Thanks @frogman. I listened to both again and while acknowledging the Sony has more initial bite, things quickly fall apart when things get going. The Signet also gives an initial perception - that of being a little muddy and gray... but then the lower-end grunt lets you know it’s not messing around! Further listening through the Signet lets you into the construction of the music. I once had a Croft 4S power amp. It was finely detailed and warm and I enjoyed it. One day a friend hauled an early 90 pound Michelson & Austin TVA KT88 monster up the stairs. Hearing the same music through it was a revelation. Gone was the enveloping warmth and detail, replaced with a new, unprepared for coherence, neutrality and most importantly, insight. In the same manner, the Sony is not unlike that Croft amp. And the Signet is the M&A.
Hear my Cartridges....🎶
Many Forums have a 'Show your Turntables' Thread or 'Show your Cartridges' Thread but that's just 'eye-candy'.... These days, it's possible to see and HEAR your turntables/arms and cartridges via YouTube videos.
Peter Breuninger does it on his AV Showrooms Site and Michael Fremer does it with high-res digital files made from his analogue front ends.
Now Fremer claims that the 'sound' on his high-res digital files captures the complex, ephemeral nuances and differences that he hears directly from the analogue equipment in his room.
That may well be....when he plays it through the rest of his high-end setup 😎
But when I play his files through my humble iMac speakers or even worse.....my iPad speakers.....they sound no more convincing than the YouTube videos produced by Breuninger.
Of course YouTube videos struggle to capture 'soundstage' (side to side and front to back) and obviously can't reproduce the effects of the lowest octaves out of subwoofers.....but.....they can sometimes give a reasonably accurate IMPRESSION of the overall sound of a system.
With that in mind.....see if any of you can distinguish the differences between some of my vintage (and modern) cartridges.
VICTOR X1
This cartridge is the pinnacle of the Victor MM designs and has a Shibata stylus on a beryllium cantilever. Almost impossible to find these days with its original Victor stylus assembly but if you are lucky enough to do so.....be prepared to pay over US$1000.....🤪
VICTOR 4MD-X1
This cartridge is down the ladder from the X1 but still has a Shibata stylus (don't know if the cantilever is beryllium?)
This cartridge was designed for 4-Channel reproduction and so has a wide frequency response 10Hz-60KHz.
Easier to find than the X1 but a lot cheaper (I got this one for US$130).
AUDIO TECHNICA AT ML180 OCC
Top of the line MM cartridge from Audio Technica with Microline Stylus on Gold-Plated Boron Tube cantilever.
Expensive if you can find one....think US$1000.
I will be interested if people can hear any differences in these three vintage MM cartridges....
Then I might post some vintage MMs against vintage and MODERN LOMC cartridges.....🤗
Peter Breuninger does it on his AV Showrooms Site and Michael Fremer does it with high-res digital files made from his analogue front ends.
Now Fremer claims that the 'sound' on his high-res digital files captures the complex, ephemeral nuances and differences that he hears directly from the analogue equipment in his room.
That may well be....when he plays it through the rest of his high-end setup 😎
But when I play his files through my humble iMac speakers or even worse.....my iPad speakers.....they sound no more convincing than the YouTube videos produced by Breuninger.
Of course YouTube videos struggle to capture 'soundstage' (side to side and front to back) and obviously can't reproduce the effects of the lowest octaves out of subwoofers.....but.....they can sometimes give a reasonably accurate IMPRESSION of the overall sound of a system.
With that in mind.....see if any of you can distinguish the differences between some of my vintage (and modern) cartridges.
VICTOR X1
This cartridge is the pinnacle of the Victor MM designs and has a Shibata stylus on a beryllium cantilever. Almost impossible to find these days with its original Victor stylus assembly but if you are lucky enough to do so.....be prepared to pay over US$1000.....🤪
VICTOR 4MD-X1
This cartridge is down the ladder from the X1 but still has a Shibata stylus (don't know if the cantilever is beryllium?)
