$800 Cartridge Shootout and Upgrade Path

Funny, I am thinking about getting the Encounter too. Got the 301 which I prefer over the 501 in my very very modest system. I want even more "air" thus really want to try the Dyna 17D2 but taking it one step at a time...

Nice work. Those calculated values will vary slightly in reality, though probably not enough to matter. It's useful to actually see how a cartridge like a Grado or Music Maker would put you slightly below the ideal range. Obviously most of the other carts would work on the Encounter, though I guess we know which one you're starting with! I predict much musical happiness.

FYI, that ZYX compliance figure of 15 x10-6cm/dyne is for the lateral mode only. For vertical resonance the compliance is slightly lower, 12 x10-6cm/dyne, so it would resonate at a slightly higher frequency. This provides better isolation from primarily vertical vibrations like warps, footfalls, etc.

You didn’t respond about the sonic degradation that one might expect with detachable arm tubes. Perhaps the loss of fidelity would be small for most people, but for those who have considerable experience, it could be a small problem with top quality, low-output MCs.

The only good arm I've heard with a non-continuous cable run is the Graham 2.2. I think the Schroeder Reference, TriPlanar and Basis Vector all better it, but since these arms differ in many other materials and design respects it's impossible to say how much the single run of wire matters. You'd have to compare identical arms with a single run and a broken one. You're welcome to listen to a TriPlanar any time you're in CT, but please don't approach it with scissors and a soldering iron! ;-)

Enjoy your new rig (I know you will). I predict your CDP will be gathering dust. Don't forget to look into record cleaning. You'll need a machine. More money. :-(

Hi Atar1: " that sure works for me ". The electronics issue it is not a matter of taste.
I can see that, with all your 30 experience years, you can't understand both issues: SS electronics and bi-amp amp. The problem, for you, is that you don't want to learn. You say: " ...it's a solved problem as far as my system...", dear Artar1: you are very far from a solved problem, but I know that you can live with it and you can share your problems with other people that likes to live in the mistake: this way of life is the easiest one in audio world, good for you and bad for the music.
Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

Viggen,

If my numbers are correct, then the Dynavector 17D2 should work with the OL Encounter. But before you run out any buy the cartridge, you might want to ask others if they have tried the combination. On the other hand, the Dynavector line is featured on the OL web site so it's my guess that the combination will work.

Hi Dougdeacon,

Thanks for the compliment, but you must really thank Van den Hull for making this information available to all of us. All I did was to push some keys on a calculator. : >)

I agree that my calculated values will vary to some degree in practice. Anyone contemplating the OL Encounter tonearm and one of the cartridges mentioned will need to do their own fact checking. Also other factors have to be taken into consideration, some of which have been discussed in this thread, including tonearm construction, quality of materials used, and tonearm bearing type and assembly.

Even though the Grado appears to be a "marginal" match with the OL Encounter, some have said that the Grado does better with a tonearm with a higher effective mass than what is actually recommended by Grado. It seems that a 13-to-14gm tonearm works better than a lighter one, especially if mistracking it to be avoided. One individual in particular uses the heaviest arm tube offered by Moerch in his setup. So the numbers alone don't always tell the complete story. But in the case of the Music Maker III, it appears that the OL Encounter would not be the best combination. This idea has already been tested in practice.

Dougdeacon, how did you guess which tonearm I would be starting with? Yes, I have made my decision, and it will be exactly what Twl recommended in the second message of this thread: Teres 245/OL Encounter/Shelter 501. I will say more about this selection in another post and provide my rationale if that would be of interest.

In posting the compliance figures for each cartridge, it did occur to me that cartridge manufacturers may use different ways to measure compliance. With ZYX, two figures were given, one for vertical resonance and one for lateral resonance. I guess it's the vertical, rather than the lateral, that's more important in regards to footfalls and record warp?

For me, the continuous versus non-continuous tonearm cable debate is now a low priority, now that I will be choosing a tonearm with a continuous cable. Moreover, from the tonearms you have listed, they are in another league from what I can afford. My choice is between the Moerch DP-6 and the OL Encounter, with the OL winning out. Besides, I don't think my hearing is good enough to tell the difference between a tonearm with a continuous wire and one that has a non-continuous cable, with all other factors being equal.

I will try to leave the scissors and soldering iron at home should I find myself in CT. Besides those items are no longer allowed as carry-on items with the airlines. : > )

Funny you should ask about a recording cleaning device. That was the first thing I bought along with a truckload of cleaning material. Thanks to 4yanx (maybe you have heard of him!?), the records I do own now look new! This time around I went about analog "ass-backwards" so to speak. When I was younger, I didn't have the proper cleaning tools, which explains to some degree how it was possible for fungus and mold to damage my vinyl.

While it is true that I am investing a lot of energy into vinyl, I will continue to listen to CDs. My player is a very good one and is emotionally satisfying. However, vinyl is more of a passion and a hobby, whereas CDs are more of a convenience pleasure, like watching TV.