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Hi, the stylus on my Beocenter 7000 appears to have gone faulty, the sound it produces has suddenly become muffled and very poor (its fine when i steam music from other sources so I can confirm it’s not the speakers). It currently has a MMC 20E cartridge/stylus on it, if I was to replace it should i just try to source the same again or is there better quality alternative? Many thanks, Miles.
HI,
Your best bet would be to have your cartridge re-tipped by Axel. Have a look at his site http://www.schallplattennadeln.de/B-O-MMC-Reparatur-Repair/MMC-Repair-English/
Regards
Lee
So this would like getting a 'new' cartridge rather than a 2nd hand one with unknown history?
milanoli: So this would like getting a 'new' cartridge rather than a 2nd hand one with unknown history?
Axel replaces the cantilever and suspension material - it's just as good as getting a brand new cartridge.
Vinyl records, cassettes, open reel, valve amplifiers and film photography.
I agree completely. I have a MMC20S I have retipped with a Shibata stylus by Axel and it is probably the best cartridge I have now, better than my 20CLs in some ways.
Peter
Before retipping, is the stylus clean? It is not always obviously visible but some dust may have accumulated on the diamond. Best way to clean is a melamin foam sponge (Mr. Clean Magic eraser for example). Wet the sponge and dip the diamond tip STRAIGHT down into the sponge and STRAIGHT up out of the sponge a couple of times. Do not move sideways, just up and down in and out of the sponge.
If that doesn't help, a retip at Axel is your best shot.
milanoli: the sound it produces has suddenly become muffled and very poor
the sound it produces has suddenly become muffled and very poor
Here's a question for the masses: when a cartridge (or stylus) "goes bad," is it gradual or sudden?
I have never owned a cartridge long enough to go bad (except for an MMC4 my children ruined, but that's another story). Do they wear out, or have a catastrophic failure?
I have a feeling the answer is both.
Dom
2x BeoSystem 3, BeoSystem 5000, BeoSystem 6500, 2x BeoMaster 7000, 2 pair of BeoLab Penta mk2, AV 7000, Beolab 4000, BeoSound 4000, Playmaker, BeoLab 2500, S-45, S-45.2, RL-140, CX-50, C-75, 3x CX-100, 3x MCL2 link rooms, 3x Beolab 2000, M3, P2, Earset, A8 earphones, A3, 2x 4001 relay, H3, H3 ANC, H6, 2014 Audi S5 with B&O sound, and ambio
My gut reaction is to go for a MMC20CL, which is the benchmark from which all others are judged.
That said, buying a used and in “good condition” MMC20CL is a purchase based on trust, but not necessarily reality.
Even an outrageously expensive NOS MMC20CL may disappoint and prematurely fail because these cartridges are getting old and the suspension hardens and eventually bites the dust.
My BEST cartridge (out of 7) is a MMC20CL my B&O Dealer talked me into replacing due to its age in 1984. I only kept it as a spare, but it turned out to be my “Crown Jewel” of cartridges.
This personally discarded cartridge is considerably better than my NOS MMC20CL…… which is only extremely good…. not GREAT.
I don’t know Axel, but with his august collection of supporters I am sure you can’t go wrong.
Jeff
Beogram 4000, Beogram 4002, Beogram 4004, Beogram 8000, Beogram 8002, Beogram 1602. Beogram 4500 CD player, B&O CDX player, Beocord 4500, Beocord 5000 T4716, Beocord 5000 T4716, Beocord 5000 T4716, Beocord 8004, Beocord 9000, Beomaster 1000, Beomaster 1600, Beomaster 2400.2, Beomaster 2400.2, Beomaster 4400, Beomaster 4500, Beolab 5000, Beomaster 5000, BeoCenter 9000. BeoSound Century, S-45.2, S-45.2, S-75, S-75, M-75, M-100, MC 120.2 speakers; B&O Illuminated Sign (with crown & red logo). B&O grey & black Illuminated Sign, B&O black Plexiglas dealer sign, B&O ash tray, B&O (Orrefors) dealer award vase, B&O Beotime Clock. Navy blue B&O baseball cap, B&O T-shirt X2, B&O black ball point pen, B&O Retail Management Binder
My favourite ever was my MMC6000. Very detailed with a slight rise in the treble. This was when I could hear that! I lent the turntable to my mother in law but never got the cartridge back.
