Origin live Cartridge Enabler - a review


This is a basic review aimed at those who are in a similar middle lane of the audiophile analogue motorway.
Enhancements are plentiful for turntables and provoke much intense debate. However I feel as though the use of them is particularly relevant for those like me who have turntables at a lower end level.
So after much review and forum research I decided on Origin live also because I could save on delivery by obtaining a few items at the same time. Analogueseduction is another good option in this regard. Unfortunately, the platter mat I also ordered hadn’t been packed, so I only had their brush and the enabler to enjoy.

I`m aware that the theory is to channel unwanted disturbances from the cartridge into the arm, but I`ve always considered that just damping them would be better. Anyhow that in simple terms is the Enablers job.

The turntable itself is a 1990`s Roksan Xerses, the (platter is aluminium). I have an old Ringmat as platter mat at present. The arm an SME IV, the cartridge a VD Hul retipped Koetsu Black.

I became familiar with a fine pressing of Alan Parsons Eve, first track Lucifer which has quite a lot of detail before installation of the Enabler.

So installation was a bit fiddly, and note well, you will need bolts that are at least 5 mm longer to successfully complete the job. I made every effort to set the VTA as it was before installation, and checked alignments and the settings to make sure that they hadn’t changed.

The very first impression is that the sound is slightly thinner. Straight after that you realize that is because some of the – ringing, bloom? has been removed. So for example, a percussive tap, ting or knock is more definite. Again the bass is slightly lighter, but far less boomy. I player a Peter Gabriel track that sounded overblown in the bass when I listened a couple of days before. Now the bass was tuneful and balanced in tone with the rest of the instruments.

So initial impressions are ones of a satisfactory improvement, and again I maintain that with more modest equipment, if care is taken with the details, the end result can result in a worthwhile improvement. So as the professional reviewers say – highly recommended!

128x128lastperfectdaymusic
Miller, Do you really, really, really think the SR PHT makes a "significant" improvement in your vinyl reproduction?  Sorry for the off-topic diversion.  Based on Mijo's description of what the enabler is and is supposed to do, which really ought to have been part of the original review, I have to agree with him that I would not have expected the Enabler to improve bass response.  If anything, I might have expected a step back, because the Koetsu's low compliance means that bass energy is transmitted into the cartridge body and needs to be dissipated, else it might destabilize the platform that supports the generator. With the felt cushion, energy transfer into the headshell is inhibited. But perhaps that just goes to show me that one cannot do these experiments in the brain. 

For sure, however, your Koetsu will benefit from a higher effective mass tonearm, which is easily achieved without buying a new tonearm.  A year ago, I bought an 18g Ortofon LH9000 headshell for my Koetsu Urushi, mounted on a Kenwood L07D (the L07J tonearm that comes with it).  I guess the new headshell adds about 5-6g effective mass compared to the standard Kenwood headshell. That really makes a huge improvement in bass extension and clarity. (I don't think it's because of changing resonant frequency, but I can't be sure.)
Lewm, if you add effective mass you lower the resonance frequency. You can prove that to yourself with a good test record.  Below the resonance frequency the bass drops of rapidly. Koetsus require a heavy arm. They perform best with a resonance frequency between 8-10 Hz. You are absolutely right. Always start off with a light tonearm as you can always add mass. Subtracting mass is a bit more difficult and likely to void your warranty. Having a set of head shell weights in your tool box and test record make adjusting the effective mass easy and you will know for a fact that you are right on the money. 
Another really good example why sophistry got such a bad rap. The Sophists used rhetoric and reasoning. Problem being, once you set aside tangible results and experience it turns out you can talk yourself into just about anything. 

Myself, I find the explanations and theories of manufacturers and just about everyone else to be at best interesting but more often than not distractions, and often misleading ones at that.

So lewm and lastperfectdaymusic, if you're looking for the typical audiophile banter as to why you can just go look elsewhere. There's reasonably likely explanations as to why this stuff works (dither) but the last thing you guys want is to have it proven. Also, seems to me, not all that interested in results either. Or you wouldn't be contesting it. You'd be reading all the threads already posted by the many people who have heard this stuff and know how effective it is.

All I can say is no lewm, I do not "think" SR PHT makes a "significant" improvement- I KNOW it does. Why, is what I do not know. WHAT however there is no doubt. It is significant.

My reviews were posted months ago. There are 4 versions of PHT. Purple Haze is indeed hazy and the only one I did not care for. Blue Velvet was okay but not worth it to me. Black Widow opened up the stage and improved dynamics and layering in a very neutral way across the board. Green Dream did the same only with an intoxicating borderline seductive liquid quality that really draws me into the music. I was able to get Betty at HighEnd-electronics.com to work with me and so now have one Green Dream and one Black Widow right on the Koetsu, with another Green Dream on the Origin Live Conqueror tone arm tube. There are also two ECT on the arm base, and one on my motor pod. The ECT are a similar effect to the Black Widow, improving dynamics and inner detail and very across the board neutral.

No one else includes these because no one else knows how to make them. The Origin Live Enabler is inexpensive, until you factor in the time it takes to install, and the hardware, the need to re-tweak everything, and the fact this winds up being a massive waste of time in the event it turns out to not be all that great. Let's face it, for $25 almost nobody is gonna go to all that trouble and then turn around and remove it, unless it actually makes things worse. PHT on the other hand can be installed and moved around wherever you want or removed literally in seconds.

Practical results and considerations. Or theoretical gobbledygook. Choose wisely.
Thank you for the enlightenment, analogue is certainly a complex interest. I really have to go by what my ears tell me, and I will certainly listen to more LP`s that I am familiar with tonight to get more ideas on how the Enabler performs. But up to now I can certainly notice an improvement as reviewed.
If I may ask mijostyn, how would I go about increasing the mass of my SME IV tonearm to make it more compatible with the Koetsu.
Secondly, I am really sold on buying a Hana SL to replace it as it (the Koetsu) must need refurbishing. How will the Hana fit with my tonearm?
Thank you.
Millercarbon the last thing I am going to do is trust yours or any one else's hearing who I do not know personally. That says nothing against you it is just that human hearing is extraordinarily biased because there is an amazing complex brain attached to it. If I present 100 people with an ink blot I will get 100 different opinions as to what it looks like and our vision is much more accurate than our hearing.