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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
big_greg
6,570 posts
 

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.

nandric's avatar
nandric
4,086 posts
 

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 

terry9
2,259 posts
 

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.

 

dogberry
588 posts
 

A predictable outcome for a thread entitled as it is. Among the very few who can purchase the most expensive cartridges, there will still be the same phenomenon we see in lower end contests: people advocate for what they know about. I have eight cartridges in the 3-5k range. I'm happy to push them as being worthy of consideration, but to do so involves considerations of the system they get plugged into, and it all becomes rather meaningless.

If I could afford an SS strain gauge, a DS Audio optical, or an AT tip-sensing cartridge, I'm sure I would learn about the deficiencies of my other components! Since I cannot, I must make do with what I have, and honestly, I'm not disappointed in any way. I know now that my ears cannot hear the refinements that some claim. So I know what is the best cartridge in my world. And really, can anyone say they know what is best in anyone else's world?

cd318
2,636 posts
 

Shure V15 - the best cartridges of all time?

"Moving coil fans must be gritting their teeth at the audacious title that suggests the V15 might be the best cartridge series of all time.

Sure, there are more expensive cartridges, and moving coil fans are often steadfast in their views that moving magnet just will not cut it.

But the Shure V15, in terms of its popularity, affordability, cult status and brilliant (affordable) sound is right up there.

A related example might be calling the Technics SL-1200 one of the best turntables of all time – not the highest end turntable, by any means, but a solid piece of machinery that combines excellent sound with affordability."

 

 

I wonder what serious broadcasters use these days now that Shure have stopped cartridge production?


http://best-turntables.com/shure-v15-series-explained/

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