Hi guys,

Today I received a new MMC 20EN cartridge wich I purcahses on a local 2nd hand website for a nice price. and it sound really great.

However, today I found another advertisement for a NOS mmc20CL cartridge, the top of the mmc20 line; also for a very nice price. The seller lives not too far away from me and invited me to check the cartridge under a microscope. since I am not yet convinced that this cartridge is indeed NOS I am wondering what too look at when looking through the microscope. Anyone got experience with this? Any comments would be appriciated. Also pictures of new and old styli would be great.

Thanx,
Jasper

First, I would look for obvious signs of age or use on the cartridge or stylus--rust, corrosion, discoloration, stains, etc. Beyond that, you're not going to discern much from the microscope other than perhaps making sure it the stylus looks relatively clean and shiny. Even with cleaning, if it's been used for a while, residual crud can still be visible. Of course, since he's the one with the microscope, he could have repeatedly cleaning and scoping the stylus until all crud was gone.

read this thread. http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=87723&highlight=scope

Thanx for the information. I read the thread, wich was full of interesting stuff. BTW I found out that the guy who was supposed to sell a mmc20cl made a mistake. It's a mmc20s, wich I already have...