Pretty good amateur opinion Raul. This is what I came up with. The specific gravity of Boron is 2.34. This means that Boron is 2.34 times heavier than an equal volume of water. The specific gravity of diamond is 3.52! Diamond is significantly heavier than Boron. A Boron cantilever will have a lower effective mass and theoretically track better. This does not take into account the stiffness of the two materials. Both are very stiff but I believe diamond is stiffer. The stiffer material would provide more accurate transmission. In order to know which is superior in any given design I think you would have to build the cartridge both ways and subject it to testing. I have this itch that tells me the diamond is more of a marketing strategy than anything else. The manufacturers of some very fine cartridges seem determined to avoid using diamond cantilevers and I'm sure there is a reason. I was hoping jcarr could fill us in on it.
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:-
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.
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 dynamicsI’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.
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- 358 posts total
Agreed, I suspect the extra $4000 Koetsu charges for a diamond cantilever has everything to do with snob appeal and 'trophies for the rich' marketing tactics. I've read somewhere that Namiki charges around $1000 for their diamond cantilever/stylus assembly, so the $1500 extra Ortofon charges for the MC Anna Diamond (with their Replicant 100 stylus, so probably not sourced from Namiki) over the regular version with boron cantilever seems more reasonable. Whether this translates to better sound is open to debate. Of course the reviewers say 'yes', but they're just the mouthpiece for the industry. They just as easily try to convince people that Koetsu's surcharge is also money well spent. Sure enough, it would be most interesting to know why JC and - for example - AJ (van den Hul) never issued a model with diamond cantilever. They must surely have considered this. I recently made direct contact with AJ about another matter, so perhaps I'll get the chance to ask him about this. And hopefully JC will take the bait here....! |
Diamond is boring :)) Leave it for girls. How about Synthobionic Cantilever used by Reto Luigi Andreoli who’s been trained by Garrott Brothers in Australia and later went on his own with Bluelectric brand in Switzerland. A few audiogonners have his Magic Diamond MC cartridge, but do you know about his MM cartridges with Synthobionic Cantilever? As you can read below Streamliner MM models has unique SYNTHOBIONIC CANTILEVER! Pretended to be unbreakable. What??? Let’s have another look. You need google chrome browser (or google translate) to read this review. You will not find another interview with Mr. Adreoli, but Russian reviewer asked his permission to add a bit from their email conversation into this review. Very interesting! Synthobionic Cantilever is something more interesting than Diamond cantilever. |
It is interesting to compare material qualities. Then we have ruby/sapphire=corundum, with a both higher specific gravity AND a lower stiffness, seemingly clearly inferior to diamond (all else being equal). Then the issue of rod vs. pipe - why don’t we see more attempts at pipes, besides aluminum (difficulty to manufacture?). And also why don’t we see more short cantilevers to minimize the effects of imperfect cantilever materials, alignment difficulties aside. The Koetsu diamond cantilevers do seem perhaps a little bit shorter. Maybe it could be argued that and a (possibly) more rigid stylus bonding could account for the improved sound over boron on the same cartridge, if the mass vs. stiffness is a wash :) |
- 358 posts total