A member writes ...
So moving coil cartridges are superior to moving magnet are they? Well, that's common ground, but is it true....probably not. It's yet another hi fi myth. To keep it short (ha!) the mc tends to have better detail, and thus superior soundstaging. But, and it's a big 'but', that extra detail tends to be achieved by a failure to properly reproduce the body and guts of music. Put simply, moving coils give a 'skeletal' version of the music, not the richness and texture of the real thing.
I speak from long personal experience of a lot of very pricey cartridges...my current one is a Koetsu Urushi.But it is just a personal view from one person. However, I decided to open this thread when a friend mentioned that he felt that nearly all moving coils were poor at actually capturing the sound of real music. Another personal opinion.... of course. But this friend is one of the most successful audio dealers in the UK and sells hundreds of moving coil cartridges: he's heard, and used, them all. And, like me, he thinks most are not capable of getting the job done properly.
So, moving coils equal the emperors new clothes....great at hifi, not so great at music. I know you'll all agree. BTW, don't blame the dealer for selling mcs, people want them and he has to earn a living ,and in truth he uses a very expensive one himself.
The moving coil cartridge is at the mercy of having an extremely low output that needs amplifying to produce a signal level acceptable for amplification by an RIAA amplifier. This initial interface is very important in allowing the true sound of the cartridge to emerge intact. A well built and well matched Step Up Transformer (SUT) always – imho – provides the best sound for an MC cartridge.