High compliance cartridge suggestions wanted!!

Shelby1420

Super Moderator
Staff member
Soooooooo, I have swapped out my tonearm for the Consonance T988 which is a low mass tonearm and at the moment I am using the Charisma MC-1 cartridge, ( Dynamic compliance of 15 um/mN) also fairly low.......for shits and giggles my bud brought over his ( my old...) Shure V-15 VMR....to be honest I was not expecting what I heard, what a delightful combo, better in every way then the T988 and MC-1!! I had heard the MC-1 with the Michell Tecno arm though and that sounded bloody wonderful, so me thinks compliance may be at play here........so here is my question--what are some recommendations for high compliance cartridges to mate up with my new low mass arm?? MM or MC is do able as I have a pretty flexible phono amp!!
 
PM's Grado may work. I'm mounting a Black Widow II GF on the Lenco and testing a Reference Platinum for compatibility. The math works. Hope the sound works too.

If not the Grado, why not another V15? You know the VMR sounds great. One of my all time favorite MMs is the V15 III-G. That will also work.

The Grace F9 and Audio Technica AT15sa are also excellent higher compliance contenders.

There are a few MCs with compliance in the 20 range (about the same as the Grado) that may work. Have to do the math and see where the resonant frequency ends up.
 
The V15III is a nice cartridge. I had one for many years and it's the only cartridge I can say I honestly miss.
 
The V-15vmr I have really transforms on a lighter arm. As does the At-150mlx bit I preferred the 15vmr. I'm trying to snag a functioning AKG p25 body to go with my hopefully healthy stylus from a bad cart body to give the 15vmr a run. But the 15 is exceptional, if only on lighter arms here. It'll track fine on medium/heavier arms than my Grace 707 but it doesn't sound nearly as good.
 
Is there any damping fluid in use with the tonearm ? IIRC, this one uses some kind of oil....
 
David;n40837 said:
have you tried placing a blob of blu tack on the headshell to make the arm heavier?

I have not David, did not even think of that actually, would defeat the purpose of the low mass arm me thinks!!
 
airdronian;n40903 said:
Is there any damping fluid in use with the tonearm ? IIRC, this one uses some kind of oil....

There is indeed.....I have fiddled with that a wee bit but think I have gone as far as I can with it..... Actually I have listed my cart for sale or trade on CAM so hoping to pick up something that matches a bit better!!!
 
Shelby1420;40976 said:
I have not David, did not even think of that actually, would defeat the purpose of the low mass arm me thinks!!

Not necessarily. I've just added a 10g shim to mine so that the arm becomes a lot heavier to accommodate the 103. The arm has transformed into something else just for this cart.


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Prime Minister;n40838 said:
Sounds like you need a Grado Statement Master..... :)

Soooooo, a month later and I decided to buy this cart and give it a whirl!!! At the same time I had a linear power supply built for the Pro - Ject Phono Box RS.....Results? Outstanding!!!! Originally though I was sure I had made a big mistake with the Grado, sounded like shit for the first 4-5 hours, utterly horrible!!!! However, today after about the 4the album things changed drastically.......apparently they take about 20 to fully break in so full comments on sound after that!!! Thus far though me likes what I hear!!!
 
Nice ! Looking forward to your impressions... and maybe a pic ? :smile: The T988 is an interesting tonearm.

I saw the Charisma listed. The brand has been on my radar for a while. Alas, it is not cart shopping time at present.
 
Well You Are Certainly Not Getting Your Ortofon 2M Black Cartridge Back!! it has yet to stop amazing me!
 
Jamhog;n43102 said:
Well You Are Certainly Not Getting Your Ortofon 2M Black Cartridge Back!! it has yet to stop amazing me!

Hahaha, it is a lovely cart indeed, glad you are enjoying it!!!
 
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