Even if I had a dealer nearby, I think I would prefer to learn to install them and adjust them myself (as I have). If you rely on the dealer you aren't going to be able to swap cartridges on a whim when you want to compare them.
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.
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@ghdprentice , If you can't take the heat get out of the kitchen. I would never let anyone else touch my turntable. The question would be what percentage of turntable owners who might be interested in a site like this are comfortable handling cartridges. A site like this could actually save people a lot of money. You might discover that you can not hear the difference between a Windfeld Ti and an MC Diamond in your system. That is a $5000 savings. |
Sadly, cartridges are too easily damaged, which makes rentals a tricky proposition. I mean, we still see the "my cleaning lady killed a $5K Dynavector" posts every month - too many audiophiles still haven't got their "cartridge safety" routines down pat. You could charge the renter for damage, but that will lead to a lot of "you damaged this cart" / "no I didn't - CC chargeback incoming" quagmires.
I agree with the point you're making, but the differences between cartridges of different designs like that are extremely audible. Nobody who can't hear that difference will get to the point of interest in $5K+ cartridges. However, it IS possible they might prefer the cheaper cartridge, due to either system matching or personal preference. |
Dear @newtoncr : Good for your link. Unfortunatelly it did not says something way different of what already was analised in this thread with MLavigne ( you can read in this thread from page 7..) and adds other no sense ( for me ) subjective issues.
" dava seems to check the most boxes. " with out objective merits because its high FR response that’s what that gentleman listened and not awared of it. Even that a welcomed information.
Anyway thank’s.
R. |
@mulveling , that is why you hold the cost of the cartridge in escrow. Yes, in some instances one might actually prefer the less expensive cartridge. A cartridge screwed down tight inside it's box is virtually impossible to damage without obvious intrusion into the shipping carton which with insurance would have to be covered by the shipper. The actual cost to the customer would be whatever it costs to get a stylus replacement from the original manufacturer. The customer then owns the cartridge which he or she could sell on Audigon as a new cartridge as long as they do not break the seal. So, it is not a total loss to the customer, certainly an inconvenience. |
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