Hear my Cartridges....🎶

@justmetoo
Thanks for the feedback......
I appreciate it 🤗
Yes....I understand and agree with you that professionally recorded YouTube Videos make mine sound feeble 🥴
HERE is one of many videos by Kenrick Sound which sounds even better than those of @whitecamaross 🤩
I contacted Kenji to ask him what equipment he used....?

Schoeps discrete mic pre and latest capsule-US$5000
Nagra Seven digital recorder - US$6200

And that's just for the sound.....🤯
You must understand that the sound recording for these videos, is done separately to the filming (as you can see in the Kenrick Sound Video where the camera is moving around the equipment whilst the 'sound' stays central) and the two are matched up in the computer afterwards.
There are probably 'Sound Manipulation' Programs available once you're doing it this way.....just as there is PhotoShop and others available for video 🤔

I am merely using my iPad with its inbuilt microphone and zero balancing or manipulation.....
If I was interested in 'monetising' my Videos or if it was  integral to my Business or Livelihood......I might have considered investing the considerable funds for all the equipment required.

You have now managed to 'shame' my efforts and I am depressed 😥
Just kidding....😝

I can only proffer the excuse that the aim of MY videos was to see if the differences in 'phono cartridges' could be heard via the YouTube medium, and to the extent that Posters have been able to hear these and comment on them.....I've achieved my aim.
As I was attempting to demonstrate the differences only between 'cartridges'.....I could have used a direct feed to a High-Res Recorder/Dac and digitise the sound like Michael Fremer does.
The differences in cartridges would have been far more pronounced and 'legitimate' this way and there are in fact, many videos on YouTube doing cartridge comparisons this way.
However this method to me, loses the 'reality' of hearing the sound as it is played on a system within a real Listening Room....
Somehow I think I'm missing some of that realism in Kenji's wonderful recordings.....🤔

Thanks again for the valuable feedback.

Hi Dear, 
thank you for your fair reply and explaining the prevailing detail(s). 

No harm done, I understand 🤩

Not a day without learning something else, eh? 😉 💐

Michélle 🇿🇦 

Alright Frogman.......
Enough already......😴
You win....!!
The LDR reigns supreme!! 💪
The only question is... why you haven't bought one for yourself already...?🤔

And thanks for decimating my Victor X-1II 😢
What am I supposed to do now?!!

I wonder though....why the Victors received positive comments from you in past comparisons? 

That’s a very good question, Halcro. First, not all my comments about the Victors have been positive. More on that in a moment.

My past positive comments have been mostly (if not entirely?) in comparison to cartridges other than the ones being compared this time around. I think I have been consistent in my appreciation and preference for the LDR and, to a lesser degree, the Palladian. So, any past positive comments about the Victor were not necessarily in an absolute sense and in comparison to lesser cartridges it does indeed have positive qualities.  Moreover, none of the other cartridges in past comparisons were (IMO) in the league of the LDR nor Palladian. Not to mention, and importantly, the music being played was different.

As I know you know, some cartridges (all gear) perform better than others when reproducing certain frequency ranges and/or specific difficulties in those ranges. To my way of thinking it is entirely possible that the way the Marley track was recorded presents specific difficulties in the highs that tax the abilities of a particular cartridge in ways that may not be an issue with other recordings or for other cartridges.

Having said all that, here is a comment I made on 1/03/2019 about the Victor X-1 II:

**** My least favorite: the X-1II. With both the X-1 and X-1II high frequencies sound overly prominent to the point of distraction and with excessive sibilance on the vocals. ****

This is my most recent comment (earlier today) about the X-1 II:

**** Both Victor and Sony exhibit way too much sibilance on the vocals and, the Victor in particular, an unnatural dryness in high percussion sounds. The Victor sounds downright harsh in that frequency range. ****

I would call that consistent.

Two other comments I made about the Victor in previous comparisons:

**** However, a little “Technicolor” and with a bit of nasality in the midrange. ****

**** The Victor (most of the Victors, so far) have a very juicy midrange/lower mids that, while very attractive, is not necessarily the most natural and is, in fact, what I would call “colored”. ****

With apology for the liberty taken, here is yesterday’s comment by Dover about the Victor:

**** Victor - it appears smoother here than my sample. On my system the Victor seems technicolored, as in false sharpness - oversatuated you might say if you were a photographer. ****

Again, I would call that consistent.

Why don’t I own one? In short, ET2. Perhaps (probably) unnecessary, but the combination scares me 😱; and I am not about to give up my ET2 😍.

Best wishes and thank you again.

No question Frogman......
You have been super consistent in all your evaluations and comments regarding not only the LDR and Palladian.....but virtually all the cartridges you've heard more than once.
That's sooo annoying because I don't think you've liked any MM cartridges I've played for you 🥴 ?!
Perhaps you're just anti-MM......? 😢
Can you recall off-hand which of my MM cartridges offended you the LEAST.....?
Or should I best troll through the Thread to try and discover....?

But the combination scares me 😱

I think you're wise to be cautious....and I can't recall reading of any firsthand experiences with the LDR on a parallel-tracker?
But it might just be a blessed match....🙏

Thanks as always for your valuable and incisive analyses...
And keep safe whilst practicing 'social-distancing' 🗣