Hear my Cartridges....🎶


Many Forums have a 'Show your Turntables' Thread or 'Show your Cartridges' Thread but that's just 'eye-candy'.... These days, it's possible to see and HEAR your turntables/arms and cartridges via YouTube videos.
Peter Breuninger does it on his AV Showrooms Site and Michael Fremer does it with high-res digital files made from his analogue front ends.
Now Fremer claims that the 'sound' on his high-res digital files captures the complex, ephemeral nuances and differences that he hears directly from the analogue equipment in his room.
That may well be....when he plays it through the rest of his high-end setup 😎
But when I play his files through my humble iMac speakers or even worse.....my iPad speakers.....they sound no more convincing than the YouTube videos produced by Breuninger.
Of course YouTube videos struggle to capture 'soundstage' (side to side and front to back) and obviously can't reproduce the effects of the lowest octaves out of subwoofers.....but.....they can sometimes give a reasonably accurate IMPRESSION of the overall sound of a system.

With that in mind.....see if any of you can distinguish the differences between some of my vintage (and modern) cartridges.
VICTOR X1
This cartridge is the pinnacle of the Victor MM designs and has a Shibata stylus on a beryllium cantilever. Almost impossible to find these days with its original Victor stylus assembly but if you are lucky enough to do so.....be prepared to pay over US$1000.....🤪
VICTOR 4MD-X1
This cartridge is down the ladder from the X1 but still has a Shibata stylus (don't know if the cantilever is beryllium?)
This cartridge was designed for 4-Channel reproduction and so has a wide frequency response 10Hz-60KHz.
Easier to find than the X1 but a lot cheaper (I got this one for US$130).
AUDIO TECHNICA AT ML180 OCC
Top of the line MM cartridge from Audio Technica with Microline Stylus on Gold-Plated Boron Tube cantilever.
Expensive if you can find one....think US$1000.

I will be interested if people can hear any differences in these three vintage MM cartridges....
Then I might post some vintage MMs against vintage and MODERN LOMC cartridges.....🤗
128x128halcro
For the past 8 months or so.....I have been distracted with two of my other hobbies....watches and cars 👀
So no time to even read Audio Forums let alone contribute.....
Compromised my daily listening habits slightly but that's now returned to 'normal'.
After a 6 month wait.....my new 992 Carrera S finally arrived....
The first Porsche 911 in 60 years to be able to stand aesthetically with my beloved 356B Super Coupe.

It arrived however in mid June which coincided with the Delta strain of the Covid 19 outbreak in Sydney, and 'stay-at-home' orders were issued.
Frustration.......🤬!!!!

After a few weeks it got too much for me and I took the Carrera S onto the Freeway......
At which point I was clocked by the Police doing 180 Km/Hr on the M1 (which has a 110Km limit) 😱

The Constable cancelled my Licence for 6 months there and then, and proceeded to unscrew the car's plates which were confiscated for 3 months.
I asked him if I should further punish the 'guilty' car when I got it back home ...😂
He was not amused....
He then waited till I called a tow-truck and loaded it for the journey home before he would leave the scene.

So now I have oodles of time to record comparisons for you....🥴
@halcro 
The Constable cancelled my Licence for 6 months there and then, and proceeded to unscrew the car's plates which were confiscated for 3 months.
I asked him if I should further punish the 'guilty' car when I got it back home ...😂
He was not amused....

Sorry to hear that - my memorables are
Audi S3 - cop says "money wont hurt you you rich B, but the points will get ya, ha ha " - I took them to court and they lost.
And in the US - "I've been trying to catch up for 1/2 an hour, I like to throw you in jail but I cant cos you're a D### foreigner" - got back to the hotel and found he'd ripped out most of the pages on my international license.
@dover 
I managed to get an early Court hearing and in front of a packed Courtroom with an elderly Magistrate.....I explained my story with the long-awaited car and the frustration at not being able to drive it and stressed that this was no 'excuse' but just an insight into my state of mind 😥
When I finished, the Magistrate said:-
May I ask what car you purchased?
When I replied....a Porsche Carrera S, the Courtroom erupted in laughter...😂
Startled....I turned around to find that the women were the most amused.
The Magistrate called for order and proceeded with his determination:-
You were on a Freeway with no pedestrians or parked cars so no lives were endangered. It is very easy to exceed the speed limit with a high performance vehicle and your long driving history is pretty good.
I don't find you a fit and proper person to hold a licence TODAY.....but I find you a fit and proper person to hold a licence in a month!
When I reported this result to my solicitor...he said I did better than any lawyer could have 👏
Only two weeks to go......👍
 
Thanks @dover .....

Having been settled with the selection of cartridges surrounding my Raven AC-2 for about a year, I have been messing back and forwards searching for the best two MM Cartridges for my Victor TT-101

Do I go with one of the Signets?
One of the ATs?
One of the Shures?
One of the Victors?
One of the Empires?
One of the Fidelity Researches?
One of the Graces?
Perhaps the Glanz MFG 610LX?

After a year of testing combinations...I think I've settled on the Victor X-1 and the Signet MR-5.0LC (this will not please Frogman 🥴)

Both these cartridges are very difficult to find with original styli in good condition and the X-1 is virtually 'unobtainium' 😥
I managed to get the only one I've seen advertised in five years with not only its original stylus intact....but also a spare NOS unused one 🎉

Naturally they both come equipped with Beryllium Cantilevers ....

Turn this one UP and boogie....
With YouTube unfortunately....we lose the bottom two octaves 😢

VINTAGE VICTOR X-1 MM CARTRIDGE 

VINTAGE SIGNET MR-5.0LC MM CARTRIDGE

VINTAGE SIGNET MR-5.0LC MM CARTRIDGE

VINTAGE VICTOR X-1 MM CARTRIDGE