I've been upgrading a Rega TT for a bit now (a couple of other threads here in TT Forum) and finally got a real cartridge - the Nagaoka MP-500. The Boron cantilever gets all kinds of praise, as does the line-contact Diamond stylus, and being a 3mv moving magnet design, it would make a good fit for the phono stage in my old McIntosh C26 preamplifier. (I'm not yet ready to go down the phono pre-amp path. Yet.)
Some research indicated that the Rega RB250 is a med/med-low mass tonearm (12g) and would work well with a cartridge in the med/med-high compliance range. The Nagaoka fits this bill pretty well (see http://www.vinylengine.com/turntable_forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=43706 and http://www.resfreq.com/resonancecalculator.html). Additionally, it recently made Stereophile's "Recommended Components" list, so I figured I'd give it a try. My other TT sports an Ortofon 2M Black, also a recommended component, and also featured in a direct comparison discussion in one of the previous links, so I figured this was a safe gamble. The Ortofon is super clean, honest, fast and articulate, if perhaps a bit clinical at times (not in a bad way at all). The Nagaoka MP-500 seems to be noted for having a less "clinical" sound, more of a warmer, richer, perhaps Grado-like presentation. (I have some experience with the Grado "sound" through a couple of vintage and current carts.) While I had no complaints with the Ortofon, I wasn't exactly interested in spending upwards of $600 for a similar sound (not to mention what's gone into the TT, lately) - I wanted something a little different and this seemed to be just the thing.
It arrived over the weekend, packaged similar to Rolex watch.
Mounting it was easy (tonearm base needed a 2mm spacer, too, also delivered Saturday), and alignment was made easy via a mirrored protractor courtesy of a west-coast AK user. (See Barter Town.) The Hi-Fi News Analog Test LP helped determine tracking force (I think I settled in at 1.65), adjust bias, and confirm phasing/null.
The sound? Love it, love it, love it. The Ortofon took some breaking-in: it sounded great at first, and eventually settled in. This one seems to be sweet and flavorful right from the get-go. Count Basie's trumpets are fast and biting, Shirley Horn is smoky and seductive, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra sounds as big as ever. Chamber music, including string quartets and Jazz combos, are warm and clear, and sometimes sitting right here in the room. I will readily admit that my ears were a bit "tuned" to the previous, temporary cartridge on this tonearm, serving utilitarian purposes through the mechanical upgrades: a Shure M97xE. While the Shure gets much praise here in the forums, I'm not a real fan. A quick conclusion I can draw is that when you spend 10x the money, you get 10x (or more) of the sound, even through a system of questionable (at best) pedigree.
Another impression I get is that the surface noise is less - noise floor seems lower, making the background blacker, much blacker in a few instances. It is likely that the line contact stylus rides a different path in the groove than the elliptical stylus of the Shure. I have some very nice vinyl, but the vast majority is used in one form or another, so I have no way to know what "nail" rode the grooves in the past. I have not done any comparisons against the Shibata stylus of the 2m Black sitting next to it, but I'd bet the Nagaoka is quieter.
I have not done the research, yet, but I suspect that the MP-300 and MP-500 are actually the same cartridge, the former using an elliptical diamond stylus (MP-200?) and the later the line contact diamond stylus (though both have a Boron cantilever), similar to the differences between the Ortofon 2M Bronze and Black - same motor, different stylus. Anybody know for sure?
Some research indicated that the Rega RB250 is a med/med-low mass tonearm (12g) and would work well with a cartridge in the med/med-high compliance range. The Nagaoka fits this bill pretty well (see http://www.vinylengine.com/turntable_forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=43706 and http://www.resfreq.com/resonancecalculator.html). Additionally, it recently made Stereophile's "Recommended Components" list, so I figured I'd give it a try. My other TT sports an Ortofon 2M Black, also a recommended component, and also featured in a direct comparison discussion in one of the previous links, so I figured this was a safe gamble. The Ortofon is super clean, honest, fast and articulate, if perhaps a bit clinical at times (not in a bad way at all). The Nagaoka MP-500 seems to be noted for having a less "clinical" sound, more of a warmer, richer, perhaps Grado-like presentation. (I have some experience with the Grado "sound" through a couple of vintage and current carts.) While I had no complaints with the Ortofon, I wasn't exactly interested in spending upwards of $600 for a similar sound (not to mention what's gone into the TT, lately) - I wanted something a little different and this seemed to be just the thing.
It arrived over the weekend, packaged similar to Rolex watch.
Mounting it was easy (tonearm base needed a 2mm spacer, too, also delivered Saturday), and alignment was made easy via a mirrored protractor courtesy of a west-coast AK user. (See Barter Town.) The Hi-Fi News Analog Test LP helped determine tracking force (I think I settled in at 1.65), adjust bias, and confirm phasing/null.The sound? Love it, love it, love it. The Ortofon took some breaking-in: it sounded great at first, and eventually settled in. This one seems to be sweet and flavorful right from the get-go. Count Basie's trumpets are fast and biting, Shirley Horn is smoky and seductive, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra sounds as big as ever. Chamber music, including string quartets and Jazz combos, are warm and clear, and sometimes sitting right here in the room. I will readily admit that my ears were a bit "tuned" to the previous, temporary cartridge on this tonearm, serving utilitarian purposes through the mechanical upgrades: a Shure M97xE. While the Shure gets much praise here in the forums, I'm not a real fan. A quick conclusion I can draw is that when you spend 10x the money, you get 10x (or more) of the sound, even through a system of questionable (at best) pedigree.
Another impression I get is that the surface noise is less - noise floor seems lower, making the background blacker, much blacker in a few instances. It is likely that the line contact stylus rides a different path in the groove than the elliptical stylus of the Shure. I have some very nice vinyl, but the vast majority is used in one form or another, so I have no way to know what "nail" rode the grooves in the past. I have not done any comparisons against the Shibata stylus of the 2m Black sitting next to it, but I'd bet the Nagaoka is quieter.
I have not done the research, yet, but I suspect that the MP-300 and MP-500 are actually the same cartridge, the former using an elliptical diamond stylus (MP-200?) and the later the line contact diamond stylus (though both have a Boron cantilever), similar to the differences between the Ortofon 2M Bronze and Black - same motor, different stylus. Anybody know for sure?
