roughlytraded Posted March 22, 2018 Share Posted March 22, 2018 As the title says, I recently upgraded from an Ortofon OM5E to OM20 stylus and I'm really happy with the results -- less sibilance, more detail but I've also noticed something strange -- the volume is lower than before. I'm using a Marantz 2230 and a pair of Klipsch Chorus I and usually keep the volume at the 9 o'clock position. Now that I've upgraded, I feel like I can push it to almost 11 o'clock for the same levels. Has anyone experienced this before? I'm not complaining because the audio improvement is so good, I don't mind boosting the volume. Just curious why it's happening. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schu Posted March 22, 2018 Share Posted March 22, 2018 What are the specifications of the two cartridges? Within the MC and MM families, there can low output, medium output and high output. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyrc Posted March 22, 2018 Share Posted March 22, 2018 Ask Ortofon. This is the OCD answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizRotus Posted March 22, 2018 Share Posted March 22, 2018 59 minutes ago, roughlytraded said: . . . I recently upgraded from an Ortofon OM5E to OM20 stylus . . . Did you change only the stylus, or did you change the cartridge? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roughlytraded Posted March 22, 2018 Author Share Posted March 22, 2018 2 minutes ago, DizRotus said: Did you change only the stylus, or did you change the cartridge? just the stylus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizRotus Posted March 22, 2018 Share Posted March 22, 2018 3 minutes ago, roughlytraded said: just the stylus I was afraid you were going to say that, in which case, I haven’t a clue. Try what @garyrc suggested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roughlytraded Posted March 22, 2018 Author Share Posted March 22, 2018 Just now, DizRotus said: I was afraid you were going to say that, in which case, I haven’t a clue. Try what @garyrc suggested. thanks, yep just sent off an e-mail to customer support. will update here with their response for future reference 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave1290 Posted March 22, 2018 Share Posted March 22, 2018 1 hour ago, Schu said: What are the specifications of the two cartridges? Within the MC and MM families, there can low output, medium output and high output. Not sure but is there a switch on the back of the Marantz where you can go from MM to MC? If so, you might be on the wrong side of it... Good luck w/the customer support. Happened to me once w/my Perreaux pre-amp... Flipped it and went WHOA! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roughlytraded Posted March 23, 2018 Author Share Posted March 23, 2018 2 hours ago, Dave1290 said: Not sure but is there a switch on the back of the Marantz where you can go from MM to MC? If so, you might be on the wrong side of it... Good luck w/the customer support. Happened to me once w/my Perreaux pre-amp... Flipped it and went WHOA! i think the marantz is only mm, there's no switch on the back. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryC Posted March 23, 2018 Share Posted March 23, 2018 Look for the output voltage spec, as these can vary dramatically. That could account for your lower volume. I think those Ortofons are moving magnet (MM), which I think I recall are 5 to 8 mv out or more. I'd stay away from Moving coil (MC) which are much more demanding and usually have much lower output, that can require extra preamp stages or doo-dads and can seriously raise the cost for comparable quality. MC's often have far lower output (0.3 to 1.0 mv +) which is in a different league in demands and are frequently too low in output for ordinary pre-amp inputs. Stay away from "high-output" MC's -- basically stick to a good MM like the Ortofon OM-30 cart (I think that's supposed to be a good one). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parlophone1 Posted March 23, 2018 Share Posted March 23, 2018 If you can figure something out of data published, here is the link http://www.ortofon.com/om-series-p-550 Beside small differences in internal inductance and impedance, there are no big differences in OM line of cartridges. Of course, OM 20 has a nude stylus, in its time it was well regarded cartridge. Comparable to 2M blue today. I tried to find one for my old Philips turntable but it is to difficult these days. So I ended up with 2M Red. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schu Posted March 23, 2018 Share Posted March 23, 2018 I don't see much if any difference in internal performance specifications. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roughlytraded Posted March 23, 2018 Author Share Posted March 23, 2018 22 hours ago, garyrc said: Ask Ortofon. This is the OCD answer. Here's what Ortofon replied: The magnet used on the stylus can vary ever so slightly in intensity. Some slightly higher, some slightly lower. Each lot of styli are quality tested to verify that they fall within a certain tolerance. To give you some extra perspective, your moving magnet phono preamp multiplies the output of the cartridge by 40dB, then your amplifier applies a max of 38dB. So that works out to be just shy of 8000 times the voltage of the cartridge (this is when your amplifier is at maximum, but just illustrating). So, overall the variation can be more perceptible after this amplification. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizRotus Posted March 23, 2018 Share Posted March 23, 2018 Makes sense. Enjoy the imprived SQ. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.