Closest to the Original Sound as Played Live

The Cartridge Man Music Maker

AT-OC9ML/II

The 'Music Maker' Phono Cartridge is a true exception among moving magnet cartridges since it competes with moving coils at this price level - the advantage of the cartridge being that you don't need a high grade moving coil phono stage to get excellent results.

UK Retail: £740.43

This product is not available outside the UK

A high-performance variable reluctance device, employing a proprietary extended contact diamond stylus.

Review Extracts

"... the extreme harmonics of the treble were brought out with a crispness that came as a shock next to the harshness of many other cartridges. Record after record succumbed to the treatment of the aptly named 'Music Maker'.

It was easy to subconsciously compare the unit's performance favourably with (mc) cartridges selling at far higher cost....Many mcs do not manage anything like the Music Maker's 30Cu figure nor do they give anything like its 4mV @ 5Cm/S. It has a sheer listenablity that few competitors combine in the same small body, and that sounds like a bargain at any price."

Hi-Fi World

"The first thing you notice is the solidity and presence it has compared to almost all mc cartridges. There's a sense of unstoppable momentum to music...For anyone using a valve pre-amp like a Conrad-Johnson or early ARC, this cartridge is manna from heaven.

Being used to hearing vastly expensive mcs in a system tailored to their balance, the Music Maker never left me feeling short-changed. ... never was a product so aptly named; never was an alternative so welcome."

Hi-Fi+

"Good price, high output and a winning musicality make this moving iron cartridge the one to beat."

Hi-Fi World Buying Guide

"The Music Maker is an extremely interesting product; it links the best of both (mm and mc) worlds together; it is clean, accurate and detailed like a good mc while it has the warmth and the "weight" of the best mm's. In the end, the quality/price ratio of this cartridge is simply excellent. Only real Music Lovers apply."

TNT Audio

Specification

Frequency Response (Hz):  10-50,000

Channel Separation: 25(dB at 1 kHz/30 kHz)

Vertical Tracking Force (grams) 1.58

Stylus Construction: Complex line contact profile

Recommended Load Impedance (ohms): 47

Output: 4 MV

Channel Balance (dB): 1.0

Stylus Shape: low mass

Cantilever:

Mount: Half-inch