Hear my Cartridges....🎶

I had hoped that Frogman would have divulged his analysis on the previous test......🤗

Let's try a different approach.....

If the $10,000 AS Palladian LOMC Cartridge is taken as the 'Benchmark' (in my system).....how close can cheaper cartridges get to it...?

The Palladian is a beautifully built modern Meg-Buck LOMC cartridge that owes much to the Classic Vintage Fidelity Research FR-7 Series of cartridges from 35 years ago.
Instead of the current 'fad' for Boron cantilevers.... the Palladian utilises an aluminium one with a nude Fine-Line stylus in a 'bush-hammered' Titanium body.

The Vintage Signet TK-7LCa MM Cartridge utilises a Beryllium cantilever with a nude Line Contact stylus.
The Signet can be had for approx. $600-$800 NOS on Ebay (if one is patient enough).

Here you can decide if $9,200 price differential is worth it....🤔

AS PALLADIAN LOMC Cartridge
Mounted in Vintage SAEC WE-8000/ST ToneArm on solid Bronze ArmPod surrounding Vintage Victor TT-101 DD Turntable.

VINTAGE SIGNET TK-7LCa MM Cartridge
Mounted in DV-507/II ToneArm on solid Bronze ArmPod surrounding Vintage Victor TT-101 DD Turntable.

Sorry to disappoint, halcro.  I promise some thoughts on all by the end of the weekend.  Best to all.

Looking forward to them Frogman....😎

Regards

Palladian/Garrott/MR5:

Not sure how one could quantify “how close” an inexpensive cartridge can come to the sound of the Palladian, but the Palladian is clearly in a different league than the other two.  It gives a much bigger dose of the natural timbre of instruments.  The sound of the triangle is an obvious one.  With the P it has an appropriate metallic brilliance and one hears a longer decay of its ring.  Other percussion instruments also sound more realistic.  With the Garrott it’s hard to tell that it is a cowbell being played.  With the P it is obvious.  One also hears more of the snap of the hand on the conga drum along with more of its woody timbre.

The MR5 gets closer to the level of the P than the Garrott which makes high frequency sounds too covered and dull.  The MR5 also sounds too covered by comparison, but less so.  Neither approach the level of overall clarity that the P has. 

Palladian/TK-7:

Holy Grail recording and one of my favorites.  Great recording and performance of this beautiful music.

Well, as with the Decca, I’m not prepared to say that the Palladian sounds $9,000 better than the less expensive cartridge; but, it sure sounds a lot better.  In fact, probably due to the more demanding nature of this music, I would say that I hear more of a disparity between the overall sound of the Palladian and that of the TK-7 than I did between the Palladian and the MR5 playing Marvin Gaye.

Right from the first woodwind chords one hears better clarity of timbre with the Palladian.  The TK-7 actually sounds as if it is on the verge of mistracking on the opening woodwinds with a hint of distortion at the end of each phrase where the winds play loudest.  The harp sounds much more realistic and one hears the correct urgency in the way that the player plays the arpeggios that answer the woodwinds.  The harp sounds beautiful with the Palladian; much more realistic color.  Not only is there more clarity in the upper range of the instrument, but notice to how the single plucked low notes on the left hand sound much more realistically resonant and one actually hears the decay of the sound of the vibrating string.  The clarinet player’s wonderful phrasing is much more clear in its subtle pushes and pull backs of the tempo.  With the TK-7 that phrasing and the overall musical energy seems more subdued.  The massed strings sound fabulous with the Palladian.  They sound good and beautifully full with the TK-7, but not quite as natural and I hear a similar effect as with the opening winds: as if it is on the verge of mistracking and a hint of distortion is heard in the loudest passages. 

The Palladian sounds like a killer cartridge.  Is it $9000 better?  I don’t know, but for the difference in price it should sound better...a lot better.  Speaking for myself, if I had it and the TK-7, while I like the TK-7 a lot it would spend a lot more time in the cartridge drawer than the Palladian.

Thanks for letting us hear these fabulous cartridges.  Listening was done on my Stax/tube driver set.

Excuse my ignorance, what´s that ` Ö` beautiful edition/pressing exactly ?