If you can find an MC702 go for it, I still miss mine!
Was the FR MC702 an export version of one of the FR7 variants?
Was just reading a 1980 hifi mag looking at the prices.
£170 for the fr7
£500 for Koetsu black
£12 for nagaoka mp11
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I think of it as a halfway house between the FR7 series and the short cantilever Ikeda cartridges. It had a similar body (and therefore weight) to the FR7’s but a much shorter cantilever. Before the suspension on mine went due to old age it was probably my favourite cartridge, very dynamic but still very very musical.
I tried to get it rebuilt but the supposed specialist I sent it to wasn’t able to do it. I was very busy with other stuff at the time so I didn’t ask them to return it, something I still regret as I think there are now other cartridge specialists who could do the job.
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Well, a lot of playing about going on just now. I’m borrowing these with a view to maybe buying:
And to make jt all work I’ve been loaned a pre and a phono stage also.
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Big Marantz?
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Loved my Vida
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Yeah MA9s2
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It seems to work well, quiet and well
Suited to my cart
Kind of tricky to know what’s doing what when changing a bunch of things at once but sometimes it goes that way
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The phono stage is really just a stand in so that i can listen to records, it’s not under any real evaluation and phono stages won’t be until the amp situation is sorted.
Really it’s Luxman vs the pre/marantz combo.
That said, I’ve know these amps since they were new. I am mates with their first owner and I’ve heard them in any number of systems and speakers, so I know pretty much what the amps are doing.
Nice. That pre is going to leave a big sonic hole when it has to go back.
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Aye for sure, it’s the l28se, so has some of the ref6 mods in it. But I don’t think my wallet will stretch to keeping it!
Remind me what speakers you’re trying to drive?
Harbeth SHL5+
Bin 'em off and get something easier to drive 
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That should be a nice combo. I had an LS26 for some years driving Pass Alephs. I really enjoyed the combination.
How do you feel your Luxman 509 holds up when compared to this Vida/AR/Marantz combo?
Haha they’re kinda benign load wise, but not very sensitive and they do like power.
That said the 120-150ish watts of my Luxman was more than enough. The amps are very much a qualitative step rather than quantitative, if that makes sense.
That said, it’s not night and day. I doubt things at this level ever are. They both sound like
Competent class A/B amps with sufficient power.
But my initial feeling is the marantz bring a touch more spacial imaging and a bigger sense of front to back depth. Possibly a touch more textural information also. All very subtle though.
But it’s a mate that has them locally and he’s replaced them, so in a way I’m sad to see them go after so long “in the family”. So I thought I might take them on, as it won’t really involve much money.