Moving Coil
Once you get bitten by the Vinyl bug and start to embrace the wonderful world of analogue playback you will discover that Turntables are, an assembly of three separate devices, namely the turntable, tonearm and cartridge. As the quality of the equipment increases you will also discover that these parts are usually interchangeable and upgradeable. None more so than the cartridge, the smallest part but the most influential in terms of sound quality, providing of course that the table and arm are modestly competent.
Moving coil cartridges have always been considered exotic and desired by enthusiasts. Why, simple physics really. The stylus picks up the modulations in the groove, transmits them up the cantilever where, it must articulate either a magnet (MM cartridge) or a coil (MC cartridge) to generate the electrical signal. Now a finely wound coil is much lighter than a hunk of magnet hence the stylus tracks better and easier, the cantilever flexes less and the coils generate a superior signal. Like I said simple physics really. So why then do we have moving magnet cartridges then? Again not rocket science, they are cheaper to make, a lot more robust, easier to use and resistant to abuse. These reasons make the MM cartridge standard for entry level systems and need not be dismissed as within these constraints there are fine and worthy examples.
Moving Coils are the holy grail and this always comes at a cost, usually MC cartridges are north of a thousand dollars, (there are several notable exceptions, Denon DL-103 and Audiotechnica OC9-III for example). Until now! Hana MC cartridges, made by Excel Sound Corporation (Japan) have shattered this price point. Both Elliptical and Shibata versions versions are available in both high and low output configurations making for an easy match for any phono stage. The SL and SH both are priced at an affordable $1195.00 making this well reviewed device a must audition for anyone moving up in the listening stakes.
We have one on demo come in for a listen!
