Who needs a Diamond Cantilever...? 💍


So suddenly, there seems to be a trend for Uber-LOMC cartridges released with Diamond Cantilevers...😱
As if the High-End MC cartridges were not already overpriced....?!
Orofon have released the MC-ANNA-DIAMOND after previously releasing the Limited Edition MC-CENTURY...also with Diamond Cantilever.
Then there’s the KOETSU BLOODSTONE PLATINUM and DYNAVECTOR KARAT 17D2 and ZYX ULTIMATE DIAMOND and probably several more.

But way back in 1980....Sony released a Diamond-Cantilevered version of its fine XL-88 LOMC Cartridge.
Imaginatively....they named this model the XL-88D and, because it was the most expensive phono cartridge in the world (costing 7500DM which was more expensive than a Volkswagen at the time)....Sony, cleverly disguised this rare beast to look EXACTLY like its ’cheap’ brother with its complex hybrid cantilever of "special light metal held by a carbon-fibre pipe both being held again by a rigid aluminium pipe".
The DIAMOND CANTILEVER on the 88D however......was a thing of BEAUTY and technological achievement, being formed from ONE PIECE OF DIAMOND including the stylus 🤯🙏🏽

I’ve owned the XL-88 for many years and recently discovered that it was my best (and favourite) cartridge when mounted in the heavy Fidelity Research S-3 Headshell on the SAEC WE-8000/ST 12" Tonearm around my VICTOR TT-101 TURNTABLE.
Without knowing this in advance.....I would not have been prepared to bid the extraordinary prices (at a Japanese Auction Site) that these rare cartridges keep commanding.
To find one in such STUNNING CONDITION with virtually no visible wear was beyond my expectations 😃

So how does it sound.....?
Is there a difference to the standard XL-88?
Is the Diamond Cantilever worth the huge price differential?
Is the Pope a Catholic....?

This cartridge simply ’blows my mind’...which is hard to do when I’ve had over 80 cartridges on 10 different arms mounted on two different turntables 🤯
As Syntax said on another Thread:-
When you have 2 identical carts, one regular cantilever and the other one with diamond cantilever (Koetsu Stones for example), the one with diamond cantilever shows more details, is a bit sharper in focus and the soundstage is a bit deeper and wider. They can sound a bit more detailed overall with improved dynamics
I’ll leave it at that for the time being. I will soon upload to YouTube, the sound comparisons between the two Sony versions on my HEAR MY CARTRIDGES THREAD.

But now I’ve bought myself a nightmarish scenario.......
There is no replacement stylus for this cartridge!
There is no replacement cantilever for this cartridge!
Each time I play records with it, I am ’killing’ it a bit more 🥴😥
If I knew how long I had left to live......I could program my ’listening sessions’ 🤪
But failing this.....I can’t help but feel slightly uncomfortable listening to this amazing machine.
128x128halcro
''Slightly scientific'' argument is , say, '' stolen'' from our beloved
J. Carr who stated that the advantage of aluminum cantilevers 
is that stylus can be pressure fitted while by the ''exotic kinds''
the stylus must be glued in. Aka ''suggesting'' the relevance of
''rigidity theory'' in this context .
BTW I owned both kinds of the XL 88. Despite the fact that my
88 D sample have had ''crooked'' cantilever/stylus and consequently
the headshell looked as ''adjusted'' by either an drunkard or someone
who has never heard about azimuth the sound of 88 D was 
superior. So I sold the 88 with assumption that my friend Axel
Schurholz will easily get the stylus perpendicular because of
the (further) assumption that all cantilevers ''must'' be glued in
the so called ''joint pipe''. Both assumptions were based on
''wishful thinking''. This was the very tragic situation with my 88D.
Anyway it seems that wear and tear of this diamond is not the
only problem by 88 D. I.e. also an possible retip will be problematic
because the cantilever is differently fastened in the ''joint pipe''. 
Otherwise Axel would not need two years to solve this problem.
 
Dear @halcro : """ I couldn’t hear the differences between a SAS-Boron, a NeoSAS-Sapphire and a NeoSAS-Ruby when I did the comparisons a while ago 🤨
It is therefore even more difficult to isolate any differences via YouTube videos.."""

of course you can’t, this fact is already in evidence by your own words.


""" Others (like Frogman, Noromance, Dover) can hear clearly.. """

because these gentlemans are golden ears , I stated that I’m not a golden ear person and that my evaluation process always uses the same LP tracks.

Anyway, you want to build a " case " around me but the problem is your overall way of thinking that’s the same over several years: just can’t grow-up and I don’t know why. Sometimes I think you have some masoqchist signs in your dialogues with me that always are full of agresivity .

I already posted :

"" Another :

"" Believe what he says at your own risk.. ""

when IMHO there was not any necessity to post that refering to me. """

your very first attack with out any reason because I only shared the prices of other cartridges that I took from the Japanese audio Bible that’s not a magazyne but a true book with around 700 pages.

It does not matters what you can post in your favor and what you post hitting me the true fact is that in your room system you just can’t be aware of several kind of resonances/distortions but if you still think that your room/system is no problem then as I posted you are really tolerant or less sensitive that other persons like me.

I think is enough and useless for any one but you to follow this kind of dialogue that you started ( as always. ) whit that post.

Your frustration levels when you " talk " with me is so high that impedes that you can see the reality with that hum,ility you stated before.

Again, enough.

R.


PS:   "  can invent 'facts' to prove any nonsense...."""

JC ( as Namiki ) posted that with aluminum cantilevers the stylus can be fitted by presure only and some one of us took it this as an advantage and I was so stupid to ask a rettiper to makes this for some MM carrtridges that latter on and after listening it with aluminum I had to invest again in that carrtridge to change to boron glued stylus type.. 

JC only posted that but he never used aluminum cantilevers in his Lyra cartridges but other glued materials as the 99.99999% of all top cartridge today manufacturers.

Who can today been so stupid thinking in the " great " presure fitted with cantilever aluminum material?, yes only an stupid: fortunatelly I learned and left my " stupid graded " attitude in those old times. Did you read it well?: I learned !



I have the Proteus D (diamond cantilever) and the TopWing Red Sparrow setup.Come by and listen to them.

Mat
www.jjaudiosolutions.com
It’s impossible via the YouTube Videos to hear the ephemeral nuances that I hear in my room....things like soundstage (side to side and back to back), transparency, imaging, image height etc
Try this track.....

SONY XL-88 LOMC CARTRIDGE

SONY XL-88D LOMC CARTRIDGE Diamond Cantilever
Among the ''stupid persons'' who prefer aluminum cantilevers
I can mention Ikeda-san with his whole series FR-7 and also
his latest Ikeda 9 TT.  Than Takeda san with his Miyabi Standard,
Reto Andreoli's ''Magic Diamond'' as well all Dertonarms MC's
and MM carts. Using qualifications instead of arguments is
typical characteristic of ''well educated'' people. However if
one lacks arguments than ''calling names'' is some kind of
solution or ''way out''.