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.
@reimarc perhaps stating the obvious but you may want to keep your current Benz LPS long enough to hear the new preamp- keeping variables limited :) A gon member @gakerty switched from a Benz LPS to the Aidas Gala Gold and was quite happy with the upgrade. Perhaps pm him for some thoughts? Disclosure: I am the distributor for Aidas |
Dear @reimarc : The ART 1000 is an excellent selection. Audio Technica has over 60 years designing and building LOMC and MM cartridges, I own and owned almost all models from the humble AT95 to any top one but the ART 1000. No one AT cartridge I listened in my system and other systems never sounded bad and the top ones always great. The ART 1000 is almost a " jewel " and an a design achievement and very good tracker due to its around 18cu in compliance. Good and here what an owner posted somewhere about:
" The best sounding cartridge I have ever had purchased. I like it better then my Air-Tight PC-1 Signature and the Benz LP. Excellent price for a phono cartridge of this sound quality! "
That Air Tigth was manufactured by MSL that @mijostyn recomended. Btw, mijos the AT has 3 ohms impedance and a good candidate for you at a just ridiculous price against your other cartridge selections.
I'm sure that if the AT ART 1000 price tag will says 20K this cartridge will be at any top system but unfortunatelly its price is only 5K and those gentlemans just do not turn their eyes to " see " it, unfortunatelly for all of them. R. |
Dear @mikelavigne : I posted to you way before the latest post:
" and I’m not telling I’m rigth and only will describe some " facts " that I found out .."
Kind regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS, R. |
So you never heard or touched the ART 1000? Yet:
You know about the tracking ability of this cartridge based only on the printed CU spec? |
Modified Cartridges are much more fitting as a Subject within this Thread, than the lengthy 'got of on a tangent' Digital / Vinyl Source discussions and is definitely much more fitting that the Ammunition Cartridge put forward. @reimarc Is your reference to a Gyger Styli the FGS and was it used to replace the MicroRidge Styli. I know the FGS, when attached to the Thin Boron Rod on the Cadenza Black is found to be a very attractive design by those who have selected the modification during a refurb. |
