Confession time. In the spirit of full disclosure for the acknowledgment of possible bias I should point out that I wasnât really looking forward to this comparison; except in order to hear (sort of đ) âFran-Danceâ on halcroâs great system. Classic record.
I wasnât looking forward to the comparison because I wasnât that impressed with the Garrott both times that we heard it previously. I found it to be too covered sounding with too much high frequency information missing. I donât know if this is the same Garrott, but it sounds much better to me than the two previous times. Better high frequency detail and air; but not quite there yet, imo. Sounds very good. Still....
Sorry Princi (very cute!), but once again to my ears the Palladian lets me hear much more natural instrumental color and better separation of instruments. Milesâ Harmon mute sounds appropriately metallic and buzzy. With the Garrott it sounds a little âsoftâ by comparison. The bass also sounds slightly âdrummyâ and insdistinct. Traneâs tenor sound doesnât have enough edge; it had a lot of edge, particularly during that period in time. Relatively subtle differences, but they are there.
The way the two cartridges soundstage is actually the most strikingly different quality. The Garrott seems more recessed while the Palladian seems to be more upfront with a larger soundstage. This is really curious: I may be wrong, but I believe this a mono pressing? Mono recordings can give a good sense of depth as well as stereo recordings. Really good ones can even have sonic cues that suggest left-right information. With the Garrott all the instruments are bunched in the middle and the presentation sounds smaller overall. With the Palladian I can clearly hear the piano to be left of center and the horns right of center within a clearly larger soundstage. If this is in fact a stereo recording then I suppose the Garrott can be said to fare even worse in this department.
I know that some disagree about this and I have avoided making these generalizations because I realize that it is not the experience of others. Based on my experience using both MM and MC cartridges in various systems over the years, with the to be expected exceptions, MM cartridges, along with their many great attributes, seem to miss the most subtle details in the natural color and texture of instrumental timbres. For me, there is often what I would characterize as a âgray(ish)â character to instrumental colors. This is the main reason that I generally canât stand Shure cartridges. That was one of the reasons I liked the Victor (X1?) so much; the instrumental color was there. âColorâ gets a bad rap from audiophiles; but the sound of instruments is full of color. MCâs seem to generally preserve more of the natural color, but unfortunately tip the overall balance upwards for a sound that can seem too lean compared to MMsâ generally fuller balance. But one can have a tonal balance that is closer to real and still not have the right instrumental color and texture. For me the Palladian strikes the best balance so far.
Btw, I would love to hear a shootout between the Palladian and the Decca Reference. THAT ought to be interesting. Another cartridge that I would love to hear is the Azden YM P50VL. My experience with various MMâs is pretty limited compared to halcroâs amazing collection, but of all the MMâs that I have owned, the Azden, while far from perfect in other departments, is the one that did not impart any of that gray (bleached) tonal quality. Donât know why this is so, but it has been my experience; even compared to the one that I suspect most would consider the overall best in my modest collection, the ATML-170 OCC.
Thanks, halcro!
I wasnât looking forward to the comparison because I wasnât that impressed with the Garrott both times that we heard it previously. I found it to be too covered sounding with too much high frequency information missing. I donât know if this is the same Garrott, but it sounds much better to me than the two previous times. Better high frequency detail and air; but not quite there yet, imo. Sounds very good. Still....
Sorry Princi (very cute!), but once again to my ears the Palladian lets me hear much more natural instrumental color and better separation of instruments. Milesâ Harmon mute sounds appropriately metallic and buzzy. With the Garrott it sounds a little âsoftâ by comparison. The bass also sounds slightly âdrummyâ and insdistinct. Traneâs tenor sound doesnât have enough edge; it had a lot of edge, particularly during that period in time. Relatively subtle differences, but they are there.
The way the two cartridges soundstage is actually the most strikingly different quality. The Garrott seems more recessed while the Palladian seems to be more upfront with a larger soundstage. This is really curious: I may be wrong, but I believe this a mono pressing? Mono recordings can give a good sense of depth as well as stereo recordings. Really good ones can even have sonic cues that suggest left-right information. With the Garrott all the instruments are bunched in the middle and the presentation sounds smaller overall. With the Palladian I can clearly hear the piano to be left of center and the horns right of center within a clearly larger soundstage. If this is in fact a stereo recording then I suppose the Garrott can be said to fare even worse in this department.
I know that some disagree about this and I have avoided making these generalizations because I realize that it is not the experience of others. Based on my experience using both MM and MC cartridges in various systems over the years, with the to be expected exceptions, MM cartridges, along with their many great attributes, seem to miss the most subtle details in the natural color and texture of instrumental timbres. For me, there is often what I would characterize as a âgray(ish)â character to instrumental colors. This is the main reason that I generally canât stand Shure cartridges. That was one of the reasons I liked the Victor (X1?) so much; the instrumental color was there. âColorâ gets a bad rap from audiophiles; but the sound of instruments is full of color. MCâs seem to generally preserve more of the natural color, but unfortunately tip the overall balance upwards for a sound that can seem too lean compared to MMsâ generally fuller balance. But one can have a tonal balance that is closer to real and still not have the right instrumental color and texture. For me the Palladian strikes the best balance so far.
Btw, I would love to hear a shootout between the Palladian and the Decca Reference. THAT ought to be interesting. Another cartridge that I would love to hear is the Azden YM P50VL. My experience with various MMâs is pretty limited compared to halcroâs amazing collection, but of all the MMâs that I have owned, the Azden, while far from perfect in other departments, is the one that did not impart any of that gray (bleached) tonal quality. Donât know why this is so, but it has been my experience; even compared to the one that I suspect most would consider the overall best in my modest collection, the ATML-170 OCC.
Thanks, halcro!