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Ortofon Blue MC Q10 Cartridge, MC or MM ?
- Thread starter liemjerry
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mprince
Super Member
That's a Quintet Blue, moving coil with an elliptical stylus. The MC printed on the case is a good clue that it's moving coil.
I have used it's upmarket sibling (Quintet Bronze) and it is very high quality.
Edit/Add - good to have VTA adjustment with that cartridge, my Bronze is about 2mm higher than my Audio-Technica cartridge is...
I have used it's upmarket sibling (Quintet Bronze) and it is very high quality.
Edit/Add - good to have VTA adjustment with that cartridge, my Bronze is about 2mm higher than my Audio-Technica cartridge is...
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liemjerry
Well-Known Member
Thank you for information because before I ask I rather confused for this cartridge : MM or MC..
liemjerry
Well-Known Member
muovimies
Super Member
AFAIK nothing but the name, maybe "Quintet" just doesn't come naturally for Japanese natives or whatever - the range is called simply Q over there and models go by numbers, not colors.
liemjerry
Well-Known Member
twiiii
Lunatic Member
Its a true MC with only . 5 mv output so you will need a step up transformer to drive a MM input or a Phono pre-amp designed for MC cartridges to drive a line input preferably. A good pre-amp cost a lot more than the cartridge.. I prefer a pre-amp so you can match the preferred impedance and gain for the specific MC cartridge you choose. That said I am using a HO Dynavector right now, but do have the Phono pre-amp for when I am ready to move up to a XX-2 model from my 20 X 2 and 10X 5.
liemjerry
Well-Known Member
so I can't connect this cartridge to a common pre-amp that support MM, do I ?
and I must use phono stage? or pre-amp that support MC ?
Some MC cartridges are high output, and work fine with a MM phono amp. The fact that it is a MC design does NOT necessarily mean that it requires a specialized phono amp. This requirement is a function of its low output level...not its construction.
mprince
Super Member
Yes, at 0.5mV it is considered a low-output MC that will not work well connected to a MM phono stage. And to clarify, any MM or MC cartridge requires a phono stage to add RIAA equalization and gain, and this can take several forms for that cartridge:
MC phono stage built into a preamp
MM phono stage built into a preamp, fed by an intermediate gain device (step-up phono transformer or phono head amp, that will add 20db or more of gain)
You also can get external phono stages, these will plug into a non-phono input on your preamp. Functionally they are very similar to what is inside of a preamp's phono stage.
Good luck, it does not sound like you currently have what you need to effectively use that cartridge.
note - edited for spelling
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In response to the OPs request for clarification, you basically said that he needs a higher gain phono stage because it's a MC cartridge. This is not correct. It needs a high gain preamp because it has very low output. This is not the case for all MC cartridges.
Blue Shadow
Waiting for Vintage Gear from this century
Hey guys let's just use the proper terms when calling out a cartridge as moving coil.
HOMC, high output moving coil suitable for connecting to an MM input, but may require more volume control to get full output since these are usually in the 1.8-2-8mV output level
LOMC, low output moving coil with an output level of more than 0.1mV to about 1.0mV requiring a typical moving coil Phono Input, SUT or phono preamp that will handle a LOMC
VLOMC, a very low output moving coil cartridge such as the Ortofon MC-20 with a 0.07mV output. This one requires an additional 10dB of gain to be similar to the others. The phono pre for this cartridge has 34.5dB of gain to an MM Phono input.
Can we just add a few letters to the front of the MC to clarify this instead of arguing about it?
I suppose you could do the same with MM and MI as well as some of the VR cartridges. Some with very low and other high output.
In the UK and USA there are hundreds available. I'm not sure what's available in Indonesia but many of the UK/USA retailers will ship to Indonesia.
Take a look at what's available here:
https://www.analogueseduction.net/phono-stages-phono-boards.html
