Cartridge Opinions - Sorry

+1 @rauliruegas,

You bring up a valid point. If a tonearm has a removable headshell, then the cartridge is definitely more important than a metal tube with wires and is height and level adjustable, I would think. Very similar to a boom with a detachable mic that swivels and has a detachable connector.

And I also think that Azimuth can only be adjusted on the headshell itself and not the tonearm, whether the headshell is removable or nonremovable. Thanks R!

Isn’t any cartridge just a small slave motor entirely dependent upon a much bigger one, ie the turntable motor?

Origin Live for one still seem to ascribe to old established notion of turntable hierarchy.

Namely, turntable first, arm second and cartridge last.

From their website.


’Tonearms Overview

It is supremely important that your cartridge is held rigidly whilst at the same time isolating it from unwanted vibration.

No matter how good your cartridge is, it’s been proved that it can never perform at anything like it’s true capability without a good tonearm.

In the same way, a relatively inexpensive cartridge worth £50 can outperform one that costs £1250 simply by being installed on a better arm.’

See also : Our Opinion on Component Significance

https://www.originlive.com/hi-fi/tonearm/

@cd318,

Now I’m more confused? Or is it more enlightened?

I have a vintage Pioneer PL-630 Quartz PLL Electronic Full Automatic turntable that is in mint condition and has a fantastic tonearm. 

What I have noticed about this particular table is it is designed with the idea of the turntable as a complete system to complement each part and function of the table to act as one combined unit for a more precise performance.  

No aftermarket tonearm needed nor wanted here.

Also what I forgot to realize is that different engineers attack a design in all matter of different ways to find ways for optimum performance.

I shouldn’t be surprised at this realization as I have worked in engineering all my life and have constantly had to ’revise’ engineering drawings as I am a draftsman. You can spout all the 'white papers' and studies you want. I have to find out for myself.

And another thing, a headshell is NOT a tonearm, last time I checked. Although that could change, at any time....

And is it also fair to see a boom as similar to the functions of a tone arm since it has also inside of the boom wires that carry the music’s electric signal from the mic to the recording magnetic tape?

Right  here is where the analogy falls apart. A mic boom is simply holding the mic in the right location, but in that regard is rigid and does not have to articulate. It doesn't need much in the way of adjustments and they come in different sizes depending on application. Certainly no worries about things like effective mass, mechanical resonance 7-12Hz or the like.


I've been doing consumer electronics service since the day after I graduated from high school back in the 1970s. One time a customer came in the shop and actually wanted a magnetic cartridge installed in his VM turntable. Now some of you here might know what those are, obviously others here do not. I had to explain to him that the idea simply wouldn't work- that if he wanted that cartridge because it sounds better and would be better to his records, he was going to need a tonearm that could do the job. A VM turntable is designed for a ceramic cartridge that tracks a bit heavier than any magnetic cartridge- 5-7 grams is common. The VM arms have no provision for setting overhang, and barely anything for setting tracking weight. Now I don't know how far to push this, but it should be obvious to anyone in audio that working with an arm like that, you're simply not going to get the best out of any magnetic cartridge! Its a given.

So starting from there, we all know that correct overhang is critical to getting the sound right, so is the tracking pressure and VTA. And yet there are 'high end' tonearms that have no VTA provision; by the argument I'm seeing presented here, the conclusion we see this heading to is that VTA does not matter to any cartridge (Raul indirectly made this argument). Obviously that is false! Now having worked with a lot of arms and having built my own, I know that the arm tube resonance is a thing, even though there's no adjustment for it. It can make a big difference as to how the arm plays the mids and highs. So in any potential arm I'm looking at, I expect the arm tube to be damped in some way. A good number I see are not. Now if you can hear what that does, are we going to ignore that and just say that makes no difference whatsoever?? Most audiophiles I know don't mind a bit spending the time to set up their cartridge correctly; I am really failing to see how the cartridge can eclipse the arm in this. All my experience points to the contrary, and in spades.

Right here is where the analogy falls apart. A mic boom is simply holding the mic in the right location, but in that regard is rigid and does not have to articulate. It doesn’t need much in the way of adjustments and they come in different sizes depending on application. Certainly no worries about things like effective mass, mechanical resonance 7-12Hz or the like.

Ralph,

I agree more with you than not. As I have done all the tweaking to my Pioneer table arm as it has every tonearm adjustment you can think of. You know how I know? Because it is APITA!

And you certainly have taught me some things and know far more about audio engineering than I do.

And here comes the but.

But doesn’t all the magic happen in the (LIVE) recording venue of the studio? The position, location and placements of (booms) mics, musicians, room sound treatments, the experience level of a competent recording engineer ect?

Am I wrong to notice not only the science of a recording but the ART form as well? I think there is a bit more that goes INTO a recording than what you say above.

And if you look at pictures of the Kind of Blue session, they do show articulating booms with multiple joints. Remember this was at the house of Columbia Records.

To this day when I hear a Rudy Van Gelder engineered album that is a great pressing, I’m still blown away at his technique.That’s all I’m saying.

And you know what’s really confusing? There’s just as many arguments from audiophiles with some of the best systems known to man and they swear by only using a headshell alignment tool and their ears!

Ralph, thanks again for taking the time to teach, us all.