Cartridge loading

@mulveling  : That's your contribution to the thread?, what a shame too.


R.

Raul, You could make a useful contribution to the thread by describing why you (apparently) think Ralph is incorrect in his statement that low resistive loads on an MC cartridge can impede its ability to trace HF. 


And by the way, in the American/British idiom, calling someone a "lier" (by which I think you mean L-I-A-R, i.e., a person who lies), can correctly be categorized as an insult.  Insults are the basis for a verbal "attack".  Thus it can be said you attacked Ralph.  You can't have it both ways.  If Ralph is incorrect in his thesis, that does not constitute a "lie" in any sense. He is stating what he believes to be true, right or wrong.

I think much of the issue here is confusing / lumping together the electrical and mechanical aspects of loading.   Tracing high frequencies is a mechanical thing and while electrical loading will have an effect on this mechanical aspect, assuming that if follows the electrical model is flawed.  Parallels can be drawn between the underdamped, critically damped and overdamped in both the mechanical and electrical realm but the net results are quite different.  In the electrical realm you get variations in output level and in the mechanical realm you get mistracking which creates new information that is not on the original.  Ultimately the choice of what load is best is a subjective one based on the best choice of compromise between often conflicting objective details.   

Dear @atmasphere  : These are some of your statements in this thread that are more or less the same posted in other threads:

"""  to simply say that by causing the cartridge to drive a lower impedance it will of course be less able to trace higher frequencies.  """

"""  [Lowering the R_load]... of course will limit the ability of the cartridge to trace higher frequencies. """

"""  so the cantilever will get stiffer and less able to trace high frequencies  """


Two things on those statements: 

"" limit trace.../ability of the cartridge ""  and that means that the cartridge , by loading effect, lower is tracking abilities.

Now, you said in two of those staments "" of cource "" that means you are sure or you only infere/suppose that happens.

Your theory and posts says you are sure of that and my question here is that you can explain us: how did you measure that " limit trace " as a function of loading and which is the point/value where the loading figure starts to " limit trace " abilities in the cartridge?

I'm asking that because according with what you posted the loading electrical effect is " converted " in a mechanical effect that certainly degrades the recorded signal information.

I always say that every single day is a learning day and that's why I insist in this " controversial " subject: I want to learn because what you posted it never happened to me in the " tons " first hand experiences in my system and other systems and with different cartridges in diferent and same tonearms.

What I experienced always is that at 100 ohms quality level cartridge performance is always better as are and posted @intactaudio  experiences who confirmed what PM for many many years ago proved/evidence when intactaudio duplicated more that one time what PM said.

I'm looking for evidence that I can duplicate in my system but before this if you please the answer(s) to my question.

There are several " sides " on the overall subject but I think that step by step we can have a true answers.
Latter on we can analize that " cantilever will get stiffer ", please latter on.

Btw, you know me perfectly and even that my language/words seems to say I'm attaking you it's not that way and never have the attitude to attack no one. I know who you are and you know the respect I have for you.

Of course that your answer is appreciated and you can be sure that be appreciated not only for me. Thank's in advance.

Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS,
R.

To add to what I mentioned above, The big wrinkle that got me interested in all of this is the trend for current amplification that pops up every half a decade or so.  The story goes something like this.... 

 A MC cartridge is inherently a current generator and the best way to get the ultimate performance out of it is to treat it as such and feed it into a current amplifier.  

By definition a true current amplifier would load a cartridge with a dead short which is about as far away from 47K as you can get.  With all of the discussions of how loading a cartridge has negative effects, one has to wonder how these current stages could possibly work.  There are many reports that they do indeed work, and work quite well.  It wasn't until I came across Moncrief that a possible reconciliation of the opposing viewpoints was possible for me.



dave