sit on it for now. Possibly upgrading the PSU instead.

It’s running into a Nait 2 and Linn Kans.

Any help would be much appreciated!

Thanks.
 
Vinny said:
I have never owned one, but apparently there were 3 different "paddles" originally as well - so that different levels of damping could
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Yes there were three ‘paddles’ that came with the arm, but I never used them.
Someone on PFM was looking for a set, so I let them go along with the damping fluid.
 
Owner of a 774 for 40 years - using a AT30/31 moving coil (have several replacement stylii), and never felt the need to change anything. Can't imagine that a current MC cartridge would sound much difference, and probably require a lot of messing about with settings to get it sounding at it's best. And why has no-one else brought out a replacement stylus MC since (cost?)
 
Michael Steen said:
Owner of a 774 for 40 years - using a AT30/31 moving coil (have several replacement stylii), and never felt the need to change anything. Can't imagine that a current MC cartridge would sound much difference, and probably require a lot of messing about with settings to get it sounding at it's best. And why has no-one else brought out a replacement stylus MC since (cost?)
Click to expand...
Replacing an MC stylus means a rebuild. In a MM, the coils are fixed in the body, so you can slide the stylus / cantilever / magnet assembly out for replacement. But in an MC, the coils are attached to the cantilever, and the magnet is in the body. Replacing the stylus on the end of the cantilever without destroying anything is skilled work, which is why it is so costly.
 
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