Dear @lalitk : " we should always respect the views of other participants even if you don’t agree with them. "
Please show me 4-5 posts where I did not respect the views of any other participant. The REAL ISSUE ( for me ) is not to agree or not or convice or not to any one:
My posts in this thread are almost all ALERTS/WARNINGS not only to the gentlemans in this thread but for all who read the thread and is not fear for them not to have or analize a different " true " based in first hand experiences and with all those facts posted in almost each post by me when no one in this thread not only just did not post any fact that be the foundation on his or their posts or posted that I’m just wrong. So, where is or are my disrespect to other gentlemans.
I think that only " dover " really has the knowledge levels about and first hand experiences on the issue just like me.
"
The choice between ruby, boron, or diamond as cantilever materials is not solely based on the “superlative” qualities of one material over another but rather on how each material’s properties align with the design goals for the cartridge.
The choice of cantilever material is a balancing act between performance, cost, and the desired sound signature ".
@lalitk , next are statements from one of the few and the bigger more experimented manufacturer of cantilever/stylus tip in the world:
"
The stylus cantilever of a record cartridge, like the stylus itself, is an important part of the vibration system and necessary in order to transmit the vibrations accurately from the record to the stylus.
A variety of materials such as aluminum, sapphire, beryllium, diamond and boron are used to make stylus cantilevers of different shapes and dimensions. The lighter and stiffer the material, the better and more accurately the stylus cantilever can transmit vibration.
Diamond, the hardest material on earth, is possibly the best material for use in audio equipment. It does not easily deform when force is applied, and the sound transmission speed is overwhelmingly faster than other materials. When playing a record, the stylus tip/cantilever traces the groove with great precision
Boron Rod
Large elastic modulus, high specific rigidity, and speedy sound transmission. The tip is fixed with adhesive due to fragility and limits in processability. Cost performance is outstanding. """
and here some material number characteristics:
MOHS Hardness:
- diamond 10 and Boron the next down step with 9.3
-Young’s Modulus:
- diamond 1210, boron 690 and ruby/sapphire 372 Btw, berylium 287
Density p:
-boron 2.41 vs 4.0 in ruby/sapphire.
Sound speed:
- diamond 18,000, boron 16,500 ruby 11,200.
Enough in numbers that are what it counts in the overall cartridge quality performance.
My first cartridge with Ruby cantilever was the Dynavector Karat 23 R ( very short cantilever. ) I owned and bougth because was a " novelty " and because my ignorance knowledge level but too because Dynavector manufactured his even today fenomenal diamond cantilever 13D and maybe for the same reason other manufacturers choosed ruby as cantilever material.
Around those years Audio Technica designed his first diamond cantilever cartridge in its MC 1000 that I owned and almost at the same time AT designed its ruby cantilever AT 37 that I owned too. Then ADC Astrion ( owned ), Grace ruby I owned ), Highphonic MC R5, Supex 1100R ( I owned too. ). Still down there the ignorance issue from my part.
Other were Sao Win, BM Ruby and Ortofon Jubilee, all these already sold
I had the opportunity to compare same cartridge motor/body with ruby cantilever vs hardened tapered Al in the AT line with the AT 36: way superior to the AT 37, same inside the Benz Micro line vs the non-ruby cantilever and Ortofon was not the exception neither.
"" ruby provides a unique character that appeals to certain listeners and aligns with the luxury branding of products like those from Etsuro ""
not exactly to the MUSIC reproduction but " certain listeners "
"" the luxury branding of products like those from Etsuro. "" , that’s it " luxury " due that sapphire/ruby shines and boron not and the same for the cartridge body laquer/Urushi but at the end it’s a Hana non luxury cartridge.
Now, in the vintage times Excel was in the USA market with its USA Argent brand where they had a diamond catilever one and a sapphire/ruby cantilever too and this one was theonly fail in the market I know about Excel.
Only for your records: that sapphire base/cartridge top plate in the Etsuro Gold and in the one you bougth is exactly the same( same size too. ) in its 1979 top of the line LOMC ES-10 that I still own and no it does not came with sapphire/ruby cantilever Excel knows exactly what they do with its own brand cartridge and Etsuro is one of those " listeners " you are talking about.
@mijostyn " should be inherent in the music itself, rather than introduced or altered by our choice of gear. We may choose a different path but the end goal is to end up with a system that faithfully reproduces the original recording, allowing the music to speak for itself without any additional influence from the components " good said because Musicality persé is only an audiophile adjective.
That luxury with Etsuro or silver wired SUT is part of our ignorance levels and sellers/manufacturers take advantage$$$$ of that low level knowledge about but this is the market: offer and demand and who win? $$$$$ no one else.
@mijostyn "" I want to know exactly what is on the record and nothing else. On the very best systems colored equipment always shows itself as flawed. ""
I can't add nothing to your exceptional statement.
R.