Vinyl Asylum: REVIEW: ADC (Audio Dynamics Corp) XLM Mrk II Phono Cartridge by mr.bear

Model:	XLM Mrk II
Category:	Phono Cartridge
Suggested Retail Price:	$175.00
Description:	High Compliance Vintage Stereo Cartridge
Manufacturer URL:	Not Available

Review by mr.bear on February 17, 2016 at 12:09:04
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for the XLM Mrk II

It's not easy to add anything of significance to 30+ years of reviews of this fine cartridge. I scooped this up cheaply in an auction years ago intending to save it for the day I had a nice low-mass arm to mount it. My current phono system has recently been 'simplified' down from a Denon DP-75/VPI Base/DA401 arm to a sweet, simple semiautomatic Sony PS-X55s. The Sony has a very low mass arm, its effective mass being in the range of the Black Widow according to contemporary reviewers. It is a perfect match for the ADC, exact height for VTA, apparently, and it tracks like a champ. I'm now running an OEM Mkii stylus, not "super" or "improved" and it has some hours but sounds great and looks very good under my microscope.
My recent cartridges have been a Dynavector XX and a vintage NOS Denon DL-303, both moving coils. The XX has really solid bass and is a great performer overall. The Denon is the most "accurate" sounding cart I ever heard. It's easy to accommodate your ear to the general sound of a moving coil- so light and airy - but "accuracy" ain't the whole game in day-to-day listening. MC's IMO demand a very high quality, super-rigid platform. To extract a satisfying measure of their potential performance demands a relatively massive arm with widely-spaced bearings, the kind that seem to work best on big DD tables. Suitable arms, again IMO, are manual. You may know of exceptions

Topic - REVIEW: ADC (Audio Dynamics Corp) XLM Mrk II Phono Cartridge - mr.bear 12:09:03 02/17/16 ( 18)

The Mark II and the Mark II "Improved" - Dave Pogue 09:21:24 02/23/16 ( 0)
XLM Mk II with AR-XA? - M3 lover 15:36:08 02/18/16 ( 5)
- Shure V15 series were used on the XA - Ross 16:56:53 02/19/16 ( 1)
  - RE: Shure V15 series were used on the XA - Jet Mech 10:33:11 02/29/16 ( 0)
- RE: arm/cartridge matching - user510 16:43:23 02/18/16 ( 2)
  - Yes, but - M3 lover 12:26:15 02/19/16 ( 1)
    - RE: Yes, but...well - user510 14:26:58 02/19/16 ( 0)
Loved mine! But a very low mass arm (6 g or less) is a must. - Opus 33 1/3 04:58:06 02/18/16 ( 0)
RE: great cartridge - user510 17:14:16 02/17/16 ( 4)
- Thats a great combo Steve... - EdAInWestOC 03:45:48 02/18/16 ( 3)
  - RE: that TD126II-B.... - user510 14:58:45 02/19/16 ( 2)
    - A man that wastes his time... - EdAInWestOC 23:30:45 02/19/16 ( 1)
      - RE: Bourbon and Cheese Please... - user510 09:28:37 02/20/16 ( 0)
RE: REVIEW: ADC (Audio Dynamics Corp) XLM Mrk II Phono Cartridge - SgreenP@MSN.com 12:49:12 02/17/16 ( 4)
- XLM failures - M3 lover 11:55:16 02/18/16 ( 1)
  - The first generation XLM (flat pins) had silly high compliance, - Opus 33 1/3 14:36:17 02/18/16 ( 0)
- RE: REVIEW: ADC (Audio Dynamics Corp) XLM Mrk II Phono Cartridge - Travis 14:07:24 02/17/16 ( 1)
  - RE: REVIEW: ADC (Audio Dynamics Corp) XLM Mrk II Phono Cartridge - jubal62 15:40:18 02/17/16 ( 0)