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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 @solypsa : Only to relate that digital is everywhere. Same wit medical instruments or robotics.

 

Btw, @clearthink certainly that mijos can or not in agreement with me and has his personal answer but his statement on Bernie I understand was in specific under that " feeling " that B. mentioned that as I said before at the end means only that just a " feeling " that solve nothing. Yes, in this thread context B. is wrong and what we were discussing is not about " feelling " but clear and precise evidences in favor of digital medium.

 

What BG said was a comment in that non-formal meeting thinking " loud " and maybe under the thread context the answer or comment by BG could be different.

Mike Lavigne brougth BG here thinking that in some way those comments could supports the Mike point of view and was an unfortunated " kind of support " because did not helps for him.

 

Your ironic statement is something " stupid " for say the least, don’t you think?:

 

" Wow that is remarkable you know more than Bernie Grundman you must be in great demand by the record companies...."

In what context/scenario that statement is valid?

 

R.

R.

dover
2,243 posts
 

Only to relate that digital is everywhere. Same wit medical instruments or robotics.

Stupidity is everywhere too, but we don't aspire to that standard.

You'll have to come up with a better argument than that.

 

dover
2,243 posts
 

from many years now all financial transactions in the world including corporation as Wall Street used and are using DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY 

That seems a bit myopic - don't you know many "financial transactions" are completed through hawala compared to Wall Street or indeed the black money market where goods and services are used for financial transfers.

terry9
2,333 posts
 

@dover  I think we are seeing  that logic is not someone's strong suit, whatever his pretensions.

dover
2,243 posts
 

If analog could not compete quite simply we wouldn't be having this conversation! Instead it would simply be gone and no further talk about it other than historical context.

Indeed, and many musicians, famous and not so famous, who still prefer to record in analogue would be gone as well.

There are numerous who split their recording - for example use digital for vocals, but analogue for instrumentation.

Each system has its pros and cons. 

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