What is the “World’s Best Cartridge”?

The Lino 3.3 was highly recommended as a phono stage that could stand up to any. I currently use a full function Atma-Sphere MP-1. This is a two box unit with a separate ps. I believe it was designed from its outset as a vinyl playback machine.

Half of its many tubes are the phono stage. I got lucky and scored 8 mil spec Mullard 12AT7s. Very rare and spectacular sounding.

I also save having to use another pricey IC and rack space for an outboard phono stage.

But the Lino seems like it may be something very special?

@rauliruegas @mikelavigne 

-Look, these are some specs of the Studer A820 that confirms in some ways what you posted and I said here:

tape speed deviation: +,- 0.2% - tape slip: +,- 01% . Speed stability here is even more critical issue than in a TT because is the recorder and the information used to cut the LPs.

W&F is +,- 0.03 % at 30" and 0.04% at 15" speeds.

Frequency response +,- 2db ( that’s a swing of 4dbs ! ! ) at 30ips from 40hz to 22khz and at 15ips 30hz-20khz ( really limited frequency response. ) and obviously that at +,- 1db deviation FR is even worst.

FWIW Dept.:

You need to spend some time with these machines to really understand them, and having done that I can tell you that if you spend the time really setting them up correctly they easily surpass the published specs. Just for the record though you're never going to see a variation of 4dB in FR!! Heck, you're hard pressed to get anywhere near that even with a cassette deck. If you spend time with the record and playback calibration, they can easily be well within 0.5dB between record and playback.

So put another way the specs you see represent a nominal machine, not one that is properly calibrated, and certainly not one that has been tricked out by one of several gurus of tape machines (that anyone who really wants to know how good they can get) who are known to service them. Put another way, Raul, Mike's machines are tricked out, having lower noise, lower distortion wider bandwidth and certainly far greater speed stability than the original stock specs suggest.

So, Raul, what Mike is hearing and what you are suggesting he is hearing are two really different things. IMO you need to acknowledge that.

The way this conversation has turned reminds me of a photography forum I used to frequent.  There were a number of really high-end commercial photographers that would participate in the forum and provide a ton of valuable information.  

Unfortunately, there were a few "know-it-alls" that would discount their experience and make baseless claims without having any actual experience that supported them. 

One by one the best contributors left, and once they did, many of the entry level pros and experienced hobbyists left as well.  The forum at one point would typically have about 50 active discussion threads.  I just looked this morning and there are 3.  The blind can't lead the blind.

The quantor ''all'' is not a name with reference, Its function is to express

generality. The question can only be answered with refrence to the number

of carts each person owns. Aka with ''numerical quantifier '' . ,So ''the best

of my 4 samples IS'...'. Or (Raul)  ''the best of my 100 samples Is''. But to know which of ''all 'ever produced'' which  ''all'' as universal quantifier mply is silly question. 

is 

The Hell it’s a silly question.

@mikelavigne Mike has told us about the DaVa and Etsuro Gold cartridges and why he values them above all others he has tried. If I value liveliness, I buy the DaVa. If I value refinement, I buy Etsuro.

@atmasphere Ralph has done the public service of giving us insight into Raul’s error, instead of taking the easy way out.

@lewm Lew has contributed staid common sense informed by expertise.

@mulveling, the noted Koetsu connoisseur, corrects misunderstandings about Koetsu.

@mglik tells us why he likes the Grado Epoch with Quads.

To name just five.

As long as we have real experts addressing real issues of interest to them, no thread is silly. We can just thank goodness that they (experts) bother.