Cartridge Opinions - Sorry

@chakster,

'And I assume we know how to align and adjust a cartridge/tonearm.'


I'm sure we all do but some are easier than others. The times I used to wish my decks had a detachable headshell like my first Rega 3 did. Of course they didn't because we were told detachable was very bad. 

But was it really?

With the Rega there wasn't much need to manoeuvre. The square bodied Nagoaka cart was fairly straightforward to align and the mirror check revealed no issues either. 

I remember having a couple of protractors for alignment and some were easier to use than others. I knew that with a 2 point protractor that the inner alignment point was critical to get right because of potential end of side tracking  issues.

The Ittok on the Linn was fairly easy to adjust for height but it was not so easy to try out other arms on the LP12 because of the need for a specifically cut armboard. Besides we were regularly told that the Ittok was the best arm in the world (until the Ekos) so there was little incentive to bother.

I never found arm height to make difference so I kept to the recommended advice of keeping the arm parallel to the top-plate/platter.

It's important to get setup right but don't get too obsessive. There will always be the odd opera torture track that will give most arm/cart combos hiccups.  

Perhaps it's time some brave soul out there tried out a multi cartridge tracking group test. Unsurprisingly the hi-fi press never bothered as the findings may have not been to their or their readers liking.

I do remember certain Shure cartridges being renowned for their tracking abilities. Perhaps it might be worth finding out what carts classical stations such as BBC Radio 3 used to employ in the days before they switched to digital.

Tracking and record care would have been vital to them as they then had one of the most impressive vinyl libraries in the world. 

@tyray I fail to see the relevance of the question in your last post? 
The cutting tool that is mounted on the end of the arm on a cutting lathe at the time of the lacquer mastering is not a cartridge/stylus. But if you are asking if that cutter is more important than the arm to which it is attached to, i would say again.. no. If the arm that is directing the cutter is at all problematic, there goes the accuracy of the cut. 

I’m sure we all do but some are easier than others. The times I used to wish my decks had a detachable headshell like my first Rega 3 did. Of course they didn’t because we were told detachable was very bad.

But was it really?

No, they are not better

With the Rega there wasn’t much need to manoeuvre. The square bodied Nagoaka cart was fairly straightforward to align and the mirror check revealed no issues either.

Overhang must be spot on.

I remember having a couple of protractors for alignment and some were easier to use than others. I knew that with a 2 point protractor that the inner alignment point was critical to get right because of potential end of side tracking issues.

I use Dr. Feickert NG for all tonearms/cartridges.

I never found arm height to make difference so I kept to the recommended advice of keeping the arm parallel to the top-plate/platter.

Negative VTA can be problematic, positive VTA isn’t a problem.
If you have Rega TT with Rega tonearm then you may find the VTA is negative and you can’t fix it, you can only add something between a cartridge and tonearm (or thicker mat).

It’s important to get setup right but don’t get too obsessive. There will always be the odd opera torture track that will give most arm/cart combos hiccups.

I do not have yet anything like that on any tonearm/cartridge I’m suing now (no miss tracking). The Hi-Fi News TEST LP is the best test for cartridge suspension and tracking abilities. 

I do remember certain Shure cartridges being renowned for their tracking abilities. Perhaps it might be worth finding out what carts classical stations such as BBC Radio 3 used to employ in the days before they switched to digital.

Almost any good high compliance cartridge can do the same. The Grace LEVEL II for example, and it’s much better than any Shure. But Grace is a Japanese cartridge, you guys remember American cartridges only (and how they were advertised) @cd318

@chakster,

Good points. Yes, overhang simply has to be right. It hurts to think of that diamond not finding the best way through that spiral groove.

One thing that still puzzles me is the notion that the perceived sonic difference between moving magnet and moving coil designs was largely down to the better structural integrity of the latter with its non-removable stylus?

Is there any truth in this?

Since a lot of people use the Ortofon (blue and red) mm cartridges I wondered whether anyone had used that old trick of applying the tiniest drop of superglue to help further secure the plastic stylus assembly to the cartridge body?  

Since you could still easily break off the assembly when it was eventually time to replace the stylus, it might be something worth considering. Perhaps even moreso with a used cartridge.

I think it was something first suggested by UK reviewer, the king of tweaks himself, Jimmy Hughes.

The notion seemed to gain further credibility when Linn brought out their K9 cartridge which featured a tiny Allen bolt on the front of the cartridge to secure the removable assembly (Linn had a thing for the the letter 'k' and its profile looked like Doctor Who's electronic dog). 

Linn claimed that it helped with tracking and also resulted in a reduction in surface noise - and I tended to agree with them.

But that was over 15 years ago and perhaps today's moving magnet designs are better built.

@cd318 there are many vintage MM and MI with fixed stylus holder assembly: Denon DL-107, ADC TRX series, Technics EPS100 and P100 series, SONY XL-50 ... There is a screw to tighten up removable stylus to the cartridge body. 

Audio-Technica cartridges designed even better without that screw and a plastic stylus holder never fell apart and it sits firmly on AT-ML170 for example.