The Palladian-A step beyond


The new cartridge from Acoustical Systems may finally be the LOMC to fully realise the theoretical advantages of the genus.
And convince those long-suffering audiophiles to whom the 'modern' MC presentation has been anathema to 'live sound'....that the realism of vintage LOMCs like the SPUs and FR-7 series has finally been recaptured 👀
IMAGE 1 
IMAGE 2 
IMAGE 3 
IMAGE 4 
IMAGE 5 
IMAGE 6 
IMAGE 7 
128x128halcro
but that does not mean I think any phono cartridge is worth $10,000. +

I agree Fleib....
And when you think that there are now $15,000 cartridges in the market place, the days of $20,000 cartridges are fast approaching 😱
When you consider that on the 'used' market, one can buy the FR-7f, XL-55, XL-88, MIT 1, Silver Meister (new), SPU-Ae Gold and MC-L1000 altogether, for less than the cost of the Palladian.....it makes no sense 🚫
I can happily listen to any of those great LOMC cartridges before even yearning for my beloved MMs.....
But when I return to the Palladian......I realise that this one cartridge  combines every great attribute of all the wonderful cartridges I adore, into a single whole.
And then adds another dimension...
If I had only one cartridge......this would be it‼️
Since a number of us are quoting heroes, I feel I must quote one of mine, Black Adder.

Sir Percy: "The Spanish Princess' eyes are more beautiful than the famous blue stone of Galveston."
Black Adder: "Have you ever seen this stone?"
Sir Percy: "No, not as such My Lord, but I know a few people who have and they say it's very blue."
Black Adder: "Have these people seen the Spanish Princess' eyes?"
Sir Percy: "No I shouldn't think so My Lord."
Black Adder: "Neither have you possibly?"
Sir Percy: "No My Lord".
Black Adder: "So what you are telling me Percy is that something you have not seen is slightly less blue than something else you have never seen?"
Sir Percy: "Yes My Lord."
Black Adder: "You idiot Percy!"

Heroes ?  These people are no heroes, just people who contributed something. Whether or not their contribution is appreciated is another question. These discussions inevitably lead to other things and this is no longer just about another overpriced phono cartridge. 

With some companies the name of the game is, 'whatever the market will bear'.  The AS table looks impressive and probably costs a small fortune, but where's the perceived value in this cartridge, some special varnish on the aluminum cantilever?  This is BS.  I think the list price of Goldfinger is now $17K - 2g of real gold and a magnet array = the price of a cheap compact car.  You know what P T Barnum said. 

Lewm, Your post about energy management reads like a page out of the Pierre Lurne' play book. I think we had this discussion before on a tonearm thread and some people make no distinction between different ways to deal with this.

With some companies the name of the game is, 'whatever the market will bear'
.
I think with some cartridges the game may be even more sinister?
There is a wealthy cabal of audiophiles worldwide, for whom the exclusivity that comes with 'high-cost'allows them to imagine that the 'pissants' can never hear that rarefied quality....
The higher the cost of a cartridge.....the smaller this select group becomes and you can see them on self-congratulatory Audio Forums (which shall remain nameless).
I think Acoustical Systems may have erred in making the Palladian almost TOO affordable....for this group already dabble in cartridges costing $12,000 - $18,000.
Had the Palladian been the first to cross the magic $20,000 barrier.....it would have already caused a stir and been seen as the next 'step forward'.
I hope I'm wrong.....🙈

Dear Raul,  According to every treatise I have ever read about the Tiptoes, the originals made of solid aluminum, they were not intended to be anti-resonance devices.  They were/are meant to drain energy, but in one direction only.  In other words, they are diodic in nature.  If carefully placed at vibrational nodes on a shelf surface, they are supposed to transfer vibrational energy FROM the component INTO the shelf, but not vice-versa, ideally because the shelf is inert at the point contacted by the tip of the tiptoe.  This has nothing to do with damping; it's all about dissipating energy.  Using a stethoscope to survey the surface of a shelf, so as to locate the inert points on the shelf surface, I have observed this effect personally.  If you don't take care to place the tiptoes correctly at vibrational nodes, then they lose their diodic property; energy can go in either direction, into and out from the shelf, and they are no different from raising your gear on alu blocks.  The very best "tiptoe"-like device I ever owned were/are the Goldmund cones (no longer available).  They have a core of amorphous damping material that feels like putty and an outer body of some dense metal. I still use them whenever and wherever it makes sense.  One of the few tweaks I can actually "hear".

Were it not for the fact that I own and use an FR64S, I might take your critique very seriously, because "on paper" it makes sense.  What I wrote above is based on my actual experience using the tonearm, and my experience is in contradiction to the theory you posit.  Evidently, you had a different experience.  This could be due to a difference in cartridge or headshell or in the construction of the tonearm mount.  As noted, I am using it with an Acutex MI type cartridge; perhaps non-MC cartridges impart less energy into the headshell than do MC types.  I am not using the FR headshell; I am using a lightweight aluminum headshell.  Also, Halcro is using a carbon fiber headshell.  For sure, this would make a drastic difference in the transmission of energy into the arm wand, compared to the clunky FR headshell and some others as well.