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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
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rauliruegas
13,051 posts
 
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 it’s so obvious the " disaster ".

R.




harold-not-the-barrel
895 posts
 
I´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. It´s in other league, surely a High-End product from the Golden Age of Analog. 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.
lewm
13,021 posts
 
Per Frogman's last post, J Carr has delivered more than one treatise on this forum about the relationships among the parts of a cartridge.  I'm sure he knows more about the art of building a cartridge than any of us.  From his writings, I drew the conclusion that the science of the materials used is only one part of the equation, as Frogman also says.  It's how the parts work together to produce a coherent audio signal that counts the most.  Some swear by certain kinds of magnet vs certain other kinds, for example.  Coils of silver wire vs copper wire or silver/gold or silver-plated copper.  It's all been done at least once by somebody.  If there was only one good answer to the puzzle, we'd have a lot of very similar cartridges from which to choose.  As anyone knows, we are miles away from that condition.
nandric's avatar
nandric
4,086 posts
 
Was Mori san the first who used ''potting method'' for damping 
resonances in XL series carts? When Axel cut the (plastic) body
of my XL 88 D in order to get entrance in the inside of the body
he mentioned to me some kind of ''glue'' with which the whole
body was filled. Axel was obviously not familiar with ''potting''.
If my assumption is true than this is the second innovation made
by Mori. His figure 8 coil former is well known innovation.  


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rauliruegas
13,051 posts
 
Dear @harold-not-the-barrel  : Nice to read you are enjoying Highphonic R5 cartridge that was at the middle of the overall Highphonic models.

As I said Highphonic made it very good cartridge designs with very good quality performance faraway of that thin/lean characteristics that the other gentleman posted.

The D15 and 6B are even better than your ruby one and I say this because the differences in price are high in between.

Your R5 competes with the today ART9 and this fact speaks a lot of whom was Highphonic.

Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS,
R.
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