Moving on - upgrading MM to MC, or..?

[Anesthetise]

Hello.

My Phono1 broke recently, one channel stopped doing it's job, so I've sent it to Doc for a repair. For the last year I've fallen in love with vinyl completely, it just sounds warmer, maybe less spacey, but the sound is so sweet and in-your-head, like on headphones... And I love the ritual that comes with it, which digtal, my 2nd (well - 1st) medium, doesn't provide. As always I'm on tight student's budget . Currently I've a Shure M95ED cart with worn out stylus that needs change anyway. So I'm wondering if it's a good move to switch to MC now. What I want to get is more detailed sound and to prolong my vinyl collection' life as long as it's possible.
What I listen to (95%) is deep music, mostly old-fashioned techno, house, jazzy breaks, etc. - hypnotising semi-locked grooves that make you smile and swim in midtone-bassy ocean of sound, some ambient and experimental sounds from time to time as well. I'm not looking for a specific sonic signature, since there's almost no classical (non-electronic or processed) instruments involved - neutrality would be the best.
Some samples of what I'm talking about:
[BBvideo 250,200]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpzQRRaZdbc[/BBvideo]
[BBvideo 250,200]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_tXnw9pkK4[/BBvideo]
[BBvideo 250,200]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaSVbhUktM0[/BBvideo]
[BBvideo 250,200]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lW6EJq_oFJ8[/BBvideo]

My cartridge budget is 150-200 quid, depends on how much will the repair cost. Or maybe I should just get it repaired and get a MM cart upgrade or stylus change, and save money for something else, like the AG1500 (which tbh would be quite smart here as I have horrible AC)? I can't personally test what's best for me so I HAVE to rely on your words. Well, I did quite well with it by choosing NVA

tldr version: I've £150-£200 to spend on cartridge, new or 2nd hand, MM or MC - what could get me the best results, considering I have M95ED now? Should I bother with it at all?

Thanks for any advice I get.

[_D_S_J_R_]

I take it you have a PL71? Then the sky's the limit in all honesty, as the arm should take almost anything within sensible limits.

I was never a fan of the 95-ED I'll be honest, as it could sound hard and spatially flat very easily, something the V15 III grew out of as the diamonds got better. The M75-ED and related V15 II aren't as 'neutral' but I've been surprised how nice a V15 II with 'new' Shure-made stylus sounds these days, treble suckout and all

Modern cartridges for you could be the Shure Me97Xe, which should heavily build on the 95-ED and sounding clearer with it, with a bit more 'punch,' and the ever popular Ortofon 2M Red or Blue, the latter needing careful setup. The Denon DL110 is an old (high output MC) favourite now climbing artificially in price and I've heard good things said about the Sumiko Blue Point mk2 (I tried a mk1 years ago and found it too wispy up top, but the current one is very different I think). The top Sumiko MM type is the Pearl, which is related physically (I think) and sonically to the smooth and slightly rich-toned A&R E77 and Rega R100 of old (the P77 had a fancier diamond).

Loads of others I'm sure, but that's a safe selection I believe, Jico make quite fair modern versions of established Shures, but they're not quite the same. I believe Expert Styli do a selected range of third party Shure replacements for fair money. I don't know where they come from, but they should be good. They could also fit a new diamond into your existing Shure original, but it'll take a while to do I think and cost the thick end of a ton I believe. Shure suspensions don't seem to age though, so could be worth you doing if you love your 95-ED too much to want to change.

Hope this helps...

[Andrew]

It might be dependent upon what works well in your arm. I do prefer MCs though, so I'd probably make the transition whilst you're renewing your cartridge. I do like the P77 if you're staying with MM though.

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

I am afraid I am a dinosaur, I hate modern carts, tinkly insubstantial things. If you go low output MC then the best for the price IMO is the Denon DL103. If you have limited funds then avoid MC as you may be heading for pain, a broken stylus is basically a new cart, and the Phono1 will have a little back ground hum with low output MC. So better to go for high output MC if you are determined to go MC.

