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Although the idea of a $1000 moving-coil cartridge no longer shocks audiophiles, it is still not exactly what I'd call "Mainstream Hi-Fi." Audio magazine's 1984 Equipment Directory—the most complete such compendium published in the US—lists only 10 models in this price range, not counting the Kiseki Lapis Lazuli at a whopping three-and-a-half grand! I have not tested most of these, nor have I tried any of the current models from the Japanese Koetsu firm, which was first with the gall to put a $1000 price tag on a cartridge. But I have tested a couple of one-granders during the past few years…
This cartridge does everything right that all the other MCs have done wrong or almost-right-but-not-quite. Its spectral balance is superb, being absolutely neutral. It is neither warm nor cool nor bright nor sweet. It images with stable, pinpoint precision, and produces a soundstage of extraordinary depth: breadth, and ambience, It can track anything you throw at it, and its bass is deep, firm and very taut. As for its high end...Aha, that rising top kills it dead, right? Wrong.
That rise doesn't hit 1dB until around 15kHz. It is not audible as an excess of high end, but merely as a very…
Larry Archibald appends a comment
I've not spent nearly the time with the MC-2000 that JGH has, but I observe generally the same sonic character. I differ, however, with his final statements. I think the MC-2000 will do splendidly in most analog systems. And, although the tonal balance similarities between good CDs and the MC-2000 were not lost on me, the actual character of the sound from the two sources was, to my ears, quite different. Most noticeable with the MC-2000 was an extraordinary naturalness. a quality that made you relax and, at the same time, perk up at the lifelike…
JGH returned to the Ortofon MC-2000 in August 1985 (Vol.8 No.4):
Other than price, hum susceptibility appears to be the only real liability of this otherwise excellent $1000 MC cartridge. Its output is so extraordinarily lo1 that even the proximity of an AC cord to either of the tonearm cables can cause severe hum,
When used with an early-model Pink Triangle turntable, whose drive motor power transformer is in the phono unit itself, the cartridge picked up hum directly even when on its rest post. This should not be a problem with the later PTs—the transformer is now physically…
Sidebar: Specifications
Description: Low-output moving coil. Output: 0.05mV. Frequency response; 5Hz–50kHz, + 5/–1dB. Separation: 25dB at 1kHz, 18dB at 20kHz. Recommended stylus force: L1. grams. Compliance: 20 cu. Weight: 11 grams. Recommended load: 20–100 ohms.
Price: $1000 (1985); no longer available (2010).
Manufacturer: Ortofon A/S, Stavangervej 9, DK-4900 Nakskov, Denmark. Tel: (45) 54 91 19 15. Fax: (45) 54 91 19 11. Web: www.ortofon.dk. US Distributor: Ortofon USA, Plainview, NY 11803 (1985); Ortofon Inc., 500 Executive Boulevard, Suite 102, Ossining, NY 10562. Tel: (914)…
Why bother with three phono preamps most of us can't afford? For the same reason the enthusiast automobile magazines cover the newest Ferraris and Lamborghinis: just reading about them is fun.
All three of these expensive phono preamps I wrte about this month share certain sonic attributes not found in less costly, less ambitious units: all are free of "electronica" and glaze. Their edge definition of aural images is smoothly and naturally delineated. All three produce music on a grand, effortless scale. All, to varying degrees, are without easily identifiable sonic signatures,…
I wish I had more space to go into greater detail about the 1008's circuitry. I'll just say that it also includes a new, potted, fully discrete 985 op-amp gain stage that provides 6dB greater gain (for a total of 26dB for each gain stage) than the 995 used in the 2008, but with no additional noise.
Massive Attack!
For comparison's sake, Boulder also sent along a sample of their 2008 phono preamp ($34,000), which I reviewed in the July 2002 Stereophile (Vol.25 No.7). Immediately obvious was that both the 2008 and 1008 were capable of producing massive dynamic swings well beyond the…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Solid-state, balanced phono preamplifier. Inputs: 3 balanced, convert to unbalanced. Outputs 2 balanced. Frequency response (RIAA): 20Hz–20kHz ±0.1dB. Channel separation: >100 dB, 20Hz–20kHz. Distortion: 0.01%. Noise (ein, MC): 98nV, 20Hz–20kHz. Maximum output: 16V. Input impedance (MC): 1000 ohms, MC; 47k ohms (MM). Maximum gain at 1kHz: 70dB (MC); 44dB (MM).
Dimensions: 18" W by 5" H by 15.85" D. Weight 32 lbs, shipping: 41 lbs.
Serial number of review sample: J016.
Price: $12,000. Approximate number of dealers: 28.
Manufacturer:…
Sidebar 2 Measurements
I measured the Boulder 1008 with Stereophile's loan sample of the Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 "As We See It" and www.ap.com). The voltage gain was sensibly arranged, at 38.4dB for moving-magnet cartridges and 64dB for moving-coils. These figures include the interaction between the signal generator's source impedance and the Boulder's input impedance. Adjusted for that effect, the gains are 42.5dB and 68.5dB, respectively.
Both inputs preserved absolute polarity (ie, were non-inverting), and, with the supplied loading resistor in…
I've been enthusiastically tracking the development of Bel Canto's class-D amplifiers, from their original TriPath-based models to their more recent designs based on Bang & Olufsen's ICEpower modules. With each step, Bel Canto has improved their amps' sound quality and reliability.
Still, two characteristics remained that might be problematic for some listeners. First, the dullness of the upper midrange and lower treble, which I find common in many switching amps, was so reduced in the original Ref1000 monoblock power amp that it was a problem with only a few recordings and/…