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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:-
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 dynamics
I’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.
128x128halcro
jcarr
382 posts
 
Hi @edgewear:
>The auction ended yesterday at a smidgen under 200.000 JPY and I’m happy to disclose that my Japanese contact has won it!<

200,000 JPY is quite a bargain. Today Namiki-Adamant charges significantly more for their top diamond cantilever only (no cartridge included).

https://www.ad-na.com/en/product/jewel/product/shop_diamond_microridge.html

IOW you got a discount on the cantilever, and the cartridge for free! 😊

>The spec sheet of XL-44 (with 49mm distance) even claims that variations within that 2mm range don’t impact sound quality. I’ve also noticed that Ortofon is not too meticulous about observing the required 51mm collar to stylus distance for the SPU’s. I’m well aware this runs against the grain of the meticulous P2S alignment methods considered mandatory today, but in practice it does seem to work fine without audible distortion.<

>What are your thoughts about this?<

More than one vintage Japanese tonearm was designed without accurate calculations for horizontal tracking geometry (applies equally to Lofgren A, Lofgren B, or Stevenson). In some cases hitting the null points requires that the cartridge be twisted significantly in the headshell. When the cartridge cannot be twisted because it is housed in an integrated headshell, how important is precise overhang?

>As a good audiogon citizen I will report back when I have taken delivery of this Takai Lab Final MC.<

Looking forward to your initial impressions. Longer-term, I recommend that you try out a variety of setup approaches at your leisure until you can ferret out how to make it sing at its finest.

kind regards, jonathan
edgewear
543 posts
 
Dear Jonathan, thanks for your response. I agree I got a pretty good deal and the cartridge is in excellent condition and by visual inspection the stylus doesn't seem to have many hours on it.

My initial impressions are above, but I will certainly try all set up approaches to get the best out of it. It now sits at the end of an Audiocraft AC-4400, with the oil damping around 50%, VTA with the arm in horizontal position, VTF at 1,5 grams and loading impedance at 500 ohms. 

I would still like to hear from you what has been the reason of your decision never to use diamond as cantilever material. Just curious!

richardkrebs
422 posts
 
If I may, a question for Jonathan.
Some cartridge designers use super short cantilevers. As the stylus tracks the groove it moves in an arc. With a short cantilever this arc has a very small radius. Would this cause an inter channel  phase shift as the stylus rotates relative to the modulation on each wall ?
Cheers  
best-groove's avatar
best-groove
844 posts
 
is is very difficult for many of us to audition these cartridges.

Get invited to the house of someone who has a head with a cantilevered diamond and you take away your curiosity.
Today airline tickets are very cheap, it is not impossible to make a trip to go and listen.
halcro's avatar
halcro OP
2,664 posts
 
@edgewear 
I've just joined your nightmarish scenario. A cartridge with irreplacable cantilever, irreplacable stylus and irreplacable sound! I completely share your sentiments and I'm glad I followed your lead!
I'm so pleased for you my friend.... 👏
And I'll never forget your kindness in NOT bidding in the auction for my Sony XL-88D so that I would have a better chance.....

Your eloquent description of some of the feelings elicited by this stylus reinforces the spine-tingling excitement I also feel every time I switch from a different cartridge......
It's hard to describe and even harder to convey to others.....
YouTube videos are unable to capture all the qualities projected into the listening room.

There is one light at the end of the tunnel for our mutual 'conundrum'......
As we get older, the listening hours available to us are inevitably decreasing so that the 'value' proposition of listening to this cartridge rather than some of our other ones is increasing.....if you follow this logic? 🥴

The fact that this Thread inspired you to follow my lead into the 'abyss' is justification alone for my efforts...and if anyone else has profited from reading the contributions here, it may have saved the few remaining vintage cartridges like ours from lying dormant in some drawers...?

Happy listening @edgewear....💍 
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