I own an Infinity, and it errs towards the bright, so I think it works best with an MM, to wit a Grado. You haven't heard what a Grado can really do until you've tried one in a low-mass tonearm. The dynamics, detail and bass become astounding relative to it's usual partner the Regas, and you wonder if it's really a Grado you're hearing, and you won't be looking for an MC. An alternative would be a Shure V15, but the Reference series Grado being lighter, you can capitalize on its low mass more. And I'd suggest a Sonata or higher. What 'table are you mounting it on? I've tried mine on several, and settled on an classic three-point suspension design, an Ariston, with a Platinum: this combo tracks warps like they weren't there, and the rhythm'll have you playing your pizzas into the wee hours, with no thought for audiophile neuroses.
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- 39 posts total
Try a Stanton 881S in this arm. The very high compliance ( 35 ) of the Stanton makes it perfect for the very low mass Black Widow. If ordering one of these, i would suggest doing business with Kevin at KAB Electro-Acoustics. At the time of ordering the cartridge, i would also order an NOS ( New Old Stock ) Stanton D88S stylus at the same time. This is a better, low noise stylus with wider frequency response. Rather than use the stylus that comes with the cartridge, I would use the D88S Stereohedron as my primary stylus. When it finally starts to give up the ghost, you can then use the original D81S Mk II Elliptical stylus that came with the cartridge as a spare. If you can fine tune the phono input impedance and capacitive loading ( taking into account TT interconnect capacitance ), adjust it for appr 47K ohm's and 200 pF's of capacitance. This tends to flatten out the rising high frequency response above 10KHz or so and lower the noise floor of this cartridge. Taking this approach will put you at about $200 total, provide you with a brand new cartridge that is ideally suited to your arm, offer the added convenience of having a spare stylus on hand and will absolutely smoke a Shure that costs 50%+ more money. Sean > |
- 39 posts total