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Cartridges: Complete Scam?

I’m very new to analog, and researching my options on forums I keep coming across the same sentiment: that past the ultra low-end cartridges, there is very little gains in actual sound quality and that all you’re getting are different styles and colorations to the sound.

So, for example, if I swapped out my $200 cartridge that came with my table for a Soundsmith, Dynavector, Oracle, etc, I may notice a small improvement in detail and dynamics, but I’m mostly just going to get a different flavor. Multiple people told me they perffered thier old vintage cartridges over modern laser-cut boron-necked diamonds.

It’s possible that these people are just desperately defending thier old junk and/or have never heard high end audio. But if what they’re saying is true, than the cartridge industry is a giant SCAM. If I blow 2.5k minimum on an Air Tight I better get a significant improvement over a $200 bundler — and if just all amounts to a different coloration, than that is a straight-up scam ripoff.

So guys — are these forums just BS-ing me here? Is it really a giant scam?
madavid0
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rauliruegas
13,101 posts
 
Dear @madavid0: I don’t know how or why you decided to go with this AT LOMC cartridge.

Anyway, yes it needs at least 40-50 hours before settle down completely. After those playing hours you need to make a complete and new cartridge/tonearm parameters set up/fine tunning it.

In this link you can go to " reviews " and you will read what owners of this cartridge said about.:

http://www.audio-technica.com/cms/cartridges/8e67b15a2a48de4e/index.html

Btw, LOMC cartridges are not sensitive to load impedance changes. That 100 ohms choice in your MS is fine. Don’t worry about yet till the fine tunning time and then you will know what to do. If after the time of playing the cartridge you still do not likes then follow the  what one gentleman just posted to you on that AT carrtridge

"""  But it will only be heard on a more capable table,phono amp. """

or learn why does not like you.


Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS,
R.
analogluvr
859 posts
 
 I think you chose very good cartridge. In my opinion I have always liked much less loading then the manufacturers recommendations. Loading is very much personal preference.   If I were you I would try it without any loading at all just run directly into your preamp. That usually gives it a 47K load.  47K as compared to 100 will give you a much livelier open sound but the downside is that it has the possibility to distort more on the upper end 
cd318
2,636 posts
 
Has it not been demonstrated numerous times that cartridge performance (tracking) depends upon the arm in which its placed? The arm in turn depends upon the turntable on which it sits.

A low quality turntable (resonance and speed issues) with a high quality cartridge is always outperformed by a good turntable with a low quality cartridge.

This suggests that there is greater difference in performance in turntables than arms and then cartridges. 


chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
@cd318 

A low quality turntable (resonance and speed issues) with a high quality cartridge is always outperformed by a good turntable with a low quality cartridge.

Are you sure? Tracking is not the main factor, if your low quality cartridge does not reproduce the frequency range that a good quality cartridge can do with ease then your turntable can not help it even with top notch speed stability. If you can not extract what's on the record how come your turntable can help it? 


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rauliruegas
13,101 posts
 
Dear @cd318 @chakster : Tonearm always is important and TT a little " less important " but the main cartridge characteristic ( other than the cartridge " motor ", the transducer it self. ) is the cartridge tracking abilities.

That’s what define the information that the cartridge pick-up, after this main characteristic then the motor define the quality of is reproduced on that information that the cartridge pick-up.

Cartridge tracking abilities has no substitute. Any decent cartridge can pick-up the information but its own abilities defines how much information will pick.up. The other main parameter is the audiophile knowledge level and skills to make a " perfect " cartridge/tonearm/TT set up.

Btw, tracking abilities in a cartridge is not defined by a price range. There are expensive ones that are poor trackers and the other way around too.

Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS,
R.
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