Hear my Cartridges....🎶

@frogman 

Does single crystal oxygen free copper have an inherently different sound than plain old copper? Some feel it does. Both are copper....no? Why should it? 

I don’t know. Jus’ sayin.. 

I have spoken to some designers who believe "dirty copper" should be used on ground planes and screening of interconnects because it attracts and dissipates noise better than "pure materials".

This is analagous to some tube designers who advocate the use of carbon resistors as grid stoppers, because although they are generally noisier than other types, they actually are more effective at reducing noise in high voltage power supplies.

Again an example of no magic bullets, it is always about the overall design topology, criteria and context.

Some other designers are now pushing very high purity silver ground cables, in other words, the opposite view. Is this marketing hype ??

Unfortunately audiophiles who proclaim a "magic component" in every situation usually are unaware of the design criteria of the component, they just assume more $$ equals better sound, not always the case.

As I understand it, there is a "science"-based reason for using carbon composition resistors as grid-stoppers.  This is because CC resistors maintain their resistivity up to very high frequencies, higher than other types of resistors that may otherwise sound better and are also non-inductive.  At very high frequencies, most other resistor types reach a resonance point and become capacitative.  The purpose of the grid-stop resistance is to dampen oscillations of the tube that depend upon its Miller capacitance and its transconductance.  (High transconductance tubes are more prone to oscillate and more likely to require a grid-stopper to keep them quiet.) If the resistor itself becomes reactive at very high frequencies, then in theory the dampening effect is lost.  That said, some good designers ignore the issue and just use resistor types that they like.

@lewm 
Thanks for the info, I was aware of the science on this, and use them myself in this application. It was the $$$ silver grounding cables I'm less sure about. Do you have any experience with the original non magnetic shinkoh tantalum resistors in the signal path with tube preamps ?  I have enough to replace the signal resistors in my Marantz 7 but have never got around to it. I use nude vishays for loading.

Victor nails it for me on my Macbook Pro.....more musical...less mechanical

Excellent observations and comments by Dover. His reactions to the three different cantilevers are almost exactly in line with mine and I rank the three in the same order.

For me, the Ruby ranks a distant third, sounding rough and less refined than the other two. That one out of the way, the choice between the Boron and the Sapphire is more interesting. Plainly put, for me, the Boron sounds more natural (realistic). The sapphire, while it "appears" more resolving in the highs, I hear as more generous in that range, but a range that is not as well integrated with the midrange. For me, a top end which is more generous will often tend to cause the midrange to seem less fully developed. The better integrated highs of the Boron help its midrange to sound more "fully developed". As far as overall tonal balance goes, in the context of a different system, one might easily be preferable to the other. In this context, he Boron wins for me.

Two observations that would tip the scale for me in favor of the Boron regardless of system context:

Listen to the kettle drum roll that one hears at the opening of the Prokofiev (thank you, Halcro) and its percussive accent on the arrival of the roll which is accompanied by the entrance of the low brass. With the Sapphire, I hear a hint of strain in the sound of demanding (loud/densely orchestrated) passages in the music. The Boron sounds a bit more composed (sorry) in those spots. While I suspect that it does, this may or may not be related to the second observation:

Listen to that great violin section beginning at :59. Wonderful musical passage with very exciting syncopated and accented notes intended to "jump out" of the overall texture of running sixteenth notes. With the Boron those accented notes leave that texture of running sixteenth notes more obviously and decisively....more music.

Interesting comparison as always, Halcro. Thank you.

Now, and please forgive me for this, but the subject of the Weavers’ song is a little too close to home (literally) for me to ignore. As we all know, that is a wonderful and wonderful sounding record. As wonderful sounding as is that "Guantanamera" , a beautiful song that is practically a second national anthem for Cubans, it leaves some to be desired on stylistic grounds. Here is a more stylistically authentic version; hope you enjoy it (or, at least appreciate it):

https://youtu.be/gdYIpvnzoW8