Experience Report on the NAGAOKA MP-700H – Part II: After the Voice Break
Why the break-in period?
Anyone who unpacks a cartridge, mounts it on the tonearm, carefully aligns it, and then gives up in disappointment after the first sour notes should take a deep breath and reflect for a moment. The whole procedure is only worthwhile if you bring two things with you: time and sensitivity. It’s like so many things in life—you get to know each other, you adapt to one another, and gradually you grow closer. At some point you learn that classical music isn’t the best place to start, or that jazz makes the sun come out, or perhaps that too much pressure ruins the whole relationship. Without a proper break-in period, a cartridge cannot fully realize its potential—and therefore cannot be judged fairly.
But what exactly is happening, and why does the cartridge keep improving during the break-in phase as playing time increases?
The most important factor is the mechanical process. The actual diamond stylus sits on a cantilever that is suspended in an elastic bearing, usually made of rubber. As it moves, this bearing becomes much more supple, which greatly benefits the freedom of movement of the stylus—and that movement is responsible for a large part of the playback quality. The only way to reach the point where the cantilever and stylus assembly have properly settled is to complete the full break-in period. Only then (give or take a few kilometers) can you truly pass judgment on a cartridge.
We broke in our MP-700H simply by playing a lot of music continuously. Assuming correct setup and alignment, there is very little that can go wrong.
After the break-in period
Even after the stated 50 hours, the cartridge will continue to change—but the dramatic phase is behind us. The first record played with the now “grown-up” cartridge can—and should—be something special. Our choice falls on WARSAW by Joy Division, when the band was still known as Warsaw. After a wide range of recording and pressing qualities during the break-in phase that the MP-700H was allowed to sift through, this album offers a fine mix: the album version, cut using DMM (Direct Metal Mastering) and thus physically very precisely manufactured, contains the first (good) RCA recordings as well as five bonus tracks among the very first pieces the band ever recorded. These five tracks sound very punk, very garage. So what can a good cartridge do here?
First of all, side A: bass, guitars, drums—punk grime, almost uncomfortably detailed and precise. Is this how one wants to hear punk rock? The MP-700H delivers everything: the craft of professional punks and the chemistry between the musicians. It works—even for punk rock.
The bonus tracks, however, sound more like a live concert: you forgive a lot—but you also hear everything. The fun factor remains intact. Sometimes it’s not about which party you go to, but who you go with. And with our Japanese friend, we feel very much at ease.
When we illuminate it with Brian Eno’s LUX from 2012, almost nothing happens at first. This is partly due to the minimalist nature of the music, and partly to the prevailing post-punk idyll in our minds. Brian Eno simply needs to be allowed to unfold. When you open the record sleeve, it looks a bit like “making music by numbers”—the man (or whoever it may be) has apparently captured his music visually. The MP-700H effortlessly distinguishes between east and west, north and south, foreground and background. An acoustic image emerges before us that we want to contemplate calmly, without thinking about the equipment at all.
One striking characteristic of the MP-700H is the natural ease with which it operates. It cannot be rattled and presents its sense of detail without ever sounding pedantic. For Nagaoka and for all vinyl enthusiasts, the long wait has paid off—the MP-700 is an exceptional cartridge in its class, delivering pure vinyl pleasure to its listeners.
