Thanks Frogman, very very interesting review again and we much appreciate your insight.
Henry, I´m afraid your Empire is 100 kOhm impedance ? And what´s capacitance ?
Henry, I´m afraid your Empire is 100 kOhm impedance ? And what´s capacitance ?
Hear my Cartridges....🎶
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 😎
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.....🤪
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.....🤗
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 😎
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.....🤪
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.....🤗
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- 628 posts total
Mea Culpa Frogman..... I shouldn't have editorialised so much in the prologue...🥺 And you're right about the similarities of both cartridges.....that's why I paired them. You're also astute in picking the slight 'edge' that the Empire has over the FR-6SE. The Empire is a very under-rated cartridge IMO with not many audiophiles sampling it because:-
The FR-6SE's 'cousins'....the FR-5 and FR-5E are even warmer and 'murkier' making them too much for even a SS amplification system (unless your speakers and room are also too 'bright'). But you've brought up a serious point about synergy and 'system matching'...... There are many cartridges which will match a particular 'system' more than others will. It should not be a blanket statement about the 'quality' of such cartridges. That's why it's so advantageous to sample a wide range of cartridges in your particular system to find those that 'illuminate'....🎇🎼 With vintage MMs.....that task is easy and 'fun' whilst if you attempt that exercise with current MCs......you need a friendly 'banker' 🤯 Harold.....both cartridges loaded at 60K Ohms with no added Capacitance. |
Because the vintage FR-7f was heard previously on Ketty Lester's 'Love Letters'.....I thought we needed to hear it further 🤗 And against my 'Mainstay' MM reference..... FIDELITY RESEARCH FR-7f LOMC Cartridge Mounted in Vintage FR-66S ToneArm on TW Acustic Raven AC-2 Belt-Drive Turntable SIGNET TK-7LCa MM Cartridge Mounted in Continuum Audio Copperhead ToneArm on TW Acustic AC-2 Belt-Drive Turntable |
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- 628 posts total