Thank you for the very interesting thread, Henry. Â Obviously, itâs not necessary, nor desirable, to always wear oneâs âanalyticalâ hat and instead just enjoy the musical ride. Â Regards. Â
Hear my Cartridges....đ¶
Many Forums have a 'Show your Turntables' Thread or 'Show your Cartridges' Thread but that's just 'eye-candy'.... These days, it's possible to see and HEAR your turntables/arms and cartridges via YouTube videos.
Peter Breuninger does it on his AV Showrooms Site and Michael Fremer does it with high-res digital files made from his analogue front ends.
Now Fremer claims that the 'sound' on his high-res digital files captures the complex, ephemeral nuances and differences that he hears directly from the analogue equipment in his room.
That may well be....when he plays it through the rest of his high-end setup đ
But when I play his files through my humble iMac speakers or even worse.....my iPad speakers.....they sound no more convincing than the YouTube videos produced by Breuninger.
Of course YouTube videos struggle to capture 'soundstage' (side to side and front to back) and obviously can't reproduce the effects of the lowest octaves out of subwoofers.....but.....they can sometimes give a reasonably accurate IMPRESSION of the overall sound of a system.
With that in mind.....see if any of you can distinguish the differences between some of my vintage (and modern) cartridges.
VICTOR X1
This cartridge is the pinnacle of the Victor MM designs and has a Shibata stylus on a beryllium cantilever. Almost impossible to find these days with its original Victor stylus assembly but if you are lucky enough to do so.....be prepared to pay over US$1000.....đ€Ș
VICTOR 4MD-X1
This cartridge is down the ladder from the X1 but still has a Shibata stylus (don't know if the cantilever is beryllium?)
This cartridge was designed for 4-Channel reproduction and so has a wide frequency response 10Hz-60KHz.
Easier to find than the X1 but a lot cheaper (I got this one for US$130).
AUDIO TECHNICA AT ML180 OCC
Top of the line MM cartridge from Audio Technica with Microline Stylus on Gold-Plated Boron Tube cantilever.
Expensive if you can find one....think US$1000.
I will be interested if people can hear any differences in these three vintage MM cartridges....
Then I might post some vintage MMs against vintage and MODERN LOMC cartridges.....đ€
Peter Breuninger does it on his AV Showrooms Site and Michael Fremer does it with high-res digital files made from his analogue front ends.
Now Fremer claims that the 'sound' on his high-res digital files captures the complex, ephemeral nuances and differences that he hears directly from the analogue equipment in his room.
That may well be....when he plays it through the rest of his high-end setup đ
But when I play his files through my humble iMac speakers or even worse.....my iPad speakers.....they sound no more convincing than the YouTube videos produced by Breuninger.
Of course YouTube videos struggle to capture 'soundstage' (side to side and front to back) and obviously can't reproduce the effects of the lowest octaves out of subwoofers.....but.....they can sometimes give a reasonably accurate IMPRESSION of the overall sound of a system.
With that in mind.....see if any of you can distinguish the differences between some of my vintage (and modern) cartridges.
VICTOR X1
This cartridge is the pinnacle of the Victor MM designs and has a Shibata stylus on a beryllium cantilever. Almost impossible to find these days with its original Victor stylus assembly but if you are lucky enough to do so.....be prepared to pay over US$1000.....đ€Ș
VICTOR 4MD-X1
This cartridge is down the ladder from the X1 but still has a Shibata stylus (don't know if the cantilever is beryllium?)
This cartridge was designed for 4-Channel reproduction and so has a wide frequency response 10Hz-60KHz.
Easier to find than the X1 but a lot cheaper (I got this one for US$130).
AUDIO TECHNICA AT ML180 OCC
Top of the line MM cartridge from Audio Technica with Microline Stylus on Gold-Plated Boron Tube cantilever.
Expensive if you can find one....think US$1000.
I will be interested if people can hear any differences in these three vintage MM cartridges....
Then I might post some vintage MMs against vintage and MODERN LOMC cartridges.....đ€
- ...
- 628 posts total
Time to hear the belt-drive Raven AC-2..... A classic vintage Ortofon SPU AE Gold with elliptical stylus (sorry Chakster) against the current SPU Silver Meister compared to a vintage Signet TK-7LCa MM cartridge with nude square shank Line Contact Stylus on Beryllium cantilever. ORTOFON SPU AE GOLD A taste of the delicious, renowned SPU legendary sound. ORTOFON SPU SILVER MEISTER Current production model among the many SPUs available today. SIGNET TK-7LCa 35 year-old TOTL MM from Signet, a USA specialty off-shoot from Audio Technica. |
Also after two quick listens. More to follow when I have more time (Aaargh! Some might be saying đ). First impression: SPU Gold wins hands down. Why? Gorgeous and very seductive sound. I agree with noromance, very sweet. At first the Silver gives the impression of more HF detail, but check this out: On the Gold âtrackâ, one hears, three times, at precisely 1:06, 1:08 and 1:11, from a keyboard (synthesizer), a right hand âtweet, tweetâ. Itâs very clearly heard on the Gold. Where are the âtweet, tweetsâ on the Silver or Signet? Completely gone. Fascinating. More to follow. |
Very mystified that those âtweetsâ should be so obvious with the Gold (they are not that far back in the mix) and totally absent with the other cartridges. Â Itâs so glaring that I thought: is it possible that they are extraneous sounds in Halcroâs room and not in the recording? Â Is Halcro messing with us? đ His âtestâ? Â Unless it is the result of the unlikely coincidence that, as is the case, the pitches of those âtweetsâ both fit the harmony of the tune and are rhythmically accurate to the rhythm of the tune, Iâll stick with my original comment that the Gold reveals them and the others do not. Â |
- 628 posts total