kimr@tektronix.UUCP (Kim Rochat) (03/04/85)
(I apologize if this is a repeat. As far as I can tell, my previous
posting never made it off of tektronix)
During the past several weeks, I have compared 3 moving coil cartridges
with my Fidelity Research MC201 to see what improvements have
been made in the last 3 years. The cartridges compared were:
Fidelity Research MC201 ~$350
Sumiko Alchemist IIIS $425 High output
Monster Alpha 1 $475
Monster Alpha 2 $650
These 4 cartridges are rated below on 5 subjective scales. The ends of
each scale correspond to the best performing cartridge and the worst
performing cartridge for each criteria. Therefore the scales represent
only the performance of the cartridges relative to each other, not to
some absolute standard. The performance criteria relate to the
reproduction of acoustic music performed in concert halls:
TONAL BALANCE: The subjective impression of the tilt of the frequency
response - Warm being emphasized mid-bass and neutral or
diminished treble, and Cool being emphasized treble and
(for the Alchemist) diminished mid-bass.
SOUNDSTAGE: The sense of presence in the actual auditorium - how aware
are you of the refections from the walls? Can you tell which
walls you're hearing the reflections from? Is the shape of
the soundstage appropriate (i.e. rectangular)?
FOCUS: How precisely can you visualize instruments and performers?
Are they appropriately sized and located with relation to
each other?
TRANSPARENCY: Does the degree of focus extend throughout the soundstage,
or diminish after the first few feet? Can you hear the
different rows of musicians in the BACK of the orchestra?
DYNAMIC RANGE: Are differences in dynamics clearly delineated? Are softs
soft? Do fortissimo passages break up?
The Key: (F) Fidelity Research MC201
(A) Sumiko Alchemist IIIS
(1) Monster Alpha 1
(2) Monster Alpha 2
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tonal Balance: Warm Neutral Cool
1 F 2 A
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Soundstage: Poor Excellent
F 1 A 2
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Focus: Fuzzy Clear
F 1 A 2
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Transparency: Opaque Transparent
F 1 A 2
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dynamic Range: Poor Excellent
F A 1 2
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
MINI-REVIEWS:
MC201 - Neutral tonal balance, but poor focus, transparency and dynamic
range. Neglectable soundstage. Good but not great bass performance.
Vertical tracking angle (VTA) not particularly critical.
Alchemist IIIS - Very bright, glary tonal balance with noticably deficient
fundamentals, especially on brass. I reduced the VTA until
the cartridge body hit the record without being able to
tame the glare on "Symphony Fantastique". VTA critical
(changes of 1/4 millimeter in arm height easily heard).
Bass performance worse than MC201. Excellent imaging, good
soundstage.
Alpha 1 - Warm tonal balance - a very seductive sound at first. Focus and
transparency not as good as Alchemist, but better bass response
and dynamic range. VTA semi-critical.
Alpha 2 - Very neutral, very dynamic, and excellent bass response. Image
focus such that instruments are approximately 1/2 the width
percieved with the Alpha 1, surrounded by "air". (With the
Alpha 1, adjacent instruments seemed to overlap. With the
Alpha 2, they don't. A good test is to see if you are aware
of which flute player is on left and which is on the right when both
are playing in an orchestra. First time I was aware of
hearing the separation between rows in the back of the orchestra.
VTA semi-critical (glares if too high).
The Alpha 2 also makes obvious the excesses of multi-miking. Things
I guessed about before are painfully obvious now.
RECORDINGS:
Reference Recordings: Symphony Fantastique
Church Windows
Opus 3: Test Record 1: Depth of Image
New Sides (Peoria Jazz Band)
Yafuchica
Mercury Living Presence: March Time (Fennell)
Proprius: Jazz at the Pawnshop
Wilson Audio: Magnum Opus Volume I
Rag-ma-tazz Volume II
ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT:
Dennison Sound-tractor alignment gauge
VPI Record Cleaner
LAST record preservative and STYLAST
Audioquest and Audio Technica Headshells
Technics EPA-100 tonearm modified by Mod Squad
SOTA Sapphire vacuum table
Peterson "Emerald" interconnects
Verion moving coil transformer
RGR 4-1 preamp (accompanied by 3 VPI magic bricks)
Robertson 4010 power amp
Mod Squad tiptoes under electronics
Monster Powerline II speaker cable
JSE Model 2 speakers
EAR CALIBRATION: Subscription to the Oregon Symphony.
THE PUNCH LINE: I bought the Alpha 2. Anyone like an MC201 cheap?
Questions and comments are welcome.
Kim Rochat
tektronix!kimr
kimr@tektronix (CSNet)