Van Den Hul MC-One Special

A custom handbuilt moving coil cartridge; Special selected version of the MC - 10 Special with 0.65 mV/channel. The designation “Special” in this cartridge’s name indicates important improvements over its previous version: The cartridge is equipped with a thicker frontpole and an extra small magnet, both further enhancing its resolution capabilities and output voltage.

Compared to its forebear, the MC One, this Special version has a thicker front pole and an extra small magnet which increase output and are claimed to enhance resolution. The cartridge has a relatively heavy aluminium body with threaded inserts to make installation less fiddly. It comes with the bare minimum of accessories and instructions - just the specifications inscribed on the inside of the box.

Lock it into the headshell and drop it in the groove and you'll hear why apparently sane individuals are prepared to spend the price of a decent pair of speakers on a moving coil cartridge. It reveals the third dimension, depth, and brings genuine stereo to the table. All the less costly cartridges here do this to some extent but next to them the vdH sounds like real three dimensional sound compared to a facsimile thereof. The inability to resolve this elusive aspect of reproduction is what kept CD from sounding convincing for so long and it's still got a way to go to match something like this cartridge.

The effect on music is to give the sound ample space to expand and take shape, to sound solid in the true stereo sense. With the Beefheart this makes instruments and voices sound more real and vivid, better able to draw you into the music. You can fully appreciate the contortions of both singer and band to pull together this apparently disparate collection of noises into a musical whole, and you can enjoy the music all the more for it.

Technical characteristics

• Very high performance pickup cartridge, low output and exceptional quality / price ratio manufactured by hand on request.
• Mobile coil design (MC) with silver monocrystal windings.
• Output of 0.65 mV RMS.
• Type 1 Needle van den Hul.
• Frequency response of 5-50,000 Hz.
• Channel imbalance less than 0.5 dB.
• Internal resistance of 9 ohms.
• 200 ohm load impedance.
• Supporting force between 1'35 and 1.5 grams.
• Weight: 8.2 g.

We offer free shipping to metropolitan areas on all orders over $100, except for orders containing the following products:

Televisions, Floorstanding speakers, Subwoofers and Package systems.

Shipping on these items will be standard delivery. If you want expedited shipping, an option should be available at checkout.

We try to dispatch all goods within 48 hours however from time to time the stock in store runs out before we have a chance to update the website. In these cases we will contact you if the item will take longer than 48 hours to be dispatched.

We strongly suggest that items are shipped to a business address, or an address where someone can sign for the delivery. On checkout you have the option of choosing Authoirty to Leave. This will not require a signature, but goods will be left at your premise and the delivery company will take no responsibility for them beyond this point.

Delivery times can vary depending on location. Regional areas may take more than 5 business days depending on the courier used.