Detachable Head shell or Not?

Dear @jafox  : I never tested Audioquest cables and my post came from other audiophile opinion.

As almost always we can say that the best IC cable is the one that works the best in that system link and that helps to achieve our targets in MUSIC reproduction quality levels. So, each one of us have an specific cadidate for " the best ".

Btw, I owned the AQ 7000Fe5 and agree with you of the AQ high quality level performance. The Fe5 was the top of the AQ line and the last cartridge they puts in the market. Was manufactured by Scan-Tech the same builder of Lyra cartridges.

It's good that you already found out that " best " IC cable in that specific system link and I hope that it works the same for you with your new tonearm.

R.

@pindac - I read again your comments on tube rolling while also evaluating cable differences.  During the decade that I compared many cables, I did much more experimenting with tube rolling.  It was 15-20 years ago that some A'gon members, most notably Albert Porter and Bart Posner, shared with me much of their in-depth knowledge on the many tubes they had tried.  I bought the same line and phono stages as Albert owned, and I had the same observations.

The first thing I do when I get a tube product is to remove the stock tubes.  They are there because of availability in mass quantity.  But the true potential of these units is only experienced through patience.  One learns/discovers a few brands of each tube type that bring on a new level of articulation, frequency extreme coverage, openness.  There are some with wild tonal coherence issues, flat presentation, etc.  But on occasion, a discovery can lead to an improvement that many would classify as a "component upgrade".  This experience can occur 2, 3 or more times with one component.  And if the component has a tube power supply, especially a tube rectifier, a change here can be as dramatic as a signal tube.

Some tube component designers suggest that their designs do not require tube rolling, or they go as far to say it is not recommended.  But Michael Elliot, the Counterpoint designer. encouraged his customers to experiment with signal and power supply tubes.  He was so right about the benefits here.  It's this devotion to experimentation with tubes and cables, that can take a fairly good sounding system to be near, or at, or even beyond the performance of systems costing significantly more.

@pindac - If interested, send me a private note here and I can share some of my favorite tubes in the 6922/6DJ8, 12AX7/5751, 12AU7/12BH7, EL34, classes.  I have no experience with 6SN7 based preamps but maybe one day I can try such.

John

With detachable shells, I think it is never as good, but convenience may trump the degradation in sound. Similarly I cant think of a single situation is which directly going from the cartridge to the preamp with wire wont be superior. 

I used to not like them, but now that I own a Technics MK7 I have come to appreciate the ease at which I can not only mount a cartridge, but also swap another in on a spare headshell. I doubt there is much noticeable difference in sound quality. Another cool thing is you can use headshells other than the Technics.

The idea of the continuous wire from Cart' Pins the Phono RCA will be very appealing to those who want minimised interruption in the Signal Path.

The method is best used only if the mechanical properties of the Tonearm are not impacted on by the methods to use the wire,

The goal is to have as close to a Zero influence as possible on the mechanical interfaces within the arm, and there are not many who deal with this area, that are with the understanding and skills to create the methods where a influence of the design change for the wiring is nearing Zero influence.