Synergy

@rvpiano Your is one more story worthwhile adding to the threads about Third Party Services treating a Cart' in need of a professional service.

I am an advocate of this methodology to have a Cart' overhauled and returned to service.   

My Rebuild, that is in use at present, was compared to another Cart' on a few occasions. The first being demo'd at very low hours, followed by approx' 100 hrs  and at approx' 200 hrs of usage.

The Cart' has been demo'd in this same system on later occasions as well, especially against other Cart's that are temporarily available.

The comparisons were 'all' on the same TT>TA>System to a Cart' from the same Brand, that was the Brands TOTR model from an earlier era, this Cart' had less than a few hundred hours usage, at the first comparison.

The rebuild shared some added components that the TOTR Cart' has in use for the design.

The voicing was very similar on all occasions, and my own Cart' certainly become a very worthy contender at the approaching 200 hrs of usage demo', this was when both Cart's Bass Notes were extending to almost identical frequencies and were decaying in a almost identical manner, it was the Mid's and Highs that were most noticeable for having a difference to their voicing.

Silver and Aucurum Coils / Boron and Beryllium Cantilevers, as well as the Cart's Body Mass, will be quickly identified as being responsible for voicing variation.

What was learnt is that Cart's can take time to find their true voice, and my build choices were seemingly very much in favour to all who were at the demo's.        

@pindac 

Very interesting!

Pindac, the number and breadth of the experiments you find time and assistance to perform in search of your personal vinyl Nirvana do astonish me.

I’m discovering an interesting phenomenon with my new setup.   
Years ago when I heard the same records as I’m listening to now I was very involved with the music.  As my set got  better and better, I enjoyed them less and less. Is it possible that with improved analog technology more and more flaws were revealed along with improved sound.  Now that I have a really good cartridge the sound is great but with those flaws removed, so I can again appreciate the music.
 

Just postulating a possibility.

It seems I have developed the same illness. I am cartridge bouncing again trying to find that perfect cartridge. Problem is it may not exist and this gets expensive.

@mijostyn Thanks, and yes I’ve followed your cartridge impressions with great interest! SoundSmith was previously not of interest to me, but now it very much is thanks to your feedback.

I’ve been happy with Koetsu Blue Lace as my reference for 5 years. It’s decisively the best of my Koetsus (6), but like all Koetsus it leans very heavily to warm and full-bodied side of the spectrum (though it is more balanced than its siblings). So I’ve been searching for something on the detail / dynamic / sparkly side to complement it, and/or for that mythical cart with the "just right" balance of everything. And of course I ended up with a collection, even after selling several.

I like Benzes, they’re very well balanced, but not quite up to the level I’m seeking these days. I really like some Shelters, but they’ve gotten hard to source. Ortofons end up being too sterile (midrange) for me, though Windfeld Ti was a lot closer to what I want than the older version. And the A90 was good. It makes me want to try a Verismo.

I do very much like Van den Huls lately. Somehow the midrange doesn’t leave me wanting like Ortofons. My new-ish Colibri XGW Strad is turning into a great compliment to Koetsu. But they’re a NIGHTMARE at first. First cartridges I’ve owned where suspension break-in is an absolute necessity. The Colibri wouldn’t even stay in the groove at first. The slightest perturbation on a record would excite the suspension and it would start literally SHAKING. I tried everything - different tonearms, setup etc. Had to leave it resting on a record for a several nights before it started to behave.

I’m discovering an interesting phenomenon with my new setup.
Years ago when I heard the same records as I’m listening to now I was very involved with the music. As my set got better and better, I enjoyed them less and less. Is it possible that with improved analog technology more and more flaws were revealed along with improved sound. Now that I have a really good cartridge the sound is great but with those flaws removed, so I can again appreciate the music.

Just postulating a possibility.

If any piece of gear (not just cartridges) makes it harder to enjoy music (not just audiophile recordings), it’s GONE. That’s an absolute non-starter for me. And I don’t think it’s a trait of more revealing gear at all, actually. I think it’s a side effect of suboptimal setup or system balance. We don’t deserve to torture ourselves just because a new component "should" be better!