@lewm , I don't buy used records but my record player only adds up to $18K. Guess I'm going to have to cough up another $100K :(
Detachable Head shell or Not?
I am in the process to up my game with some phono system tweaking.
I read in these forums of many people here with multiple arms, multiple cartridges and even multiple turntables. I am guilty of this myself but moderately compared to so many phono hardware diehards here.
All the continued comments on Talea vs. Schroeder vs. Kuzma, Da Vinci, Tri-Planar, etc., etc, on these forums. And the flavor of the day cartridge. One easy way to manage the use of many cartridges, easily swapping between them, and getting down to one turntable would be to run with a tonearm that supports removable head shells or arm tubes. And yet this does not seem to be widely done here. Is everybody just too proud of all the pretty phono hardware to admire?
Many highly respected arms of the past, FR 64/66, Ikeda, and now Glanz, Kuzma 4-Point, the new Tru-Glider, all with removable heads. And the Graham and Da Vinci with removable arm tubes. These products have a huge fan base and yet there seems to be an equal number of those against any extra mechanical couplings and cable junction boxes, din connections, etc.
I can appreciate having two cartridges, one to bring out that addictive lush bloomy performance and another that shows off that clarity and detail “to die for”. Being able to easily swap between the two, with hopefully only a quick VTF/VTA change, would be mighty nice. If too painful a process, I can understand the need for two arms here; like the idea of going through many LPs in an evening and not being obsessed with tweaking the arm for each. I hope I never get obsessed to do get to that point. But for different days/nights, to listen to different kinds of music, it could be mighty nice to swap out one cartridge for another in different head shells without the added cluster and cost of oh please, not another tonearm!. Do a minute or two of tweaking, ONCE, for that listening session, and then enjoy. There is always the added risk during the uninstall / install process to damage that prized cartridge.
Is running with a tonearm that has a detachable head shell all that sinful / shameful in the audiophile world ……. or not? I’d like to hear from those who have achieved musical bliss with removable head shell arms and also from those that if asked to try such a product would likely say, “over my dead body”!
John
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I could say that I purchased about 2/3 or more of my LP collection new, but covering a span of time from the 1970s to the present. Furthermore I obtained about 1/3 of my collection from the estate of my dear friend whom I know purchased all of his LPs brand new. Because most of the time I was with him as we strolled the bins of a Tower records or other local record store. I treasure all of these LPs. But one can safely purchase preowned LPs, if one is careful about where they come from. For example, in Tokyo I buy used LPs, because the Japanese take inordinate care of their LPs. If the rating of the used LP is an A in Tokyo I don’t even need to look at it to know that it will play perfectly. But in this modern era, based on my experiences, it is a real crapshoot whether a newly re-issued LP will actually be of high-quality or even match that of the original pressing. Some of them are just plain awful. So if I were giving advice to a newbie, I would advise that person to purchase preowned LPs but with very careful inspection of each one. |
@lewm I agree with you 100%, but buying vintage LP’s of audiophile quality in NM or EX condition has recently become a painfully expensive endeavour. Those golden $5-10 days are gone forever. Think Decca SXL, emi ASD, Columbia SAX, rca LSC, mercury SR and the like. Same story with original jazz pressings from blue note, prestige, contemporary and many others. Or original vertigo swirls, pink islands, etcetera. The $100k turntable & $10k+ cartridge crowd will probably never touch those ‘used’ records, perhaps never knowing these sound much superior to those pristine audiophile reissues they buy. Conversely, I know many fanatical collectors of these vintage pressings who don’t care about audiophile sound and would raise their eyebrows at the idea of spending even 1000 bucks on a ‘needle’. Apparently the ‘trophies for the rich’ crowd finally ‘discovered’ those vintage pressings, probably because their prices had slowly and steadily reached their snob appeal level. From that moment on prices of original pressings have rapidly gone completely off the charts and still rising, even without the ‘hot stamper’ marketing nonsense. So for newbies the used record market is not nearly as attractive as it was 10 or more years ago.
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The first thing I'd say is, don't knock it until you've heard it. My first experience hearing a system that probably cost more than you mentioned was mind blowing. Secondly, if someone is going to make that kind of investment, they are likely well versed in what "good" vinyl is. The person that owned this system was, for sure. They may also buy collections of used vinyl, but be very picky about what they purchase, not to mention being cognizant of the fact that old pressings are often better than new pressings. If I had the means and time to do so, I would not hesitate to make an investment of that size in an analog system and the vinyl to go with it. |
@edgewear the Zen Diamond that convinced me there’s no decisive sonic advantage to fixed wiring. |
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