$800 Cartridge Shootout and Upgrade Path

I feel the same way about the Shelter 901 cart whenever I have heard it either at my house or at my dealer's. The highs are a bit ragged. Listening to stuff like the Dixie Chick's Natalie Maine's voice is quite fatiguing. So yeah, I would definately say the cart leans towards brightness.

I think that the 501 is the way to go for the short term(or even long term). The 501 has a "magic" to it that the 901 doesn't possess, and while the 901 has more detail, the 501 excells in just making great sounding music at a lower price. I've know a couple of people who moved from the 501 to the 901, and yearned for the magic that was in the 501, and was missing in the 901, even though the 901 was noticeably more detailed. I find the 501 to be very Koetsu-like, and I like that. The 501 is no slouch in any department, but it is not the "pinnacle" either. It strikes a very good balance of detail, magic, musicality, and price. I think that unless you have a "super-arm" the 501 is as good as anyone will ever need. Many people have previously considered this cartridge to be very near the top of the last few years crop of cartridges, and that isn't bad, considering its price. If high-value is a consideration, the 501 has to be among the top choices, if not the very top choice. The DL103R at $239 is probably my choice as the very best cartridge for the money, as it approaches the 501 in performance for about 1/3 the cost. Dollar for dollar, you can get more with the DL103R than any other cartidge that I know of. It will flat embarrass alot of much more expensive cartridges. And at $239, you can afford to play your records alot, without even considering stylus wear. It has alot going for it, but it needs a very good arm, with high effective mass, or a HiFi mod.

You know, regarding the OL Silver, I wasn't overly impressed with the appearance either, and it looked very plain. But with a DL103R on it, and a HiFi mod, we were looking at a very good performing package that cost less than most decent arms alone. When I got mine, the OL Silver was only $740, and the DL103R was only $210. The HiFi mod was just pennies. For under $1k, this setup was pulling very close to some very expensive stuff. That meant alot to me, because I can't afford $3k tonearms, and $2k cartridges. Believe me, when I set that stylus down in the record and started to listen, I forgot all about how it looked, or how little it cost(except that I kept smiling about how great it was for so little money). No, it is not the ultimate, but on the "diminishing returns" scale, it is totally out of proportion. It plays very very close to the "big league", for entry level dollars. And with the Shelter 501 in it, it is actually in the "big league" although not at the very top. If performance for the money is important to you, this needs to be considered as a possibility.

And, as Dougdeacon so accurately posted a while back, the HiFi-modded OL Silver could quite possibly be the best tonearm in the world for "leading-edge dynamics". If you look at any "big league" tonearm, they only top the list in one category, or maybe two, at most. There is a "leader" for midrange liquidity, and a leader for bass response, and a leader for etched detail, etc, etc. Any tonearm that leads the pack in any one category, must be considered in the "big leagues" of tonearms. You won't find any other "category leaders" at the price of an OL Silver with a HiFi mod.

For the money spent on a HiFi modded OL Silver, and a DL103R or Shelter 501, you will be painfully close to the top of the heap, for a whole lot less money, and it would be a great sounding package for anyone beginning in this hobby, as well as any very experienced person. Heck, I'm considered pretty experienced in analog, and I run a HiFi modded OL Silver and a Shelter 501 on my Teres 245. And I'll put it up against anything, anytime. Maybe it won't win all the time, but it will be real close at way less money. And it makes me happy with the sound.

Dear Rushton: " Raul considers tube... equalizers ".
First I don't consider, this is a fact: the tube electronics function like equalizers, probed by the phisics laws.
Let me explain the whole thing ( this is only for the people that cares about the music: music lovers ): when any one of us receive and LP/CD/SACD/DVD-A the " signal " that come inside these devices comes heavy degraded from the original ( microphones, cables mixers, consoles,editing,cut,... ), so what to do at our home reproduction audio systems?: to try to degraded the less, the analog chain for the music reproduction is a long one: cartridge, headshell wires, internal tonearm wire, tonearm, phono cable, phono stage, line preamp, more cables, amplifier, loudspeakers, more cables and conectors, room, know how, etc......, in all these links the signal is degraded ( it does not matter what we do )again and again, so what we are hearing : a very very heavy degraded signal. As I told you at the beguining of this post: the best that we can do is to try to degraded the less in every step in this long and very sensible analog music reproduction.
When we use tube electronics always do a heavy degradation , let see why: when the signal goes through any tube the tube adds harmonics that does not exist in the signal and the problem is not only the degradation of the signal but that that harmonics are at hearing levels, so in this stage the tube electronics works like a " signal generator ". Now, all the tubes change the frecuency response of the signal that goes through an speaker because that frecuency response changes with the changes in the impedance frecuency of the speaker, so the tube is equalizing the signal reproduction.
There are other problems with the tube electronics: the signal has to pass for many many metres of wire in their transformers that works like filters and represent another heavy degradation of our beloved signal ( yes I know that exist the OTL version of this amplifiers, well the problem with this OTL are worst ).
So, the tube electronics by music reproduction is the wrong way: heavy, heavy, heavy signal degradation.
All these things and many more are happen with the tube electronics music reproduction ( here it is not a matter of if I like the sound reproduction of the tubes or I don't like it: it is a matter of take care about that beloved signal and cvares about music )

All of you are taking heavy care about: uninterrupted wires, VTA/SRA, resonance frecuency in toneram/cartridge, turntables, cables, cartridges, phono stage, LP, etc....,
for what? if all these care time consuming work will be heavy degraded: think about it. I think that sooner or latter you have to care about it.
I'm not against tubes, I'm only in favor of music. In the past I had tubes too and I learn what happen with them and what happen with SS electronics. When I change from tubes to SS I really was dissapointed, till understand that I have to work heavy in my new audio system for to have a decent sound: change the speaker position, speaker cables, and some other things that was wrong in my audio system and that I never knew because the tubes has not the resolution for I can " see it ". Yes, we have to have patience when we change from tubes to SS electronics, but if you do well and with the same care that you already have for your tubes, then you always win because you will be nearest to the : MUSIC.
Regards and always enjoy the music.
Raul.

Sorry, Raul. We've been through this before and we will continue to disagree, no matter in what absolutist terms you continue to state your thesis.
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Soliver & Twl,

I will post in a little while. My daughter wants the Internet and we are fighting over the computer. :>(

So I will go listen to some music and tune back in later.

Artar1