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What is the “World’s Best Cartridge”?

I believe that a cartridge and a speaker, by far, contribute the most to SQ.

The two transducers in a system.

I bit the bulllet and bought a Lyra Atlas SL for $13K for my Woodsong Garrard 301 with Triplanar SE arm. I use a full function Atma-Sphere MP-1 preamp. My $60K front end. It is certainly, by far, the best I have owned. I read so many comments exclaiming that Lyra as among the best. I had to wait 6 months to get it. But the improvement over my excellent $3K Mayijima Shilabi was spectacular-putting it mildly.

I recently heard a demo of much more pricy system using a $25K cartridge. Seemed to be the most expensive cartridge made. Don’t recall the name.

For sure, the amount of detail was something I never heard. To hear a timpani sound like the real thing was incredible. And so much more! 
This got me thinking of what could be possible with a different kind of cartridge than a moving coil. That is, a moving iron.

I have heard so much about the late Decca London Reference. A MI and a very different take from a MC. Could it be better? The World’s Best? No longer made.

However Grado has been making MI cartridges for decades. Even though they hold the patent for the MC. Recently, Grado came out with their assault on “The World’s Best”. At least their best effort. At $12K the Epoch 3. I bought one and have been using it now for about two weeks replacing my Lyra. There is no question that the Atlas SL is a fabulous cartridge. But the Epoch is even better. Overall, it’s SQ is the closest to real I have heard. To begin, putting the stylus down on the run in grove there is dead silence. As well as the groves between cuts. This silence is indicative of the purity of the music content. Everything I have read about it is true. IME, the comment of one reviewer, “The World’s Best”, may be true.
 

 

mglik
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rauliruegas
13,043 posts
 

Dear @mglik : Congratulations for those both new cartridges you own.

Your question could be controversial because any cartridge quality performance levels depends on with what kind of quality analog rig ( inlcuding phono stage. ) is surrounded and depends too of each cartridge owner skills for its accurated overall set up.

Cartridges as yours or coming from VDH or Ortofon or Koetsu or the Etsuro or, or, or,... are the best for its owners but at the top cartridge models in reality I agree with @mattmiller : no best but a little different. Every one of us have our own and very specifics targets and priorities with MUSIC/sound reproduction.

 

Btw, maybe both of your cartridge could be best " serv " by a different tonearm and obviously a different better phonolinepreamp. At both sides you will experience better SQ with both cartridges that the one you are experienced rigth now.

 

"" To begin, putting the stylus down on the run in grove there is dead silence. As well as the groves between cuts. This silence is indicative of the purity of the music content. ""

Well that per sé means almost nothing for your cartridges. Rigth now I have mounted a LOMC vintage cartridge made by Sumiko that perform exactly that way in that precise issue and not only that this Sumiko is really good and @dover that’s a " delicated " experienced audiophile knows a lot on it.

In the other side, Grado was not the one with the first MC patented principle but Ortofon in 1948 way before Grado existed.

 

@lewm , you are wrong Nagaoka is not a MM design:

https://www.nagaoka.co.jp/item/cat/record/

https://www.nagaoka.co.jp/product/diamond.html

 

Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS,

R.

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rauliruegas
13,043 posts
 

@mglik : https://patents.google.com/patent/US2591996A/en

 

The reviewer on your link said:

 

""" MM/MI has always been superior texturally and always quieter, but has eluded manufacturers’ abilities to produce maximum definition. Not anymore. The brilliant genius John Grado has done it. ""

 

and before Grado that was made it by Pritchard owner of ADC and Sonus induced magnet cartridge designs and before that he designed for GE. The model I’m refering is his ADC 27 cartridge and even that I did not experienced yet exist the ADC 10E MK4 that other audiophile says is the best Pritchard design.

Levi reviewer needs to learn something about or at least experienced the Pritchard designs before post that kind of statements.

But as you analog has an emotional " weigth " and that’s why we all are here. Nothing wrong with that.

 

R.

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rauliruegas
13,043 posts
 

@lewm : Not the MP 500 because Nagaoka has MM models too.

 

R.

lewm
12,971 posts
 

“Magnet on the cantilever“ is the definition of a moving magnet cartridge. In the other hand, I respect Raul’s fund of knowledge.  Need more evidence.

mglik OP
906 posts
 

@mikelavigne 

At Bob’s I heard the Etsuro Gold. Amazing sound for sure. But it was overwhelming. So much new information that it circumvented a deep emotional response. That’s just me. My response was “OK, I get it!”. No matter how great a system, it cannot really be compared to a live event. My brain digested the 

information as a mismatch and prevented suspension of disbelief.

I am a diehard Quad 57 guy. One has to accept the limitations and accept that the Quads can never do many others can. But there is an organic, human quality that is addictive. And that is especially well suited for the Grado Epoch 3.

I also hear the “magical realism” your mention. And am able to suspend my disbelief to a point where I get emotionally connected with the musicians. 
This special connection with the Epoch is in a different world from the Lyra.

 

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