After living with a Rega Elys 2 for almost an year i finally decided to move up to a more refined and detailed cartridge as the Rega was very weak in that department. After doing lot of reading and considering the limitations of my Leben phono i narrowed down to the much talked about Audio Technica 150MLX.
Well, its another species compared to the Rega cart. The amount of detail and accuracy this cart reveals is on another level. Out of the box it was a bit lean and bright, but after a few hours its settling down, the bass is getting more deeper and the vocals more sweeter. The sound staging and imaging is more accurate and the instrument separation much better. Its a very good tracker and all my noisy vinyls have now started sounding clean. The inner groove distortion is GONE.
Reviews suggest that it breaks in after 50 hours of use or so but i have put only about 30 hours i would guess. If its gonna sound even better after break in then this one is a winner at the price Lpgear is selling them for ($350). Another positive is the fact that the stylus($200) can be bought and replaced and one doesn't have to send it for re-tipping. All said, this cart is very sensitive to correct matching with cables,tonearm and phono stage. As too much capacitance can make it sound a bit bright and edgy.
I think my search for a good cartridge is over as it sits really well in my all tube Leben gear.
Best
hrtk.
Well, its another species compared to the Rega cart. The amount of detail and accuracy this cart reveals is on another level. Out of the box it was a bit lean and bright, but after a few hours its settling down, the bass is getting more deeper and the vocals more sweeter. The sound staging and imaging is more accurate and the instrument separation much better. Its a very good tracker and all my noisy vinyls have now started sounding clean. The inner groove distortion is GONE.
Reviews suggest that it breaks in after 50 hours of use or so but i have put only about 30 hours i would guess. If its gonna sound even better after break in then this one is a winner at the price Lpgear is selling them for ($350). Another positive is the fact that the stylus($200) can be bought and replaced and one doesn't have to send it for re-tipping. All said, this cart is very sensitive to correct matching with cables,tonearm and phono stage. As too much capacitance can make it sound a bit bright and edgy.
I think my search for a good cartridge is over as it sits really well in my all tube Leben gear.
Best
hrtk.
sounds like a nice cart!