What is the “World’s Best Cartridge”?

Some members posting in this thread seem to believe as digital “measures” better than analogue, it must be better and every audiophile should find digital better. I think they are missing a couple of points. 

 

First, are we measuring the right things, and all of the right things, that affects our emotional response and enjoyment to music reproduced in a system? When CD was introduced, engineers already told us it was “Perfect Sound Forever”, with much lower distortion and wider dynamic range than LP etc. See what happened since than? New type of digital distortion called “jitter” was discovered, which was never measured, or at least not shown in products’ specifications, before. It was certainly new for audiophiles! Now we have DSD, DSD512 etc., and same old story we are still being told it measures better than analogue, so can we be sure no more new types of digital distortions will be discovered in the future? 

 

The second point is there is a personal side to our reactions to distortions, some of us are just more sensitive to a certain kind of distortion than others. Just to share a recent experience, I and my friend visited another audiophile, who had a high-end digital base system with all the room correction functions etc. While the sound was not my cup of tea, I didn’t hear any obvious distortion. However, after listening for a while, I felt the muscles at the back of my neck tensed up, and with passing time, I felt slight physical pain starting from the back of my ears all the way down the neck! What is interesting is that both the audiophile and my friend didn’t share the feeling！

 

I want to point out that I rarely have this reaction on audio systems, digital or analogue. The last time I had similar reaction, but a lot less severe, was with a first generation CD player.

 

The point I want to stress is that since my friend and the audiophile didn’t have the same reaction, I have to conclude that I am just more sensitive to the particular type of distortions in that system. To expand from this, I think it is certainly possible that, we who prefer analogue may just be more sensitive to the types of distortions in digital, even though the “measured” distortion maybe lower! 

 

Of course, the opposite can also be true, audiophiles who prefer digital may just be more sensitive to distortions in analogue!

Some questions are difficult to answer. Some smart ''.. ''asked the religious

kind: ''Can Almighty make such havy stone which he can't lift?'' 

The 'Debacle' of which Source Material works best for one individual to another is pretty much a fuel source that has been burnt.

There are small pockets of individuals, that can't let the embers burn out, the need to fan the flame and maintain some heat is a seen occurrence, especially when a Thread becomes very focused on the Vinyl LP as a Source and discussions on supporting ancillaries are at the forefront.

I have read a lot on digital replays over many years, and more recently read a lot about the options available to myself on streaming.

From recollections, I can't remember a user of a Vinyl Source, countering the discussions about the virtues of using a Vinyl LP recording, as better choice over a Digital Recording.

Using my own Set Up as a description of how the Two Recording Mediums are used, it is quite simple to Comprehend.

The mechanical designs required for replaying the Vinyl LP have been quite interesting to myself, and for nearly as long as CD has been available as a Source, I have pursued learning about the engineering that is offered with ancillaries required to be used when replaying the Vinyl LP.

I never quite adopted the same stimulus for the ancillaries required to replay CD as a Source.

Today, I run both the CD Source and the Vinyl LP Source in parity to each other, when it comes down to enjoying a replay experience.

The difference is that the ancillaries used for CD, are remaining to be unstimulating to be investigated to see where there is a mechanical improvement to be found. With Vinyl the interest still remains strong, and I am actively pursuing encounters to see what is still to be learned.

In a nutshell, I have adopted Two Mediums, where one medium that I use, has a need for supporting ancillaries that I have a secondary passion for. This as a Medium is the one that become available for mainstream use 64 Years ago in 1948. This is in use, in Parity, with a Digital Medium that become mainstream available 40 Years ago in 1982.

It is hard to see where the two such antiquated mediums, are able to attain such a competitive position toward each other, where each is contested for their superiority of usage.

Interestingly from my end, the Digital Streaming Replay method, which is relevant and off the now, and not as such, an antiquated Medium, does seem to be recognised for being a replay method that is very dependent on ancillaries that are noticeable in the impact they can have on a SQ / Presentation. Learning about the influences of these ancillaries does have a certain stimulus, more so, than CD replay in my case.             

      

@thekong 

 

Nicely put. 
 

I am also very sensitive to high frequency distortion and sound floor. I have practically gone running from some systems with my hands clapped over my ears while a couple other folks next to me were overwhelmed with how great the system was (detail at all costs… ? And damaged hearing?.

Dear @thekong : Te digital/analog issue is not about measuremenst, in this thread and other threads where I posted about I never mentioned " measurements " because it’s not the issue. I posted in this thread:

 

" for many years we were accustom to listen it and what does it means this fact: simple we are accustomed to the LP developed high distortions it’s what we like even if its wrong and this is not the issue. The deep main reason is that: we are accustomed to those LP sound along its developed distortions. "

 

and :

 

""

all of us are missing through digital medium ALL THE ADDED DISTORTIONS DEVELOPED THROUGH THE LP RECORDING AND PLAYBACK PROCCESS .

Our brain knows something is " different " down there.

 

You know if we have a " routine " of any self behavior that we do it day by day for several years and if one day we haven’t the time to do that " routine " the brain works in automatic and many times we could be a little confused about due that we have to go but the brain told something was not do it. This is not about measurements it’s how the human brain works that in that case works by " instinct ".

Live MUSIC seated at nearfield position just does not sounds, not even near, as what you or any one of us listen at our places. Far away from there.

 

Look the main issue is what puts us nearer and truer to the recording. No matters what is digital medium compared not with analog but to LIVE MUSIC SEATED AT NEAR FIELD POSITION where normally are the recording microphones. It’s not rocket science is only : common sense with no biased attitude.

Do you think that live MUSIC seated at that position will permits you to listen it , say , 60 minutes?. No way, you will feel not what you experienced in that friend system listening digital but even more tortuose.

 

Live MUSIC has a dynamic power that we have to " live " at that position: is unveliable, but live MUSIC is brigthness and sometimes even hardness as could be the Dizzy horn at 2 m. that you can’t " support " it for more than 10-15 minutes with out damaging your ears for ever.( well microphones can pick-up en excess of 140db SPL. ). That sweetness or warmness that many talk  with analog/LP just does not exist at that live position.

 

Live MUSIC is like poetry or painting all of them a true ART and always wake up some kind of emotions no matters what.

 

MUSIC brougth to us, many times, very nice or not so nice " memories " even if we listen in a radio device.

 

So what are you talking about? Jitter?: you mentioned for the first time in this thread and that kind of " characteristic " exist playing LPs.

 

R.