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

Dear friends: and btw. I wonder 2 things and maybe  some of you ( mijos. lewm or some one else. ) could help:

 

first is how the LFD manufacturer been totally sure that in their cables that comes with 6 signal sources where in each wire source the shape/geometry is different as is the builded material choosed and in the time domain those 6 signals arrives accurately at the absolute same time with out a micro/nano sg. time delay? I wonder about.

 

My other wondering that maybe only Mike/the owner can now are the reasons or reason to he decided that the LFD cable is not good enough to been at the output of his PC where he choosed for a different cable. Obviously I have not any explantion or hypotesis about.

 

Just curiosity because all ththat scenarion gaves him the answer for the best cartridges. Thank's

 

R.

@rauliruegas

i’m not qualified to judge the tech of LFD cables (Dr. Richard Bews) other than what my ears tell me. for those curious about what Raul is referring to here is a thread with information about them.

https://www.whatsbestforum.com/threads/lfd-cables-phono-and-i-c-from-the-uk-cables-as-components.31243/

in that thread are references to Be Yamamura and Dr. Hawksford who Richard Bews studied with. are those guys right? or way off base? who knows? unanswerable.

all i can say is i hear the most coherent, top to bottom balanced, and micro-dynamically alive, musical presentation of any cables i have heard. very sonorous yet agile sounding. are they perfect? don’t know.

Raul; i assume when you use the term ’PC’ you are referring to a personal computer...digital? right. not sure my Wadax server/dac might be confused with a personal computer?😀 why did i not use the LFD cables there? simple; my view is that while my digital uses normal line level, cartridges are dealing with much more delicate signals, .2 to .5 mv, and the cables are much more important and so i invested more there. not that my interconnects for my digital are cheap, just not quite as exotic. plus LFD cables are hard to acquire as they are all hand made by Dr. Bews and might be back-ordered a year or more.

the few that have heard or owned LFD cables are quite broadly impressed with them.

btw; i will respond to your thoughtful earlier post when i get a chance.

On to the next wildly debated Topic.

What is the 'World's Best Synergy' ?

How can one ancillary be instrumental in elevating another ancillary, to be seen to be better than the sum of the parts.

Again, no measurements available, the evaluations derive from the varied views on how the Stimulus of the experience shaped one's perceptions and influenced an attraction or repulsion toward the parts in use. 

Again, each to their own, in relation to what is their preferences.  

Dear @mikelavigne  : Thank's for your patience and appreciated, almost we all here ( at least me. ) are learning about.

 

Btw, PC means Phono Corrector that's where at its output ( very specific place. ) you have a non LFD cable and from there my " wondering " with.

The knowledge  technical  audiophiles here as @terry9 @atmasphere @mijostyn @lewm @larryi  @mulveling  and some others can have good ideas what's happening down there with those cables and with the Phono Corrector and SUTs.

 

Maybe not, I don't know.

Now, somewhere Dr. Bews should has very precise/accurated answers along his measurements as foundation of those.

What makes me that I had and have some " suspicion " was the Mick answer when that wbf audiophile asked for measures and he respond: " the proof is in the listening ". 

 

R.

 

R.

Thank you for the compliment, Raul, but I don't know enough to have a useful opinion.