oh boy :) I imagine how they gather around you on Father's Day, tell you stories and make you smile
Do You Play Or Save Your Best Cartridges
I suspect I am like many here, I have a small collection of cartridges. Until recently I would keep a casual playing cartridge set up and I would save my "good" cartridges for evening listening sessions where I am focusing on listening to music at the listening chair. I always had a casual cartridge mounted on an arm, maybe an Audio Technica OC9 III or something along those lines. These days its either an Ortofon MC3000 II or MC5000.
Earlier this year I finally decided to use the DAC in my Trinov pre amp, and this involved getting a subscription to Roon, and hardwiring the computer and preamp to the router with CAT 6 ethernet cable. The sound is remarkably good, to the point where this can easily be my casual listening format.
I almost wonder if its necessary to have a casual cartridge. Or should I just play my best ones as often as I want and bite the bullet and know I am getting a new diamond fitted every few years.
Anyone else go through this kind of decision process?
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- 75 posts total
@grislybutter "what does a 10,000 dollar cartridge do better than a $1,000 one?" Absolutely nothing unless you have a comparable turntable and a comparable tonearm. If you do have these, you get smoother, clearer, more defined, more delicate, more refined sound. Nothing much. |
Is it not that a Cartridge is extremely Fragile and all with a time served experience are knowing there is a Cart' going to be lost, so a spare at hand is not too strange. This does add to the momentary heart flutters when carrying out certain management procedures for the Cart'. I have stopped Hand Cueing, it helps with my needs. Spare Cart's are sometimes available, as used Cart's are not sold on, and a model is purchased that has superseded them, over a long period a collection can be acquired. A Cart' certainly does not need a 1000 hours usage to warrant replacement, some like myself have moved on at a few hundred hours. I have a Hana SL that is with approx' 100 Hours when superseded after a short period of usage and is now owned for 4 years at least. The length of ownership and limited usage does not bother me, I have camera Lenses that cost more and have maybe been on the Camera for approx' 500 Images being captured over 6+years. A Cart' and Camera Lens are a Tool, one is vital to capture light and enable the capturing of a Image, the other is vital, as it tracks a groove, which drive coils, generate a signal, to be transferred to the Point it is to become Sound. The Cart' is Sacrificial and will not remain as a optimised performer throughout it usage life, swapping out prior to the Styli being worn, is OK.
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@grislybutter "what does a 10,000 dollar cartridge do better than a $1,000 one?" Assuming equally good set-up, I believe there are only three variables: design, material choice and quality, accuracy of assembly. The first can be addressed by genius or getting more minds on the job - the latter costs money. The others mainly cost money. |
- 75 posts total