As Dave says about the PL71 arm as it has tracked every single cart I have used in it. Dave is probably our best expert on modern carts and Gromit has lots of experience with modern carts in a PL71. I am afraid I just stick to my Ortofon SPU Gold, and for MM I now only really use the the Shure M3D because i love its *character* which some people wont.

[Anesthetise]

Thanks for quick and extensive advice guys. I don't know if I really *love* my M95ED, because it's the only cartridge I have ever owned to date (not heard though, there were a few, but that was too long ago to remember). The non-replaceable stylus is what I'm afraid of the most in MC carts. That with MC being more expensive overally, discourages me a bit for this change.

tinkly insubstantial things

Uhh, are you talking about their sound? Damn, I NEED an experience, that's the biggest pain, because I dont have it :? Buying hi-fi through reviews is a pain in the arse, trying to understand them is like... Pushing the TT signal through ADC, then DAC again, if you could compare me and reviewers to converters - You never know what you're going to get at the end :/
Maybe you're right, seems like it's not worth risking it at my position. I might end up disappointed with money spent and no further choice, I guess I'll just try another MM cart which you reccomend - A&R P77 looks like a nice option, M3d is a bit more expensive and harder to get, but still doneable. I'm satisfied with what I have now, it just looked convinient to make a change, since I am paying Poland -> England -> Poland shipping costs now.

[Anesthetise]

Oh, and talking about hum - any idea why my Phono1 was producing well-audible hum when using? It wasn't horrible, audible within 60-70cm from speaker, but I'm sure it could sound better without the background noise. I guess it might be related to awful electricity quality, as my house is quite far from the nearest trafo - voltage can fluctuate from 195~215V, depends on how many devices are running at the moment :/ These changes are audible, I hate it so much, at least I'm only listening in evenings, when it's a bit *better*. Also, I've noticed that my A80s got a bit quieter, softer since I got them - and that was almost 2 years ago. Is that even possible, or is my brain playing with me?

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

That is a lot of questions. My advice is buy 2nd hand carts, I always do, you can get real bargains. Go for ebay Germany, more choice and nearer for you.

Can't comment on the Phono 1, I think you bought it 2nd hand so I will have to wait until it gets here. Phono stages are very susceptible to hum fields and if you are putting it near the A80's then it may be picking up the two big transformers in each of them. To check for hum field you pick the unit up and move it around when it is humming and if the hum changes it is hum pick up. Cables can also suffer from it. The phono stage should be used away from other things with power supplies in them.

If you have mains problems then the only thing to help will be a balanced mains unit or a mains regenerator. Filter units don't work they may make less hum but they kill the musical dynamics.

[Gromit]

As has been said, the PL71's arm is a lovely bit of kit - quite massy so it does love 'stiff' cartridges. However that's not to say it won't work with more softly-sprung MM's.

For bangs-for-buck and something that can be used into an MM stage, I've found the best by some margin is the good old Denon DL110. It doesn't do much wrong, is consistent between batches, very kind to surface noise and is a lively little thing which IME marries nicely with the PL71's arm. I've had many cartridges in my 71's over the years - most have been good, some great (SPU, DL103, Decca Gold, Lyra Dorian, Benz ACE) and some I wasn't really convinced by eg Audio Note IQ3.

Best MM I've ever owned was the Ortofon 2M Black which is a stunning thing. I really wanted to dislike it, mainly because I'd become tired of Noel Keywood and co w*nking themselves crazy over it. Bottom line though is NK was bang-on; it is utterly superb and my previous cynicism towards it was thrown in the bin. Shame it's a bit pricy for your budget and mine.

[Gromit]

Should've also mentioned the Rega Carbon (only £25). If you like your music up-front, fun and funky, it's great.

Not the most refined perhaps, but as DSJR Dave once said 'its sins are only ones of omission' in other words it's such a fun little device you can forgive its faults. Works great in a PL71 too, brings out the deck's musical agility very well.

[jammy395]

Get a Goldring 1042 MM - Discovered this wee gem years ago and imho its a lovely sounding cartridge, puts many far costlier cartridges to shame.....Both MM & MC.

Moving on - upgrading MM to MC, or..?

I just dont get why folks always assume it is an atomatic upgrade path..mm to mc.