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Do You Play Or Save Your Best Cartridges

I suspect I am like many here, I have a small collection of cartridges. Until recently I would keep a casual playing cartridge set up and I would save my "good" cartridges for evening listening sessions where I am focusing on listening to music at the listening chair. I always had a casual cartridge mounted on an arm, maybe an Audio Technica OC9 III or something along those lines. These days its either an Ortofon MC3000 II or MC5000. 

 

Earlier this year I finally decided to use the DAC in my Trinov pre amp, and this involved getting a subscription to Roon, and hardwiring the computer and preamp to the router with CAT 6 ethernet cable. The sound is remarkably good, to the point where this can easily be my casual listening format. 

I almost wonder if its necessary to have a casual cartridge. Or should I just play my best ones as often as I want and bite the bullet and know I am getting a new diamond fitted every few years. 

 

Anyone else go through this kind of decision process?

neonknight
pindac's avatar
pindac
2,864 posts
 

@dogberry I fully empathise with your concern for having a access to a rebuild for a Cart'.

I lost access to a exceptional Third Party Cartridge Service as a result of Brexit, the Technician was not interested in all the new requirements associated with the to and from shipping and reduced the customer base.

A real shame and a fair proportion of testimonials given on the Web Site were from UK Based Customers.

I feel confident, I am back on track when the time comes, but a trusted workmanship, is a luxury.

tomic601's avatar
tomic601
13,022 posts
 

@bdp24 well as you well know… neither Grado nor Decca had a monopoly on the far reaching tails of the variability curve…. As a Signet dealer, we had ( more properly were REQUIRED to have a fine German microscope for cartridge evaluation, as PART of.. ).. Plenty of storied brands struggle to meet the published specifications….. Volumes could be written…. ah hem…. were… Deming, Juran….

i digress….

tomic601's avatar
tomic601
13,022 posts
 

@dogberry I don’t think you are doing it wrong at all…. now where did i put that….5th tonearm ?……

yyman23
149 posts
 

If I have it, I use it. If I love it, I'll buy another one to replace the current one when it's done. 

razor2022's avatar
razor2022
19 posts
 

I would agree with 'use the best you have'.  If a person has an 'ear for music' then why wouldn't you want to hear the best you can?  Of course it all comes down to how deep a person's pockets are but you still have to have a passion for it.  You can be a millionaire but if you don't care then a $500 system might be good enough. Depending on what your priorities are, usually a person will buy the best they can afford.

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