ARCHIVED FORUM -- March 2012 to February 2022READ ONLY FORUM
This is the second Archived Forum which was active between 1st March 2012 and 23rd February 2022
Good evening!
I have just had my 4002/5513 restored by Rudy Schlaf (beolover.com) and am very happy with the job he did. The original MMC 4000 cart has been replaced with a "New Old Stock" MMC 6000. The Pramanik stylus looks perfect and the sound is a big improvement over the MMC 4000. I think, however, that the suspension is a bit stiff because I'm getting some distortion in loud music passages. Vertical tracking force is set to 1.0 gram.
How high can I safely set the stylus force on the MMC 6000 without doing damage to the cartridge?
Thank you. Tom Connell
Hi,
The product information sheet for the MMC 6000 cartridge states its stylus pressure as 0.7 to 1.5 grams. I would increase the tracking force in 0.1 gram increments testing the result with each increase up to 1.5 grams. If the problem remains I would send it to a cartridge repair shop like sound-smith.com, aminaaudio.com or tonabnehmerservice.de and ask them to evaluate it.Regards,sonavor
Thanks for the quick reply.
The 1.5 gram maximum tracking force is good information.
Right now, I am tracking at 1.1 grams. I will take your advice and increase VTF in 0.1 g increments as required.
All the best,
T. Connell
My favourite cartridge of all - a trifle bright I suppose but just a lovely sound. Mine is long since worn out and new Pramanik styluses don't exist.
Peter
I agree. Since this MMC 6000 is supposed to be new old stock then it is possible there is just something wrong with its suspension. If that is the case then it would be well worth it to have one of the cartridge restoration experts repair the suspension (keeping the original stylus and cantilever).sonavor
Yes, I also agree. I would love to get the suspension replaced and keep the rest of the cartridge intact.
Even with its original suspension, the sound is excellent, but there is tracing distortion on loud passages at 1.2 Grams tracking force.
Can anyone recommend a person to replace JUST the suspension? Everything I have seen so far indicates that the stylus and cantilever are replaced as well, and I really don't want that.
I have contacted Franz-Josef Schulte in Germany, but have received no response from him.
Thank you.
Thomas Connell
The web sites for those repair places are kind of confusing for sure. It looks like they started with an original web site then kept adding on to it. I know that SoundSmith, Benny Amina and Franz-Josef Schulte (of tonabnehmerservice.de) do suspension only repairs. They will make sure the stylus and cantilever are good first. SoundSmith and Franz-Josef are sometimes slow in responding to emails. You just have to give them some time to catch up with their work loads. When I used SoundSmith I had to register through their web site first before I could request service. A little strange but once I was registered I was able to request specific restoration work on my cartridge. Benny Amina was very prompt in returning emails when I have used him. The only thing about Benny's service is that he doesn't list the MMC20 type cartridges on his cartridge repair page. I had him do an MMC2 cartridge (which still works great). So you will have to contact him and ask him about an MMC 6000.Do you only have the one cartridge (the MMC 6000)? I recommend buying a new 20CL type cartridge from SoundSmith. They are expensive of course but that is the area of record playing you want to budget the most money on. With a new SMMC20CL you are assured of a good reference to compare any other MMC cartridges you may use with your Beogram.
Regards,sonavor
Yes, right now I have two cartridges, the original 4000 that came with the turntable, and the 6000 I just received.
I have been in contact with Sound-smith and have talked with them about the. SMMC 20CL and the 20CL+.
I will be getting one of their cartridges when I can afford it. Is the extra 200.00 they charge for the SMMC 20CL+ worth it?
Thanks much.
I can't speak to whether their "plus" designated cartridges are worth it. It depends on how good your ears are . I can only speak for the original B&O MMC-20CL cartridges which I think are excellent. Whichever one you eventually get I would be interested in your review of it.Regards,sonavor
Will do.
Thanks.
TFC