My MMC6000 was one of the series of gifts from my B&O buddy in California, who also gave me a pair of S75 & S45 speakers, a Beogram 8000 & 1602, along with a MMC 4000, MMC20CL, and the MMC6000.
This really good friend is….. how can I put this? Frugal, very frugal, so the quality of my MMC6000 maybe a bit suspect, yet judging from a considerable amount of time spent with these cartridges, I would need to place it just below the NOS MMC20CL, which would make it very, very good.
If I had perhaps a better example I might well be joining Peter in the praise of this fine cartridge. However the one thing that would (and will always) hold back my personal endorsement of this cartridge is its uncanny ability to find and attract crud.
Seriously, the MMC6000 is a crud magnet and its wonderful sound goes away after two or three plays and one is forced to take the cartridge out and clean it.
The reason I toss my vote with Axel or Soundsmiths is with either, you will get a “new” cartridge.
In my case I got lucky with virtually every used cartridge, but I don’t know if one can really count on luck. And in any case, the clock is ticking vis-à-vis the suspension.
Rich: Here's a question for the masses: when a cartridge (or stylus) "goes bad," is it gradual or sudden?
On one memorable occasion, I had an MMC5 fail halfway through a record. I was listening as I cooked dinner and noticed that things had gone a bit muffled - had a look and there was dust on the stylus, so I cleaned it and put it back into the groove.
All was well for a few minutes, then it went very muffled again - as I walked towards it, the sound suddenly faded, the arm skated across the record, lifted off at the end and switched off. I checked the stylus - tip gone!
AdamS: Rich: Here's a question for the masses: when a cartridge (or stylus) "goes bad," is it gradual or sudden? On one memorable occasion, I had an MMC5 fail halfway through a record. I was listening as I cooked dinner and noticed that things had gone a bit muffled - had a look and there was dust on the stylus, so I cleaned it and put it back into the groove. All was well for a few minutes, then it went very muffled again - as I walked towards it, the sound suddenly faded, the arm skated across the record, lifted off at the end and switched off. I checked the stylus - tip gone!
Adam,
Normal wear takes many years so by definition is extremely gradual.
The hardening of the suspension also takes many years and is gradual, but I imagine when this hardening reaches a “tipping point” the affect is a sudden change and a “game changer.”
Loosing the tip however is the result of glue failure and is sudden and extreme.
There are very different opinions vis-à-vis the stylus tip wear, some with their 200X microscopes ready and willing to show “wear,” but for me, I don’t buy that. Stylus tips are all either diamond or at the worst, sapphire.
I am a jeweller and am very familiar with the hardness of a diamond, the hardest mineral on Earth and considering the extremely light pressure a Beogram 4000 or 8000 series places on the stylus tip, which is up against vinyl with small amounts of contaminate (common dust), the diamond wins.
Keep your records clean and the stylus will last even longer.
The suspension is wild card here. It could fail in 5 years or just as easily go 20….. who knows?
My BEST cartridge is a MMC20CL that I replaced/retired in about 1981, purchased new with my first Beogram 4002 in 1977, which makes it 37 years old. And to add to the mystery of it all, this old cartridge is clearly better in every respect to the NOS sealed package MMC20CL I purchased for my Beogram 4000, but after several comparisons plays, put the old cartridge back and gave the NOS one to my Beogram 4004.
If you feel confused, join the crowd. Cartridges are made to be identical….. they ain’t. (That’s why there are MMC1’s….. which are nothing more than the best of the MMC2’s.)