3 arms, 3 cartridges, one table, match them up.

Dear Ken: First than all: " my hat off " for this self design TT achievement:Paramount Congratulations!!!!!!!

When you already make all the set-up and run for a while I really appreciate that you could share with us your point of view about its quality sound reproduction that I'm sure will be stellar.

Anyway, I have an experience with the 90X, the Koetsu and the 507 but with that kind of platform I think my advise about can't tell you very little. Those cartridges have a different signature sound that could change depending on the tonearm/TT/phonolinepreamp where is running.

I think that you have a great opportunity ( and great fun ) to test/try those cartridges each one with each tonearm and decide, according your music/sound quality priorities, which one belongs to which one, like almost everything in audio the " magic " word is: synergy. I think that you are the best judge about.

Again, congratulations: you finished and transform in reality one of your audio dreams and this achievement there are only a few people that could make it. Bravo!!!! I'm proud to be part of this forum where we have people with that high end talent, like you.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

Are you...
1) looking to keep one set of the three and return the other two?
2) looking for the best matching cart/arm combos for each of the three so you can mount all three in the best way?

If #1, you might ping rauliruegas.
If #2, why not try them all and then tell us what you think?

Hi Raul,

How could our paths not cross again. I feel as though you are Obe Wan Kanobe, pardon my spelling, from Star Wars, and I'm the kid dreaming to be a Jedai warrior.

It has been months and thousands of dollars since I thought it would be fun to build a table rather than buying one. I hope it will be done by Christmas. I've had trouble with my Audiogon thread postings pertaining my table project. When it is resolved, I should have some good pictures up showing just how much a person can have his dreams control his reality.

I've thought about the matching of the arms to the cartridges, but never let my choices of either determine what I would purchase. I guess the moment of truth is at hand.

I'm not the type that will round robin the combinations to see what what might sound the best. I think that a concenses of the best combinations will be what I settle on. I never chose the arms and cartridges as synergistic pairs. I just wanted 3 very different arms and cartridges in the hopes that I may be able to get the best of 3 worlds.

I am looking forward to hearing the difference from one cartridge to another , while having all 3 playing the same record on the same table. I just need to know that I have maximized the potential of each cartridge by pairing it in the most appropriate arm.

As I mentioned in a previous thread, I know of nobody on Audiogon who has more arms and cartridges than fingers and toes than Raul. I appreciate your suggestions; I have Wally Tractors for all 3 arms.

I know you enjoy the music, Ken

T Bone,

I plan on mounting all 3 arms on my table. I chose them because they seemed to be representative of 3 different design parameters. Choosing them, I felt I could adapt a wide range of cartridges to showcase the different kinds of music I may chose to play. Changing cartridges is easier than changing arms, after all if I make good choices, how much of the absolute sound might I really miss.

Thank you for your reply and I hope to have a sensible opinion of the test drive.

regards, Ken

Ken,

I am not sure but to start off I would put the Triplanar w. the Sonic & the Koetsu (oh how I love this cartridge) on the Dynavector. It needs a high mass arm. This is what I have found. Get the Hifi News & Record Review. Test resonant frequencies on different arms and that will help. Now I am not saying no to the airline, I just don't know much about the arm. Same for the Shelter. I just love the Jade. I hope you are enjoying it as I do. You will love the Sonic as a comparison. I never tried the Sonic in some of my lower mass arms but it would have been very happy in some of them based on the resonant frequency being very low in my high mass arm. When you get the Resonant frequency below 12 the bass really locks in & the imaging & mids become clear.