Hear my Cartridges....🎶

My LDR assault continues...
At 16.5k, changed VTF from 1.90 to 1.81. Opened up the sound a bit. Good. I do not dare to touch VTA as I think I’m in the sweet spot and I don’t use VTA for tonal adjustments.
Keeping 1.81g, I jumped from 16.5k straight to 28.8k. Wow again! First thing to notice - paradoxically - was the bass! More punchy, more present, giving a better foundation for the rest. The syrup of 16.k loading almost gone. More contrast both dynamical and in frequency extremes. More drama almost at the 33k level but still not there. Like a ride on high speed where do don’t know what’s rounder the next turn (although the LP’s I’m using I know by heart). Damn loving it!

As for the HF overload I reported with 33k - I had that epiphany at night. What if my amp is overloaded or the headphones (I listen on Stax O2mkI) overload my ears? Cause the rest sounded to damn right to be accidental. It was it! Me bimbo, big bimbo. Was enough to lower a bit the volume...Some sharpness at the highest notes/volumes still remained but recalling the ancient times when we still had live concerts in Europe, my ears (esp. the left one) would get occasionally overloaded at high pitch/high volume tones. So I choose to live with that given the rest of the benefits.


Summarizing, I’m returning to 33k. But instead of a dirty, long leaded parallel connection of two Dale resistors I’ve been using now, I will use Z-foils, pre-burnt for a week and soldered with short leads directly at the RCA sockets. I believe this location works best for me, picking least of environmental EMI (measured once). This can also give some extra clarity and clean some artefacts- witnessed that already a couple of times. Then will play with VTF only.

Now a bit of speculations why 33k works for me: The manufacturer states the optimal LDR parameters (I guess optimal means the flattest FR) as 33k/220pF with the cart inductance 130mH. I suspect having around 290-300pf - the EAR834 is around 200pF = AQ leopard cable 60pf + my DIY EAR has an input selector and extra wiring around it so adds some pF. In theory a lower load should be best. Calculation shows 21k, adding some 35% extra as London does gives 28.5k. However my Staxes are a bit recessed and darker sounding. Extra few kOhms at 33k possibly compensate for that. Just my speculations :)

Apologies for being on the lower rungs of the London hierarchy with a SG (with Decapod and LDR paratrace stylus). I also have 2 other Decca cartridges. My application may not transfer to the LDR. Nevertheless, I run them all at 1.55-1.65 VTF and it opens them up so they really sing. If your rig and arm are good, you should have no tracking issues. I also find raising the back of the arm above parallel locks in focus. Try it. you might be surprised.

Dear @bydlo  : That cartridge needs a very well damped tonearm and that the cartridge will mates with the cartridge the range of frequency resonance and that the phono stage has high overload margin.

You are playing with load resistance but you need to play too with load capacitance and you can't do it.

""   I do not dare to touch VTA as I think I’m in the sweet spot and I don’t use VTA for tonal adjustments. ""

Why do you think are in the sweet spot? if you have the " rigth " damped tonearm and phono stage high overload margins and is reallya good phono stage: why all those troubles?

Certainly is not an easy set-up cartridge but seems to me that you are testing at random with out have well defined your targets according your system limitations, nothing is perfect.

Maybe the change on VTF that noromance posted helps him but is not a very good advise to set the VTF lower than the manufacturer specs especially with cantilever-less cartridges that could makes more gharm to the LPs than good.

Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS,
R.

VTA Adjustment

Without getting in the weeds too much most folk use high frequency and base response to adjust VTA., effectively using  it as a tone control for their particular system This is wrong.

Correct VTA is when the stylus aligns with the cutting angle, this gives maximum groove contact for the stylus profile the designer came up with and the maximum amount of information recovered from the groove.

Because of system deviations, or distortions as Raul would put it, the only correct way to adjust VTA is by listening for maximum information recovery, maximum soundstage size and maximum preservation of the harmonic structure of instruments.

Maybe the change on VTF that noromance posted helps him but is not a very good advise to set the VTF lower than the manufacturer specs

JW, the builder of London cartridges in the UK specs a VTF of 1.8g +/- 0.2g. Therefore 1.6g is perfectly fine. Thank you.