Would frequency response of cartridge determine purchase?

Why would a cartridge like yours leave the factory? Because all cartridges are notoriously non-linear

Are you sure that the load capacitance seen by the cartridge when you tested it wasn't too high?  (The load capacitance seen by the cartridge being the sum of the capacitance of the phono cable, which is proportional to length, and the capacitance of the tonearm wiring, and the input capacitance of the phono stage).  100 pf is recommended for the Clearaudio Virtuoso V2, which is low enough to be hard to achieve in many cases.

If the load capacitance applied to a moving magnet cartridge is considerably higher than recommended, typically the result will be a frequency response rise in the mid to upper treble, probably followed by a frequency response dip at frequencies approaching 20 kHz.

Regards,
-- Al
 

I believe I have mentioned this in here before that Clearaudio is on the brighter side. Some people embraced it but some despise it. This all comes down to personal preference and taste. 

"Clearaudio is on the brighter side" 


I have NOT found this to be true of Clearaudio. In fact they make some of the most gorgeous (not bright) sounding, tonally accurate cartridges I have ever heard. very beautiful indeed. A very good phono preamp of course makes all the difference. Its the gateway to great vinyl, IMO.

Matt M

taravana,

How have you arrived at +3db at those frequencies? Just curious to understand your test method before trying to offer any thoughts..

Rgds,
Paul.