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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
mulveling's avatar
mulveling
2,154 posts
 

"Even much lower line cartridges like Kontrapunkts..."

Careful, lad, I’m listening to a 500 hour Kontrapunkt C and thinking it is uncomfortably close to what I like about the London Decca Reference. That alone makes me think Ortofon have some idea of what they are about. Unlike some cartridge manufacturers. The Kontrapunkt C is akin to the Cadenza Black in modern speak.

I actually owned a Kontrapunkt c, and am sorry I sold it. Loved that cartridge. It’s analogous to Cadenza Bronze in the modern line - which I also have - and in many ways I think the Kontra c was more fun (though they’re a lot alike). Even preferred the "c" over its big brother Jubilee, which was predecessor to the Cadenza Black. The Jubilee was a bit sterile. The Kontra c and Bronze have a warmth and body that seems to be missing to various degrees from the upper line (Jubilee, Windfeld, Windfeld Ti). A90 is my favorite Ortofon so far, though.

dover
2,299 posts
 

The Verismo is robably a better value. 

As Freud would say

terry9
2,354 posts
 

Nice catch.

lewm
13,515 posts
 

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

pindac's avatar
pindac
2,864 posts
 

Nice description of the kinship of the Ortofon Generations.

Not to be a challenge, but I have heard the Vienna, which has a controlled but noticeable Bass Presence compared to the K'b.

I perceived the Windfeld as have an increased Tone in comparison to the Vienna, the Windfeld seemed to have underpinned the attractive Vienna.

The A90 I have heard on an unfamiliar system and had this in my mind as a Lean Racehorse, but still to my liking.

I like Ortofon, these Cart's in their Trickle-Down Technology Guises, meet my needs. The Older TOTR items are proven to myself to be very attractive too, but not being pursued, I have found my level of being contented.     

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