What is the “World’s Best Cartridge”?

Also recognize there are some things that are either unmeasurable or not yet measured.

The words of Daniel Von Recklinghausen come to mind. They apply directly to this conversation. As I mentioned, something is driving LP sales. If the digital community fails to recognize the significance of that, it will also fail to take the measurements that they have failed to take in the past. If you live your life according to made up stories rather than 'what is' you will suffer. Literally this is why digital has been unable to eclipse vinyl; the digital community simply makes up the story that 'its better'. This made up story is the impediment that causes digital to fall short for the last 40 years. 

A few pragmatic designers do move the art forward but a serious problem is so much really dreadfully awful terrible digital gear that is still in service. IMO that bit is what is preventing digital from finally committing the LP to history.

In the meantime having a good cartridge set up in an arm that can really track it solves a lot of headaches- you can just sit down and enjoy music rather than having to worry about any specs. But as Mr. Von Reklinghausen points out the right specs are important for that to happen.

Dear @frogman  : I aggre with some of your statements and disagree with others.

"" each piece of audio gear inserted into an audio system affects the resulting sound in one of two ways- it moves the resulting sound closer to, or farther away from the sound of live music ""

There are main characteristics in live MUSIC that can't be matched in our systems.: first is that in a live event seated at near field position there is almost nothing between you and the MUSIC sources but air and that's why that power and dynamics that develops the live MUSIC sources transients and the other characteristic is that natural tone color and rythm in live MUSIC.

So each gear can't puts us closer but farther away. Why?:

Each link in the room audio always alters/degrades the recording MUSIC and that alters/degrades means that recording information even at minimum is losted and added by each single system link developed any kind of distortions the next link in the system can't recovery the losted information and can't disappears the developed distortions but the other way around because what happened in the first system link continue in the more or les same way with all the other links till we listen the final MUSIC sound information.

Now and even that we did not attend to the recording proccesss we can work inside our room/system to stay nearer to the recording if at each system link we choosed good item designs with the lower distortions that technically is possible and that's why my room/system main target is to put everykind of generated distortion at minimum and in this way I will be nearer to the recording and if I'm nearer to the recording I'm nearer to the live MUSIC.  can have some good control inside the whole system playback proccess but obviously no control of the recording proccess.

Yes, accuracy is way important and technical specs count about today.

Do you thing that that Dava cartridge FR 6db deviations can puts you nearer to the recording in any room system or that the next system link can do it?  NO WAY no matters what because no single room/system link is neutral.

Subjectivity is important but objectivity too and we have to take in count all the facts/obectivity around the playback proccess. Objectivivity along subjectivity is what works and not that  " technical issues take a back seat. "

Only an opinion.

R.

@frogman always exist a true problem with audiophiles and that’s that our ears are way limited and several times we can be foolished by when we trust on them on what we like it.

Look, in the last 2 years Dava cartridge owners ( including M Lavigne. ) die for it as the " best " quality cartridge and all of them have that attitude because they like what they listen ( and I think still do. ) against other cartridges and all of them do not knew that the cartridge FR between 20hz-20khz has ( at least ) a 6db deviation till 2 days ago that after those 2 years the manufacturer disclosed ( in other thread and under pressure. ) the cartridge specs. All those gentlemans trust in their ear, references and audio system experiences. Obviously each one of them with a different room/system.

That way of " massive " behavior was totally subjective and yes they all like it and  they like it with out knowing the " numbers " that shows that were totally wrong by any cartridge quality standard and obviously all paid money for.

That FR deviation is the worst I knew and know of any other cartridge .

We can’t trust exclusively in our ears and experiences, " numbers " always helps a lot if we know to " read it " we just need this kind of objectivity like it or not.

R.

@rauliruegas - You make many valid points about subjective & objective balance for a “World’s Best” title 👍

As for as FR is concerned, such objectivity might exclude technologies that cannot properly decode eq.

@rauliruegas +1! The Dava field coil cartridge with its 6db frequency response deviations precludes its use for music playback! Even the lowly Shure M44 beats that! This is a case where the "golden ears" crowd’s subjective impressions leads to erroneous conclusions!