MC-MM-MI CARTRIDGES . DO YOU KNOW WHICH HAS BETTER QUALITY PERFORMANCE? REALLY?

Dear @terry9 ​@mijostyn  and friends:It's obvious that not only the " color " on each cartridge changes but mainly the " color " where the other named characteristics change too but in different way and in way lower gradation.

 

Now, my audio/sound/MUSIC experiences through over 40+ years gave me a lot of lessons on how a human being " hears and listen and in my case this is what I do when listening at my place and what I learned it happening:

first I like to listen MUSIC/recordings at nigth when the street noise floor is lower as is my building noise floor.

I never wear any kind of clothe not made it by natural fabric as cotton, wool, silk and the like.

I don't listen with the room/system ligth off but not very shiny and I never listen with my eyes closed. Yes, my seat position is near field and when I want to listen something seriously by seat is a wood chair with my head totally free of any near boundary because my normal seat is a confortable couch that absorb the sound from speakers what is not a good idea.

 

" 

There's Life Above 20 Kilohertz!
A Survey of Musical Instrument Spectra to 102.4 KHz

---

James Boyk
California Institute of Technology
Music Lab, 0-51 Caltech, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
Tel: +626 395-4590, E-mail: boyk@caltech.edu
Home: http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~musiclab

Copyright © 1992, 1997 James Boyk. All rights reserved.

 

Abstract

At least one member of each instrument family (strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion) produces energy to 40 kHz or above, and the spectra of some instruments reach this work's measurement limit of 102.4 kHz. Harmonics of muted trumpet extend to 80 kHz; violin and oboe, to above 40 kHz; and a cymbal crash was still strong at 100 kHz. In these particular examples, the proportion of energy above 20 kHz is, for the muted trumpet, 2 percent; violin, 0.04 percent; oboe, 0.01 percent; and cymbals, 40 percent. Instruments surveyed are trumpet with Harmon ("wah-wah") and straight mutes; French horn muted, unmuted and bell up; violin sul ponticello and double-stopped; oboe; claves; triangle; a drum rimshot; crash cymbals; piano; jangling keys; and sibilant speech. A discussion of the significance of these results describes others' work on perception of air- and bone-conducted ultrasound; and points out that even if ultrasound be taken as having no effect on perception of live sound, yet its presence may still pose a problem to the audio equipment designer and recording engineer. Given the existence of musical-instrument energy above 20 kilohertz, it is natural to ask whether the energy matters to human perception or music recording. The common view is that energy above 20 kHz does not matter, but AES preprint 3207 by Oohashi et al. claims that reproduced sound above 26 kHz "induces activation of alpha-EEG (electroencephalogram) rhythms that persist in the absence of high frequency stimulation, and can affect perception of sound quality." [4]       Oohashi and his colleagues recorded gamelan to a bandwidth of 60 kHz, and played back the recording to listeners through a speaker system with an extra tweeter for the range above 26 kHz. This tweeter was driven by its own amplifier, and the 26 kHz electronic crossover before the amplifier used steep filters. The experimenters found that the listeners' EEGs and their subjective ratings of the sound quality were affected by whether this "ultra-tweeter" was on or off, even though the listeners explicitly denied that the reproduced sound was affected by the ultra-tweeter, and also denied, when presented with the ultrasonics alone, that any sound at all was being played.       From the fact that changes in subjects' EEGs "persist in the absence of high frequency stimulation," Oohashi and his colleagues infer that in audio comparisons, a substantial silent period is required between successive samples to avoid the second evaluation's being corrupted by "hangover" of reaction to the first.       The preprint gives photos of EEG results for only three of sixteen subjects. I hope that more will be published. In a paper published in Science, Lenhardt et al. report that "bone-conducted ultrasonic hearing has been found capable of supporting frequency discrimination and speech detection in normal, older hearing-impaired, and profoundly deaf human subjects." [5] They speculate that the saccule may be involved, this being "an otolithic organ that responds to acceleration and gravity and may be responsible for transduction of sound after destruction of the cochlea," and they further point out that the saccule has neural cross-connections with the cochlea. [6] Even if we assume that air-conducted ultrasound does not affect direct perception of live sound, it might still affect us indirectly through interfering with the recording process. Every recording engineer knows that speech sibilants (Figure 10), jangling key rings (Figure 15), and muted trumpets (Figures 1 to 3) can expose problems in recording equipment. If the problems come from energy below 20 kHz, then the recording engineer simply needs better equipment. But if the problems prove to come from the energy beyond 20 kHz, then what's needed is either filtering, which is difficult to carry out without sonically harmful side effects; or wider bandwidth in the entire recording chain, including the storage medium; or a combination of the two.       On the other hand, if the assumption of the previous paragraph be wrong — if it is determined that sound components beyond 20 kHz do matter to human musical perception and pleasure — then for highest fidelity, the option of filtering would have to be rejected, and recording chains and storage media of wider bandwidth would be needed.  "

