lini wrote:Marcie: Have you tried that yourself? Because in fact the Super M III needles seem to work just fine on the Super M II bodies - just the visual appearance is a bit questionable. Whereas I've heard that the Super M II needles usually won't properly fit on the 1st generation Super M bodies. I don't have any first genearion bodies or needles in my collection, though - so I can't verify that myself...
Greetings from Munich!
Manfred / lini
P.S.: Oh, and David made a good point, btw - the 412II might indeed be a bit too compliant for the arm of the Kenwood...
Yes, I do know it from fact as I own all three Marks. The III stylus will go into the body but will not fit properly. There is substantial gap. The reason is very clear when you compare the geometry of the bodies and styli.
As to the 412's compliance, I think it's about 25 cu, off the top of my head. The cart weighs 7 grams, so it would depend on the mass of the arm and headshell (the latter's mass can be influenced by using lighter or heavier shells).
I wouldn't worry too much about the compliance though. Many manufacturers (incl. Denon, Audio Technica and Benz Micro) specify the compliance of their carts much lower than it really is, probably in order to make a good match with a wider range of arms and 'tables and increasing their potential market size. Consequently, many people take the specced value at face value and end up putting their carts in arms that are too heavy; even high-end audiophiles with costly 'tables and other equipment. They don't complain about any detrimental effects regarding sound quality, while their equipment would certainly reveal those effects if they were as important as convential wisdom would have you believe...
Hence my conclusion, most people (even high-end audiophiles) do not hear the apparent mismatch. When pointed out to them, they usually flat-out refuse to believe it even when presented with factual evidence (i.e. measurements).
Yes, I know it is heresy!
But true none the less.
Back to your AT: I wouldn't be surprised if the actual compliance is much higher than specified as AT makes a number of MM carts with very high compliance (>35 cu, for example the 110, 120 etc) that are substantially lower specced. Moreoever, when comparing compliance of carts, it is essential that you know whether the spec is static or dynamic.
As to the Philips, check out the authority on Philips carts (alas in Dutch but the specs should be readable). It's from memory so I don't know if the link is still alive:
http://www.hupse.eu/radio/reproducers/GP412.htmThere's a substantial fanbase in the Netherlands around the Philips GP4xx carts as it can really sound terrific. If possible, go for an original stylus; they are readily available in Holland for a very reasonable price. It makes a lot of difference! Soundwise, I would rate the Philips above the AT, by a substantial margin. But that's just me.
