As Thuchan, Manitunc and Nandric have mentioned.......
There are several issues and methods possible for the use of arms to compare various cartridges?
Manitunc correctly states that one turntable fitted with two or more identical arms...is the most valid way to compare different cartridges whilst Nandric points out that using an arm with interchangeable headshells....allows for the same result albeit a few minutes delay for the changing of shells, VTA and VTF.
Thuchan points out the difficulty of changing cartridges on arms with 'fixed' headshells.....and I can identify with him in cursing the Copperhead arm as THE most difficult example of these I have ever experienced.
Having said that.......the Copperhead (and Cobra) arm is also the greatest sounding arm with the widest variety of cartridges (especially MMs) I have ever heard.
So the answer for me and Thuchan.....is to decide on which cartridge to 'weld' onto the Copperhead and Cobra arms....and leave them there for a loooong time :-)
On the face of it.....Manitunc's solution of having 2 identical arms on the one turntable appears ideal, yet one of the vagaries of turntable-based playback, is that different cartridges perform better in different arms.
So hearing differences between cartridges in Manitunc's scenario....may be nothing more than a 'matching' issue?
To avoid some of these issues, I have found just over the last 3 years.......that having many tonearms, most with interchangeable headshells....mounted on two dissimilar (but good) turntables.....allows for a really good evaluation of arm and cartridge differences.
But the salient message that both Manitunc and Nandric posit.....is that the aural memory is simply not good enough to retain the really subtle minutiae of these differences over a time delay of even an hour?
Most of us think we do retain this expertise yet those who have multiple arms and cartridges will be the first to admit that we really don't?
There are several issues and methods possible for the use of arms to compare various cartridges?
Manitunc correctly states that one turntable fitted with two or more identical arms...is the most valid way to compare different cartridges whilst Nandric points out that using an arm with interchangeable headshells....allows for the same result albeit a few minutes delay for the changing of shells, VTA and VTF.
Thuchan points out the difficulty of changing cartridges on arms with 'fixed' headshells.....and I can identify with him in cursing the Copperhead arm as THE most difficult example of these I have ever experienced.
Having said that.......the Copperhead (and Cobra) arm is also the greatest sounding arm with the widest variety of cartridges (especially MMs) I have ever heard.
So the answer for me and Thuchan.....is to decide on which cartridge to 'weld' onto the Copperhead and Cobra arms....and leave them there for a loooong time :-)
On the face of it.....Manitunc's solution of having 2 identical arms on the one turntable appears ideal, yet one of the vagaries of turntable-based playback, is that different cartridges perform better in different arms.
So hearing differences between cartridges in Manitunc's scenario....may be nothing more than a 'matching' issue?
To avoid some of these issues, I have found just over the last 3 years.......that having many tonearms, most with interchangeable headshells....mounted on two dissimilar (but good) turntables.....allows for a really good evaluation of arm and cartridge differences.
But the salient message that both Manitunc and Nandric posit.....is that the aural memory is simply not good enough to retain the really subtle minutiae of these differences over a time delay of even an hour?
Most of us think we do retain this expertise yet those who have multiple arms and cartridges will be the first to admit that we really don't?