Hear my Cartridges....🎶

Thank you Frogman, for taking the time and trouble to write your last Post.
It made me realise that there is perhaps nothing wrong with my hearing...it's just that we all have different priorities and preferences.
It dawned on me that, whereas a musician is obviously concerned about INSTRUMENTAL accuracy, tonality and 'realism'.....those qualities don't 'consciously' factor in my assessments and appreciation.
Mainly because I don't KNOW the differences in sound of individual instruments and therefore don't know whether what I hear reproduced, is 'accurate' or true to 'live'.
I do of course, know what 'live' music sounds like but again.....it doesn't matter to me if the saxophone's reed is worn or split, or if the Steinway Concert Grand is more suited to the venue than the Bosendorfer the pianist has selected to play....

My priorities begin with the ability of a 'system' (and its parts) to reproduce all the qualities contained within the grooves of records I am intimately familiar with.
Firstly, the 'balance' of the frequencies without any unnatural emphases.
Secondly, the 'quality' of the individual frequencies.....
How extended are the 'highs', how deeply (and convincingly) do the lower registers go.
How 'realistic' and satisfying is the midrange....this is a 'sine qua non' for me and eliminates many cartridges, tonearms, phonostages, amplifiers and speakers from my 'orbit'.
Next in importance for me is 'transparency'....
Is there 'air' around the instruments (as there is in reality) and is there 'depth'.
Do the extreme highs 'shimmer' and decay in the air realistically and beautifully.
Next is 'soundstage'...
How widely beyond the speakers does it project and how deeply behind (and in front) can one hear.
And finally, the most important ingredient and the most elusive.....
Is there 'magic' and 'emotional projection' that allows the sound to move me to tears or quiver with excitement or shake my head in disbelief....
This quality is hard to reproduce via the Youtube videos.

Therefore....in my system......there are cartridges which have more 'shimmering' highs.
There are cartridges which have more 'air' and 'transparency'.
There are cartridges which go convincingly lower.
There are cartridges which project a wider and deeper 'soundstage' and yes.......there are cartridges which manage to give me more 'magic' and 'emotion'.
So whilst I do love the LDR......I wouldn't listen to it exclusively 🤗

Thank you again Frogman....
Even though you have proclaimed a new 'Benchmark' in the cartridge comparisons....do you think it still relevant if we continue to compare cartridges to the Palladian?

Regards 

So I've had the most frustrating 'listening' week...and I blame Frogman ☝️
I've had the AZDEN YM P50VL for 10 years but when I first tried it then....it didn't 'make the cut' and so ended up collecting dust in a drawer.
At Frogman's suggestion....I mounted it in the DV-507/II whilst I admired its NUDE LINE CONTACT DIAMOND and sat back to listen....
Aaaaahhh 😱....
Unlistenable!!!
Bass was bloated and ill-defined, treble was screechy and distorted and the mids were flat, recessed and boring.
There was no soundstage (either side to side or back to front) and no air or transparency.
In a sentence....it was one of the worst sounds I had heard from any cartridge in my system 🤬
But I persisted, hoping that 'break-in' might save the day...?
I tried adjusting VTA up and down...I altered the VTF up and down...I tried loading it from 10K Ohm to 60K Ohm and tried capacitance values from 70pF to 430pF....and all combinations and permutations.
Nothing seemed to help...so I kept playing the miserable thing for day after day...🥵
One day, I raised the VTA to the maximum setting that the DV-507/II allows 'On-The-Fly' so that the arm seemed to slope downward severely from the pivot....and this produced the most tolerable sound to date.
So as an experiment....I used an Allen Key to physically raise the arm structure within it's VTA adjustment 'pod'.
This now allowed an even HIGHER elevation at the Pivot (which no cartridge had ever required) and suddenly.....there was improvement 👋
So I raised it even further 'on-the-fly' whilst listening to the results...and at a certain point....it all clicked 🤗
If you look at the SIDE-VIEW of the mounted cartridge, you can see the severe slope downwards of the front with the stylus tip further below this. Added to the thickness of the top metal adapter for the P-Mount body....this places the stylus tip far below any cartridge I've owned and thus, thinking a HORIZONTAL headshell or tonearm is a nice 'starting point' for SRA......is a recipe for disaster.

AS PALLADIAN LOMC Cartridge

AZDEN YM P50VL MM Cartridge

**** Therefore....in my system......there are cartridges which have more ’shimmering’ highs.
There are cartridges which have more ’air’ and ’transparency’.
There are cartridges which go convincingly lower.
There are cartridges which project a wider and deeper ’soundstage’ and yes.......there are cartridges which manage to give me more ’magic’ and ’emotion’. ****

I have no doubt. However, with the possible exception of the “magic and emotion”, I’m not sure what any of that has to do with sounding better. Moreover, “magic and emotion” has much to do with our individual tastes and preferences for “more air”, “more bass”, etc. I always thought that the whole point of HEA was to try and replicate the sound of live music as closely as possible. HP of TAS fame always pointed out the danger of comparing components to each other as opposed to the sound of live. I realize some thought of him as an pompous blowhard, but the man had great ears and a great methodology, imo.

Azden/Palladian:

**** Aaaaahhh 😱....
Unlistenable!!!
Bass was bloated and ill-defined, treble was screechy and distorted and the mids were flat, recessed and boring.
There was no soundstage (either side to side or back to front) and no air or transparency.
In a sentence....it was one of the worst sounds I had heard from any cartridge in my system 🤬 ****

There has to be something wrong with your sample of this cartridge. What you describe is nothing I have ever experienced; far from it. What I do see from the pic of the side view is that your P mount adaptor must be misshapen. Perhaps the result of overtightening the mounting screws? Look at the cartridge pins relative to the tone arm tube or top of the headshell; the pins should be in line with or parallel to them. As is, you will experience major negative VTA; which explains the need to raise the back of the arm so much.

I must say that this comparison, unfortunately, is the most difficult so far, because the sound, with both cartridges, is by far the worst that I have heard from your system. I have to assume that it is the recording that is poor (I don’t know it at all) and not the issues with the mounting of the Azden, because things aren’t any better overall with the Palladian. There is a lot of obvious distortion that sounds like tracking distortion or that the vinyl is shot; particularly on the vocals when it is joined by the strings and others. Not good at all. Almost incredibly (price difference), the Azden seems to do a better job of tracking than the P since considerably less distortion is heard with it.

The other problem is what sounds like the air conditioner in the room is on. I can’t believe that what sounds like obvious white noise is on the recording. Very distracting and it actually sounds like the AC was turned up even more when the Azden was playing. If the noise is on the record, that is one noisy record.

Thanks for this latest comparison, but......

Sorry for adding to the frustration 😖

Interesting comments Frogman......
My apologies for leaving the glass doors open for the Azden so that the AC unit could be heard. I closed them for the Palladian 🙃

Interesting comments on the record quality because I have some friends who insist on hearing this track every time they come over....🤔
This may be an ideal time to hear what the DLR can do with the same track......?
Princi has made his decision...🤗

LONDON DECCA REFERENCE MI Cartridge 

The vinyl does sound damaged especially on the right channel. Decca sounds the most live and immediate with good depth although it really picks up that surface noise. MC almost sounds like there's dirt on the stylus. Azden is in between.