This cartridge was designed for 4-Channel reproduction and so has a wide frequency response 10Hz-60KHz.
Easier to find than the X1 but a lot cheaper (I got this one for US$130).
AUDIO TECHNICA AT ML180 OCC
Top of the line MM cartridge from Audio Technica with Microline Stylus on Gold-Plated Boron Tube cantilever.
Expensive if you can find one....think US$1000.
I will be interested if people can hear any differences in these three vintage MM cartridges....
Then I might post some vintage MMs against vintage and MODERN LOMC cartridges.....🤗
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- 628 posts total
Yes, a vote for same arm/same cartridge comparisons. Haha......I agree that sounds like it would be ideal 🤗 But it ain't going to happen...👎 You know I have 6 arms (5 different ones) on two (different) turntables. So 5 different cartridge geometries with various headshell materials from metal, wood, carbon-fibre..... There is then the issue of cartridge to arm matching..... The Copperhead is the best 'Universal' arm IMO being immaculate with every cartridge....MM, MI, or MC high/low compliance..the 'best'. But it has no removable headshell and is a total 'beast' to set-up correctly. The three Fidelity Research arms (FR-64S and FR-66S) are virtually as 'Universal' whilst having removable headshells and being easy to set-up. The DV-507/II is brilliant for all my high-compliance MMs but is not as great with the MCs. And it is NOT particularly 'happy' with the LDR (you both know this problem)....mis-tracking at the same point on all records 👹 The SAEC WE-8000/ST is happiest with the LOMCs and does less justice to the MMs..... All my arms have been selected to have near-identical performances with the cartridges that suit them the best. You have to trust me on this one....🤥 I have tried the LDR on ALL my arms and head and shoulders....it sounds its best on the FR-66S. The variables are significant I admit......with two very different turntables and five very different arms with cartridges matched to different headshells (and different leads).....the permutations and combinations are outrageous..... But it is what it is 👐 How about I play the same recording with the LDR on the FR-66S and the Signet TK-7LCa on the same arm and turntable? The Signet TK-7SU is identical to the 7LCa except for the Shibata stylus... PS I couldn't agree with you more Frogman.....Deccas never let me down whilst Mercurys and even RCAs often frustrate. |
I also play 'requests'..... LONDON DECCA REFERENCE MI CARTRIDGE Mounted in Vintage FR-66S Tonearm on TWAcustic AC-2 Belt-Drive Turntable Listen for the cicadas chirping in the garden. An Australian summer indicator...😘 SIGNET TK-7LCa VINTAGE MM CARTRIDGE Mounted in Vintage FR-66S Tonearm on TWAcustic AC-2 Belt-Drive Turntable Listen for something MORE frightening..... The 'ruler of the house' saying "enough is enough"....turn it off!!! I transcended my 'Loud Listening Timeframe'...🥺 |
^^ Exactly. This means you have so many cart/headshell/arm/deck combinations that is not easy to tell which combination suits best a certain cart, so actually there are several possibilities to choose. Halcro knows his system´s options and has carefully chosen the arms/decks for these evaluations and of course we totally trust him. Furthermore, as for our home listening situations, probably ALL of us have DIFFERENT combinations of TTs. Not to mention phono preamps, amps and speakers, and cables and our environment. Everything is relative, in the end. So the best cartridge(s) are the best for the listener alone at his/her home, of course two persons may have the same opinion of a certain cart but that´s another thing. This is off-topic of course but true. Anyway, his tests show the importance of the mighty Decca Reference, but the appropriate arm(s) needs to be chosen carefully. I know one arm that makes the Reference (and the Jubilee) sing but the cart is darn expensive I simply can´t afford it now, hopefully in the future. It has one disadvantage... unfortunately it´s a dust magnet in my system: / And as for Decca recordings, the original UK pressings never let you down. Thanks for the latest Decca Reference option, we much appreciate your enthusiasm : ) |
- 628 posts total