Interface: Cartridge-Preamp or Cart-Tonearm?

If I sense a theme, it would seem that money spent on the finest arm one can afford would be step one. The logic I infer from the thread is that a cartridge upgrade can always come later --as one learns how to fine tune the front end, and perhaps even listen with better informed ears-- but the arm is a pivotal link, not to be "settled for" or compromised upon.

Does that seem to be the consensus?

While I take cabling to be highly important, my amplifier ICs are hard wired (partly to eliminate extra, image-degrading hardware in the signal path, and partly because I have what I consider a very fine IC wire in Furutech's best), there is nothing I can do --or at present want to do-- to change it.

That would leave the phono pre as an object of attention, except that --again by intention-- the phono pre is built into the system and most satisfactory at present. In my case the counsel you offer, Mike, makes most sense. First because it's a place that I can make an easy accommodation of your advice, and second because everything else upstream is, for the time being, completely satisfactory.

If I were to buy a Talea tonearm, what cartridge would work with it at a $1500 price point? (I know that's not exactly how this thread started, exactly...)

Thanks very much for your outstanding support and shared experience. I am grateful.

David

Did I miss it or you told us nothing about your table?
I certainly would not put $5k or whatever it is tonearm on $3k table not to mention the table/arm match Dover talked about. Unless of course you intend to upgrade the table soon as well.

If I were to buy a Talea tonearm, what cartridge would work with it at a $1500 price point? (I know that's not exactly how this thread started, exactly...)

honestly, i do not have much experience with new $1500 cartridges, either retail list or 'street price'.

i have an MM cartridge i really like (Raul helped me get it), an Azden YM-P50VL, which is on one of my Reed 2P's, which plays way above it's $250 list price. they are scarce and i paid $400 for it. it is likely competitive with $2500 list price cartridges i have heard.

i also have an $1100 Miyajima Labs Premium Be mono cartridge on my Talea series 1 arm which is amazing and also betters my $11k Lyra Olympos SL and my A90's on most mono pressings.

i might recommend looking for a used Dynavector XV-1s in the low $2k neighborhood if you can find one with some life left in it; they are an outstanding all around cartridge which i have owned. a used vdH Colibri is another consideration for maybe $1500--$1800, i've owned 7 of them. however; they are the Jeckle/Hyde of cartridges and very edgy when not happy.

i could list a few new cartridges in that 'around $1500' price range but it would be only thru reputation and not first hand knowledge. investigate it for yourself with a search here and on the vinyl forum on audioasylum.

i own 2 Ortofon A90's, which are now sold out. if you can possibly stretch to $3k-$4k someplace and can lay your hands on one of those you really cannot do any better and i can tell you it is world class on a Talea.

i'm sure Raul could (and has) write(n) pages of cartridge recommendations.

good luck.

Dear friends: I think that some way or the other all the opinions posted here are valid and with with value.

All we know that an audio system quality performance be as high as it's its weakest item link in that system. From this point of view any single link in the system audio chain is critical an important and has the same " weight ": IMHO we can't diminish any audio link's system if we want to achieve " perfection " or nearest to perfection level/status. That's why Geoch or Dover opinions are valid and with value.

Some of you already readed my audio " prayer "/advise that I posted several times: """ add and lose the less to conserve the signal integrity """" through each link in the system audio chain.

I don't believe in synergy per se ( other than electrical audio items synergy/match about impedances ( mainly. ). ).

Dlaloum posted in other thread:
+++ " My philosophy is to get each step in the chain as technically "right" as possible, so as to minimise the dependency on "synergy" " ++++

I agree with him. The " take " is that if you take in deep care on each single audio link then you don't have to worry about synergy between cartridge and speakers. If you already take care and made good choices then there is no reason the system quality performance be just great.

Normally today audio items have from prety " decent " performance to excellent performance, today is not to easy to find out bad/wrong audio items and things are that the whole audio industry is growing up with improvements on each links in the whole audio chain ( in some areas to slowly. ).

I agree with Mike that a better tonearm makes that several cartridges can performs good matched with but IMHO Inna is right too when he said that we have to work to achieve the best and this means the best couple: tonearm/cartridge. Unfortunately till today does not exist a " universal " tonearm where all cartridges shows its best.

The problem here is to choose the " best tonearm we can ", why is a problem or why I said it: because how we know this or that is " the best one ", which one has lower distortions and nearest " neutral " behavior? with which cartridges?, which one help the better to dissipate/damp/disappear the self playback cartridge distortions when each cartridge has different distortions level and different kind of it?.

IMHO it is easy ( as Mike pointed out ) to achieve good quality performance with almost any cartridge in a top today tonearm but from here to achieve the best performance a cartridge can shows is way different
. IMHO there is no one answer to this subject due to its complex full environment.

As Thuchan answer me: not all is blak or white and there is an audio link that for me is the more important and this link is: each one of us, our each one audio/music knowledge-ignorance level and skills because this link IMHO is the one that at the end will define the quality performance level in our audio system.

I think that each one of us followed a build and fine tunning system process according to or knowledge-ignorance level and skills.

In my " process " there are two main parameters/factors that define the road to go: accuracy and certain/credibility. Accuracy means: no frequency response deviations, very low noise, very low distortions, no colorations, no power limitations, wide frequency range, neutral balance, no reproduction limitations, etc.

In the other side, certain/credibility means: true instrument performance " color ", non-musicality but musical true, natural music agresiveness, brigthness when music ask for, same for music strident tendency according the " score ", etc.

When these main factors are achieved then you are " there " with out worry about synergy between " cartridge and speakers ".

So a good place to start is: give the same importance to each one single link with out diminish any in any way. IMHO, we can't lose on that " road ".

Of course, if it is true that nothing is totally blak or totally white it is true too that does not exist one and only one " road " to be " there ": we have several options/alternative to get " there ".

Regards and enjoy the music,
raul.

I can tell you what some of these lesser cartridges sound like on a Talea. So far, I've used a 103r, older Benz Glider MO, Shelter 901, Dyna 10x5 and 20XH-2. I think many people might change their opinion on these carts when heard on a Talea/Galibier combination.

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