Who needs a Diamond Cantilever...? šŸ’


So suddenly, there seems to be a trend for Uber-LOMC cartridges released with Diamond Cantilevers...šŸ˜±
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 thereā€™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 ā€™cheapā€™ 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 šŸ¤ÆšŸ™šŸ½

Iā€™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 šŸ˜ƒ

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 ā€™blows my mindā€™...which is hard to do when Iā€™ve had over 80 cartridges on 10 different arms mounted on two different turntables šŸ¤Æ
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
Iā€™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 Iā€™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 ā€™killingā€™ it a bit more šŸ„“šŸ˜„
If I knew how long I had left to live......I could program my ā€™listening sessionsā€™ šŸ¤Ŗ
But failing this.....I canā€™t help but feel slightly uncomfortable listening to this amazing machine.
128x128halcro
@uberwalzt, Thanks to your extended knowledge of English variations your description ''it is light hearted banter'' is more adequate than my ''teasing''.Ā 
BTW as Halcro predicted my post is removed . Probably because
of naming one resident of Mexico ''Mexican''.Ā 
Very funny stuff. As someone for whom English is a second language, or third if I were to use Uberwaltzā€™ criteria, I would like to point out how this is yet another example of the irony in the currently pervasive ubersensitivity to political correctness matters. What I mean is that in all the time (years!) that Nandricā€™s ā€œold members (have been) teasing each otherā€ I donā€™t recall a single objection from the M ā€œvictimā€ to the supposed racist tease. Iā€™m late to the party here, but in the hope that the thread can get back on track I would like to add a couple of thoughts to the muy intereresante....oops... very interesting comments already made.

First, I agree entirely with Doverā€™s excellent observations re the differences between the sound of the two Sony cartridges. I might describe the differences heard somewhat differently, but I think that we are hearing the same things. For instance, his observation of the superior ā€œtimingā€ of the 88D, I would describe as the standard 88 having comparatively wooly bass with a sense of uncontrolled overhang. This causes it to have inferior pitch definition and clarity of bass notes compared to the 88D. Good pitch definition and clarity are key aspects of good musical timing. A rather wordy description of what Dover later described succinctly as more ā€œarticulateā€. In all, I agree with his observations re the 88Dā€™s superior clarity and, most important for me, superior ā€œharmonic completenessā€; the timbre of instruments, saxophone and trumpet in particular, sound closer to real.

Apologies if I have missed commentary on this point, but I think that in the quest for determining what the absolute ā€œbestā€ cantilever material is, not enough has been made of the fact that the cantilever material that is best for one cartridge may not be the best choice for another cartridge that uses a different motor and a different housing; all which contribute to the overall sonic signature of the cartridge as determined by the designerā€™s goals. Different motors offer different levels of resolution and have certain general tonal signatures just as different cartridge housings have different sonic signatures due to their particular resonance characteristics. I am certainly no expert on phono cartridges and my experience with them is certainly very limited compared to the OPā€™s and many here, but looking at the Sony I see a cartridge with a rather large and boxy housing constructed largely of plastic. Just an observation not meant as a criticism; clearly it is a great cartridge. To my simplistic way of thinking it would be no surprise that a cartridge with a housing that APPEARS to be less rigid and possibly more resonant than one which is more compact and rigid would benefit from a diamond cantilever with its higher degree of rigidity. The same very rigid cantilever/stylus on a cartridge with a motor and/or housing which may have inherently leaner sonic characteristics may not be the best choice for a particular cartridge designerā€™s goals.

Congrats on your new cartridge, Halcro; would love to hear a comparison of the 88D and the Palladian playing acoustic (orchestral?) music. Thanks for another interesting thread.


The off topic divertimento is highly amusing and could be summed up by paraphrasing Basil Fa(u)wlty in one of those hilarious episodes of Fawlty Towers: "Donā€™t mention the Mexican".

As for cantilevers (another highly amusing topic) I like frogmanā€™s take on the matter. Itā€™s the interaction with the other parts of the cartridge that determines the final result. I have had the opportunity to compare various vdHul Colibri models. As you may know they all share the same short boron cantilever, but offer a choice of body materials (aluminum, plastic or wood) and coils (copper, gold and platinum, the latter no longer available). The sonic difference between e.g. the small aluminum body with copper coils and the (larger) Blackwood body with platinum coils - remember: both with the same cantilever/stylus assembly - was overwhelming. And much larger than between the Blackwood and ANY of my cartridges with aluminum cantilever. The LW aluminum / gold version of the Colibri was excessively bright and agressive in my system, while the Blackwood / platinum gave the perfect balance of transparency and sweetness (itā€™s the one I kept in the end). The difference was really extreme and something I would never have anticipated within one model range. BTW: these and other Colibri versions were all compared in the same Reed P3 arm.

Ergo: donā€™t overestimate the importance of the cantilever material, as it is just one piece of the puzzle. As frogman suggested, the combination of a plastic body and a diamond cantilever in the 88D may well hit a perfect balance. I have an XL-44 (similar motor to XL-55 and 88 series), which is a nice enough cartridge but perhaps a bit too polite. I can imagine it could change gears having a diamond cantilever fitted. I have no doubt that the 88D is one hell of a cartridge, so Halcro enjoy it while you can.



Dover : You are rigth, mi mistake and apologizes to Moerch designer. Anyway, the example was only to show the existence of copy-cats.

The ones like Magic Diamond that took the Denon 103 cartridge motor for their cartridges do you think they are true cartridge designers?.

In the other side, I owned and still own Highphonic cartridges and at least my samples compared to the Denon DL1000A ( that I owned. ) are everything you want but " thin sound ". I still have the MCA6 with boron cantilever and owned the D15. I agree that the 1000A could stays in the " lean/thin " side but not those 2 Highphonic models. I never heard the R5 that's the one with ruby cantilever..

The Highphonic ex-Denon employees made a good contribution in their designs when gone from aluminum cantilevers to other different cantilever build materials.What did not changed between the 1000A and the Highphonics was its very low output that if I remember is 0.12mv.

Yes, that S3 FR headshells is " terrible " and only degrades the cartridge sound. I did not need it to listed the 88D to post about because for its construction itā€™s so obvious the " disaster ".

R.




IĀ“ve been enjoying my Highphonic MC R5 w/ ruby cantilever for a year now. Indeed very low output 0.12 mV and very low VTF 1.0 gr and it simply makes magic in my system. I have never been an expert on MC cartridges and my experience is very limited but this little gem outperforms modern top MCs like AT-ART9 with ease. ItĀ“s in other league, surely a High-End product from the Golden Age of Analog.Ā Our Dgob has the TOTL and extremely rare (not seen on Hifi Shark for many years) MC D15 but unfortunately he seems to be not active here. I think he was very pleased with it.