Introducing the Phono Cartridge Measurement Library

[red_delta]

My 740ML shows a much more pronounced rise at 10k:

oh yeah you are 100% correct, that is an interesting result

 

[morillon]

AT VM540ML
View attachment 355768
Notes

• Cartridge: Audio-Technica AT VM540ML
• Stylus condition <5 hrs on vinyl
• Test record: CBS STR100 issue 3
• Turntable: Fluance RT82 Stock
• Tracking force: 2g
• Phono stage and ADC: Parks Waxwing
• Capacitance- 90pf for stock Fluance cables (credit to USER), Waxwing has unknown capacitance
• Purchased as it was on sale and I was impressed by the measurements others have made

waxwing..no capacitor-capacitance because "dsp" ( so only 90pico but peq value?)

.. no?

https://parksaudiollc.com/waxwingmanual.html

 

[Balle Clorin]

Likely same as Puffin 50pF, some Puffin serial numbers had much higher pF due to an inlet diode ( that is no longer used) and must be removed by DIY.

 

[morillon]

there it seems that there is nothing and that we have to manage thanks to the dsp... that's what I understand from the manual..but my English...

 

[Bob from Florida]

Pretty sure the Waxwing is 47 pf. Probably should ask Shannon to be sure.

 

[morillon]

Pretty sure the Waxwing is 47 pf. Probably should ask Shannon to be sure.

maybe...but the manual is very detailed and don't read it.. (I'll explain this measure a little but need to see the eq too)

?? ;-)

 

[Bob from Florida]

maybe...but the manual is very detailed and don't read it.. (I'll explain this measure a little but need to see the eq too)

I had asked Shannon previously about removing the cap and he said "don't" because of RF. You can't change the value which is may be why you don't see a mention in the operators manual.

 

[morillon]

it may depend on the diagram...but you are probably right...he just doesn't specify it...surprising...

 

[tpd]

Empire 999VE/X

Notes:

• Cartridge: Empire 999VE/X
• Stylus: NOS Empire S999VE/X with less than 10 hours use
• Turntable: Denon DP-3000
• Tonearm: Denon DA-50
• Tracking Force: 1.6g
• Phono Stage: Cambridge Audio Solo (47k / 150pF)
• Cable Capacitance: 95pF measured
• ADC: Focusrite Scarlett 2i2
• Test Record: CBS STR-100 Issue 3

 

[tpd]

Empire OP5 + S1080LT "Golden Touch"

Notes:

• Cartridge: Empire OP5
• Stylus: Empire S1080LT "Golden Touch" ParaLinear
• Turntable: Denon DP-3000
• Tonearm: Denon DA-50
• Tracking Force: 1.0g
• Phono Stage: Cambridge Audio Solo (47k / 150pF)
• Cable Capacitance: 95pF measured
• ADC: Focusrite Scarlett 2i2
• Test Record: CBS STR-100 Issue 3

The S1080LT "Golden Touch" stylus came off a damaged LTD 780 GT cartridge. Microscope inspection showed it was clearly used, but not used up. Looking for an LTD 500 body, which ought to be an ever better match for this stylus.

 

[tpd]

ADC Integra XLM-III

Notes:

• Cartridge: ADC Integra
• Stylus: ADC XLM-III
• Turntable: Denon DP-3000
• Tonearm: Denon DA-50
• Tracking Force: 1.5g
• Phono Stage: Cambridge Audio Solo (47k / 150pF)
• Cable Capacitance: 95pF measured
• ADC: Focusrite Scarlett 2i2
• Test Record: CBS STR-100 Issue 3

Neat carbon fiber integrated headshell cartridge. Sounds nice. I've been listening to this a lot recently.

 

[tpd]

Pioneer PC-35

Notes:

• Cartridge: Pioneer PC-35
• Stylus: Pioneer PN-35 .5 mil spherical
• Turntable: Denon DP-3000
• Tonearm: Denon DA-50
• Tracking Force: 1.0g
• Phono Stage: Cambridge Audio Solo (47k / 150pF)
• Cable Capacitance: 95pF measured
• ADC: Focusrite Scarlett 2i2
• Test Record: CBS STR-100 Issue 3

Recent purchase. Cartridge and stylus appear unused. I could see no wear on the stylus under magnification. I listened to half an album side before doing this measurement, so I don't have any opinions other than it sounded pretty nice. This chart certainly has me intrigued. Probably staying on the turntable for a while.

 

[tpd]

Shure M95EDM + Pfanstiel 4767-ED stylus

Notes:

• Cartridge: Shure M95EDM
• Stylus: Pfanstiel 4767-DE .3 x .7 stylus
• Turntable: Denon DP-3000
• Tonearm: Denon DA-50
• Tracking Force: 1.75g
• Phono Stage: Cambridge Audio Solo (47k / 150pF)
• Cable Capacitance: 95pF measured
• ADC: Focusrite Scarlett 2i2
• Test Record: CBS STR-100 Issue 3

I was hesitant to post this, but decided a data point is needed if we're doing something like science. As I understand it, an M95EDM is an M95ED version intended for use as the supplied cart on a turntable package. It came to me sans stylus. The 4767-DE came to me in a lot of old aftermarket styluses. Definitely not Shure-made and there was no country of origin noted on the package. This should not be considered equivalent to current Pfanstiel or EVG Japan/Switzerland offerings, but I can't say more about it than that.

Not sure what that glitch at 12k is. Not a bad cartridge to listen to. Maybe it needs some more setup attention. Maybe it needs time to run in. Maybe it's just a meh aftermarket stylus.

 

[mackat]

Nagaoka MP-500

I know that this one has been long awaited! With the yen so low, I decided to finally purchase one through CDJapan last month.

