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Output Level of Phono Cartridges

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  • November 4, 2016 at 7:29 am #2462051
    DJ Vintage
    Moderator

    Actually, according to the specs, the M44-7 should be the loudest as it has an output voltage of 9.5mV, where the DJ E has an output voltage of 6 mV. The shape of the actual needle has more to do with stability in the groove and tracking capabilities than with the output level.

    As the are both the same techonology (moving magnet) and assuming you used them in the same TT with identical needle pressure, the same gain setting and the exact same track(s) (THIS is important if you want to do A-B comparison), one would start thinking perhaps you had a faulty example of the M44-7. Also you could have the M44-G which, like the Ortofon, is about 6mV output. But those would have had to sound as loud as the Ortofons then, which they apparently didn’t.

    So, no, the needle shape won’t explain away that difference. Specs say the results should sooner be the other way around based on the output voltage.

    I don’t know what to tell you here, perhaps another reader can shed some light (and enlighten me in the process).

    November 4, 2016 at 9:44 pm #2462501
    Deepblue814
    Participant

    Thanks for the timely advice! I think the problem is that the Shure m44-7 & m44g cartridges that I bought some 2 years ago in a discount audio store in Japan (however the cartridges were not used) were faulty! They said they were “made in Mexico” and I’ve heard of faulty Shure cartridges coming out of Mexico on youtube (White lables). I tested the cartridges on the same technics turntables, same manufacture recomended tracking, weight and tone arm height. The mixer I used was the traktor s8 in stand alone mixer mode. As I mentioned, the sound of the m44-7 was not bad, actually quite good almost the same as the ortofon but the volume was also the same. The way the ortofon behaved in relationship to the technics turntable was by far superior (dialing up the anti skate was incredibly spot on)! Ortofon has definitely won me over because the dj e (om version) that I have, I bought in 2002 when in NYC they were becoming the industry standard. I’ve played out using the dj s/e and they are both rock solid, no issues what so ever! I was upset with ortofon because back in the 90s and early 2000s the contacts on the concord line were faulty which is why I went with the OM version. However, I’ve heard they corrected this problem. Again, thanks for your input!!!

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