nkoulban Posted June 30, 2018 Share Posted June 30, 2018 I have had a go at changing my phono pre and modifying my budget cart. The results are very good to my ears. I have purchased a Schitt Mani and a Swagman PSU and have modified an AT95E cart. The cart has been potted, mounted in a wooden body and a Hyperelliptical JICO stylus fitted (with the excess plastic cut away). I have also soldered in resistors into RCA plugs. I have tried 100KOhm and 150KOhm plugs. The 150KOhm plug gives me a resistive loading of 36Ohms which gives the cart a balanced tonal presentation, nice bass slam with a still good midrange and treble. This combination has seriously blown me away. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audiofeline Posted July 1, 2018 Share Posted July 1, 2018 I have read that the modified AT95E cart's are in a different league to the unmodded version. I don't understand why AT don't make them better given the difference these (relative inexpensive) improvements make. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nkoulban Posted July 1, 2018 Author Share Posted July 1, 2018 2 hours ago, audiofeline said: I have read that the modified AT95E cart's are in a different league to the unmodded version. I don't understand why AT don't make them better given the difference these (relative inexpensive) improvements make. I think the core capsule is quite good, I am now getting sound out of my modified AT95 with the 150Kohm resistive loading that is a touch better (mostly in the midrange and in the bass slam) to me than an AT OC9/II running through a Blue Cinemag SUT. I had also tried a Nag MP110 cart and to be frank I did not like it, it sounded rough and had noticeable sibilance on vocals, the modded AT95 totally buries the MP110 for me. I have to say that the Mani is also incredible, especially for the money, but when I added the Swagman PSU it gave me deeper black backgrounds and a more holographic 3D soundscape. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mloutfie Posted July 1, 2018 Share Posted July 1, 2018 That's actually an odd loading for an mm cartridge (36ohm) what information made you try that? Normally if you load an mm cartridge that low you would have a massive treble roll-off. Which might be why you have a bass boost. Good choice on recasing the body and choosing the jico though. Did you consider the vivid line stylus? Post some photos btw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nkoulban Posted July 2, 2018 Author Share Posted July 2, 2018 13 hours ago, mloutfie said: That's actually an odd loading for an mm cartridge (36ohm) what information made you try that? Normally if you load an mm cartridge that low you would have a massive treble roll-off. Which might be why you have a bass boost. Good choice on recasing the body and choosing the jico though. Did you consider the vivid line stylus? Post some photos btw There is one guy http://daveyw.edsstuff.org/vinyl/loading/ that recommends a 32ohm loading for a 440MLa to tame its high end. I tried both 100Kohm and 150Kohm resistance and found 150Kohm ideal for this cart and my tastes. I wanted to keep the stylus costs low and the set up less finicky such as with having to have SRA spot on so the HE got the nod. I'll organise some pics when I have a bit of tie over the weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hi Five Posted July 2, 2018 Share Posted July 2, 2018 1 hour ago, nkoulban said: There is one guy http://daveyw.edsstuff.org/vinyl/loading/ that recommends a 32ohm loading for a 440MLa to tame its high end. I tried both 100Kohm and 150Kohm resistance and found 150Kohm ideal for this cart and my tastes. I wanted to keep the stylus costs low and the set up less finicky such as with having to have SRA spot on so the HE got the nod. I'll organise some pics when I have a bit of tie over the weekend. The way I read it he says 32k not 32ohm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crisis Posted July 2, 2018 Share Posted July 2, 2018 22 hours ago, nkoulban said: I have to say that the Mani is also incredible, especially for the money, but when I added the Swagman PSU it gave me deeper black backgrounds and a more holographic 3D soundscape. Ive read a bit about the Swagman power supply but "upgraded power supplies" make me skeptical. I am interested in upgrading my phono amp (I have a Mani) to something like a Dynavector so don't know if its worth paying money for a power supply or holding on and upgrading the whole thing. Is the difference really noticeable? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nkoulban Posted July 2, 2018 Author Share Posted July 2, 2018 6 hours ago, Hi Five said: The way I read it he says 32k not 32ohm I meant 32K... I have loaded to 36K Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nkoulban Posted July 2, 2018 Author Share Posted July 2, 2018 1 hour ago, crisis said: Ive read a bit about the Swagman power supply but "upgraded power supplies" make me skeptical. I am interested in upgrading my phono amp (I have a Mani) to something like a Dynavector so don't know if its worth paying money for a power supply or holding on and upgrading the whole thing. Is the difference really noticeable? It was noticeable to me. Was it total transformation? No, but it was there, it gave me the last 5%. That last 5% was slightly deeper blacks, better spatial cues and dimensionality. For me the Mani Swagman combo is just under $400AUD and if you are happy with the adjustability offered, sounds way better than this price point for me. I also have a Lounge LCR III and a Yaqin MS23B with Les Box mods and Sovtek Winged C valves and the modded Yaqin beats the Lounge and the Mani / Swagman beats the modded Yaquin. I know that this is subjective and also system dependent... this opinion based on my own experiences and preferences. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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