PANASONIC EPC 465 C Strain Gauge

Here is an extremely RARE strain gauge phono cartridge...It's the last model produced by Panasonic, and the best in terms of quality sound....here with her older sister the 450 c model...

Just saved from death...

...a "NOS" Lenco L 75...

Let's keep working!!!

NEAT G 30

I finally got my hands on this rare (ultrarare!) BEAUTY!!! 

Listened years ago (it was 2005!!!) in a minimalist system based on a RX 1500 (NEAT was the predecessor of Mirco Seiki) it had impressed me, but, till today, I didn't see it on the bay.
Thanks to my friend Fred who found it for me on hifi.do, finally I can use it on my system.

Here you can see it on my TD 124, BUT the next step is on my EMT930...infact it is perfect for it (it should be mounted at 230 from the spindle), like EMT 929 and Fidelity Research FR64.
From the net the instructions/mounting template ;)

Everything perfect?!?
No indeed...like every audiophile story something is missing...the perfect match for this beauty...my ortofon SPU recently sold ;))))

Rodents on Turntable...

My favorites?....Harry & Llloyd  ;)

PANASONIC EPC 450 C II Strain Gauge Cartridge

Neither moving magnet, nor moving coil, nor moving iron...what is it? 
Why doesn't function with my phono preamp ?!?

During a meeting / listening at the ESELAB (which has developed a preamplifier designed to use with this cartridge) I have been captured by an unusual system called strain gauge, based on old vintage CD4 Panasonic/Matsushita cartridges.

After some difficulties in finding in the bay, I was able to test the features of this particular technology (used in the past for CD4 quadriphonic records) directly into my system.

My early impressions were that, out-of-the-box the upper frequencies were well extended and the sound stage was nice and wide. Instead low frequency extension and depth were lacking (not missing,
but lacking). It seems that this cartridge takes some time not only to break in, but to warm up.
 
Although the system has not previously been "refreshed", even though these are VINTAGE components, I observe in my system that the overall result seems to prefer the high register.

I do not know how much is influenced by the preamplifier (Panasonic SE 405 Demodulator) or by the cartridge...
Anyway stay tuned for the new demodulator coming ;)

PS: HERE another RARE Panasonic Strain Gauge Cartridge

Listening to Vinyl makes you better...?

Bit of a ... laugh

... and of course it makes you better ;)

ALLNIC AUDIO H 3000 Phono Preamplifier

Directly from South Korea this amazing valve phono preamp.


A two chassis unit, one for the power supply, one for the preamp...the bigger chassis houses two amplification tubes per channel, two additional tubes per channel for power regulation, so we have a total of 8 tubes in the main chassis. The Allnic is a transformer-coupled phono preamp and the main chassis also houses all the transformers.

It has two attractive current meters on the front panel and a large central knob for the inputs. There are two MM inputs and two MC inputs to choose from. Simply the best for multi cartridge systems ;)


The Allnic sounds like I never heard in my system...quiet, very dynamic, reveals the nuances of music so beautifully, especially in the low frequencies, and reproduces an incredible soundstage.

In conclusion simply an amazing preamp...not the perfect one (does exist?), but a very special phono stage.