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.
@dogberry The corollary is that perhaps I prefer it tail up to compensate for my declining perception of highs! Try your cartridges at 1.65. IIRC, John Wright told me tracking lies between 1.6 and 2.0 grms—so you're safe. More air, detail, and speed without sacrificing bass.
|
Ah. After three or four days with the Grado Statement 3 on one table, I now have gone back for one album on the other table, with a London Reference (I don't know the reduced VTF made a massive difference) on it. Supertramp's Indelibly Stamped. For Hyperion owners, "..I'll go get a cactus of my own" as it says on track one of side two. There's just no comparison. |
It is official for me now, the luxury of HiFi at hand, is now removed, as a result of nearly all the collection of ingredients being crated for Storage. LP's, CD's, Cables, Valves and Ancillaries, along with boxes of buried parts are rediscovered, to be promptly buried once more, are now Packed. Next will be the Source Devices, the Vinyl equipment requires a very delicate hand and thoughtful methods for the storage. I have also put a few Tonearms out for long term loan, to assist with some of the upcoming comparisons being arranged. The Cart's and DAC will be kept at hand, to be used in future comparisons, and I believe a few Bake-offs are to be arranged prior to the Xmas, with CDP's, CDT > DAC's and I believe a Steamer > DAC, when undertaken at one home. These usually are carried out on a few different systems, as past experiences show, there are surprises to be found, Synergy is useful description and when believed to be present, is a wonderful encounter. Not always does a most impressive item of equipment on one system, deliver to the same degree of impression on another, on the odd occasion may have even been the least impressive. How I am going to miss Trying out a new purchased music in the comfort of home and How will the Dark Nights of Winter be without a few periods set aside for replays and comparison sessions. I will be 'Sleeping on the Sofa' in relation to HiFi and very dependent on my invites to HiFi Group activities. Picking up on the activities of others with their equipment experiences, will at least allow myself a little continued reading and as always there will be follow up investigation if the content captures my interest. |
Dear @mijostyn : I never had the opportunity to listen your MSL cartridge but I owned two of what I think is around best best cartridges design that Matshudira made, I'm refering to the Luxman LMC-1 and the Supex SDX-1100R. Both are very low output: 0.1mv for the Lux and 0.2mv for the Sup and in both obviously that with that output levels the internal impedance in the order of 1.5ohms-3ohm. The stylus shape were hiper-ellipthical and that today not line contact- Sup with ruby cantilever and I can't remmeber the one in the Lux. Both cartridges tracking very well and with low weigth for a LOMC cartridges: 5grs.-6grs respectively. Very good experiences with and I regret to sold the Luxman.
R. |