According to the Hi-Fi News review of this cartridge, "The flagship of Nagaoka's 'Moving Permalloy' range can trace its lineage back to ADC's 10E pick-up from 1964."

From the measurements done by Miller Audio Research in that same review, we notice something a bit peculiar about its frequency response. It shows a gradual peak from 1 to 6 kHz, followed by a fairly drastic slope downward that reaches -7 dB at 20 kHz!

There are some other measurements floating around which show a similar phenomenon, as well as older Nagaoka measurements that do not.

What does the Nagaoka MP-500 as sold today's frequency response look like?

Here are some graphs showing measurements I've taken with a couple of different turntable, tonearm, and phono preamp combinations, along with some variations in azimuth, VTF (2g is a typo, it is actually 1.8), and VTA:

I would call that extremely flat! No sharp downward slope to be seen here. Likely one of the flattest cartridges available for purchase new today.

Distortion is a little high compared to the best we've seen, but it's not bad.

The MP-500 tracked beautifully on the Ortofon test record, only mistracking at the highest 100 µm test track, IIRC. Even this could possibly be ameliorated with more precise setup.

The compliance is almost certainly higher than indicated, as I get a resonance of ~5 Hz on the EPA-100 and ~6 Hz on the EPA-A250.

I still need to test it on an A501H with a phono stage that doesn't have an always-on subsonic filter.

So, what explains the totally different frequency response shown in other measurements? A production change? (possible) Unit-to-unit variation? (doubtful)

I certainly don't know!

One strange phenomenon I did experience on both turntables is an occasional, seemingly random, and very disconcerting sounding static discharge. A quick Google search will show that this has been reported by a number of people across the Nagaoka line of cartridges.

Someone responded to me on another forum that it is caused by static building up in the generator, and can be prevented by occasionally putting a drop of anti-static fluid or stylus cleaner onto the cantilever. I have not tried that myself, and, as always, YMMV.

All in all, I am very glad I decided to buy this cartridge to test, and am quite impressed with it!

 

[Balle Clorin]

Wow A Linear cartridge! maybe THAT should be my dream cartridge from now on

 

[morillon]

Wow A Linear cartridge! maybe THAT should be my dream cartridge from now on

reading this feedback, it seems that you really need a very light arm.. 5 or 6hz are really, without exaggerating the theoretical approaches, very low... surprising....

the reasoning frequency of the board is actually how much ?

 

[USER]

Nagaoka MP500 Measurements 2 (and 3)
Click to increase size

Notes

• These were kindly done by @djwkyoto last year
• The plan is to revisit them as we want to figure out the cause of the dip
  • My guess was test record warping or some sort of set-up issue
    • Perhaps even tonearm mismatch as was brought up
• Regardless, we still see the same flat response until 15k or so!
• The stylus has between 100-200 hours on it
• Distortion is again a bit disappointing for the price
  • But it could also be test record related
• Glad to see a linear cartridge after the great disappointment of the Ortofon Black
  • Is this it these days?

So, what explains the totally different frequency response shown in other measurements? A production change? (possible) Unit-to-unit variation? (doubtful)

I certainly don't know!

My wager is that there was a production change at some point. One of the earliest measurements on this site is of a MP500 done by @watchnerd and it was in agreement with the "professional" measurements of the time. As mentioned, the slope is consistent even though loading seems to be different.

Wow A Linear cartridge! maybe THAT should be my dream cartridge from now on

Based upon the static issue mentioned that others also describe, you may want to avoid it if your home runs dry in the winter.

Someone responded to me on another forum that it is caused by static building up in the generator, and can be prevented by occasionally putting a drop of anti-static fluid or stylus cleaner onto the cantilever. I have not tried that myself, and, as always, YMMV.

Also if one puts some sort of fluid prior to playback to avoid this issue any sort of weight added to the cantilever will alter the frequency response.

 

[Thomas_A]

Nagaoka MP500 Measurements 2 (and 3)
Click to increase size

View attachment 358479View attachment 358480
Notes

• These were kindly done by @djwkyoto last year
• The plan is to revisit them as we want to figure out the cause of the dip
  • My guess was test record warping or some sort of set-up issue
    • Perhaps even tonearm mismatch as was brought up
• Regardless, we still see the same flat response until 15k or so!
• The stylus has between 100-200 hours on it
• Distortion is again a bit disappointing for the price
  • But it could also be test record related
• Glad to see a linear cartridge after the great disappointment of the Ortofon Black
  • Is this it these days?

My wager is that there was a production change at some point. One of the earliest measurements on this site is of a MP500 done by @watchnerd and it was in agreement with the "professional" measurements of the time. As mentioned, the slope is consistent even though loading seems to be different.
View attachment 358476
View attachment 358477View attachment 358475



Based upon the static issue mentioned that others also describe, you may want to avoid it if your home runs dry in the winter.



Also if one puts some sort of fluid prior to playback to avoid this issue any sort of weight added to the cantilever will alter the frequency response.

What is the load of that mini-DSP?

 

[Balle Clorin]

Ohhn…shoot nothing is perfect, except CD.

 

[USER]

What is the load of that mini-DSP?

The miniDSP SHD is acting as an ADC in this set-up. The Cambridge Alva Duo has a single setting of 100pF if I recall correctly.

Cambridge Audio Duo Phono Stage Review (Updated)

This is an updated review of the Cambridge Audio Duo phono preamplifier. It is on kind loan from a member and costs US $349. The Duo has a solid build and is attractive to boot for its price. Back panel shows independent sets of inputs for moving magnet and coil cartridges: I like the...

www.audiosciencereview.com