 

Now, human being " hears " not only with the ears but with his whole body along all his different senses and all the concious information stocked in his brain Amygdala but down there the majority of the Amygdala information we are not concious but has direct influence in all what our body does or reacts. Even our brain with all its resources and it does not matters that mijos can listen to 16khz the brain and senses synthetize over 50khz even if the speakers can's do it.

We are 24 hours alive and everything counts that's why I don't listen with my eyes closed because when I close my eyes immediatly I " look " different " figures/scenarios/ideas " etc etc.

The sense of vew is way important when we are listen at home as is to choose a time to listen when our nervous system is more or less in equilibrium because if we are under high distress or something to worry our senses are afected directly and the rhythm of what we are listening changes that when we are listening in equilibrium.

 

It's really complex what happens around/surround us and normally we don't take care about. I care on all the listening experience at a live event or in a room/system.

 

As all of you I listen my system to live each time the developing of the MUSIC enjoyment, I'm a MUSIC lover not a hardware lover.

 

R.

Oh no Raul, a new subject to argue over debate.  Should we listen with our eyes closed or open?

;^)

Thanks for the Boyk reference.

I never thought I would be associating something, that could be described as almost Monty Python'esc, in relation to how to separate oneself from the usual, to enforce ones place as being the authority.

As an individual who does not like to suggest too much, without having a experience of such a subject that can offer some value, and one who promotes the idea, to avoid being participant in the following :

"There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which can not fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance-that principle is contempt prior to investigation." 

To align myself, at some time in the future, I will be in my listening room, with Chalk Painted Decor, Wood and Wool Rug Floor Covering, with Soft Furnishings produced from Wool and Organically Grown Plants produced into Fabric.

Where I will be seated in a free space position, whilst seated on my Cottage Industry - Bodger Produced Chair, wearing Clothing that comes from Organically Grown Flax, that is using only Traditional Practices to create the Linen Cloth my Clothing will be produced from. I will compare the wearing of Such Fabric to the experience of Naturist Listening and share thoughts on which is the able to create the most attractive end sound. 

To keep my report on any findings effecting the end sound produced as accurate possible. I will train myself to not Blink, or maybe cheat and use Matchsticks. It will be a worthwhile investigation to learn how the shutting of ones eyes whilst listening, can be extremely detrimental to how the end produced sound is perceived.

Maybe somebody can contribute to assist with my selections that will enable my using an Audio System, that is 100% Produced from Natural Product. It seems vital such a condition is put in place to not be detrimental to the end sound being produced.

Ah forget offering any suggestions, I'm out of here, the whole idea, is seemingly to myself, a waste of my time. 

The Chalk Wall Decor, and Wood/Rug Flooring has proved plenty enough, with CD being quite acceptable if one feels a snooze is on the menu.  

       

I can sit on a wooden bench and listen to music.

Here again I am going to disagree with Raul. Nobody in the store though the Denon sounded better than the Koetsu. Perhaps this was an example of groupthink. The cartridge did not last very long, perhaps more listening would have changed some opinions. 

I suggest @rauliruegas you review oculomotor neuroanatomy and physiology. Our eyes and ears talk to each other, anyone who has experienced vertigo knows this. When the ear gives the brain false spatial information the eyes start bouncing horizontally and the person feels as if the room is spinning. Closing the eyes improves the situation although it does not get rid of it. Visual cues distort the image. Some animals like whales are ruled by their ears. We are ruled by our eyes. Taking the eyes out of the equation by closing them or turning off the lights improves audio image definition. The effect is purely on the image not the amplitude response. I suggest everyone try it. When seriously evaluating a system I always close my eyes. When listening from the listening chair I will always have my eyes closed unless the music is coming from a video. 

Nearfield listening to multiway speakers is not a good way to evaluate a system as you begin to hear the individual drivers. You can do this with headphones and full range drivers but not multiway speakers. By nearfield I mean closer than 3 feet.