Killing sibilance distortion - VPI & Jubilee

Hi Tobes,

Thanks for chiming in! It's good to get another opinion on here, even if it's different from mine.

To me, the sibilance distortion on the Jubilee sounds really bad regardless of system. What I've been using for the most part is my Sennheiser HD-650, plugged into Corda Aria amp, plugged into an Auzen Meridian sound card. I hear it the same way in both my 2 channel room (Gallo 3.1, Supratek pre, Wyred amp, heavily treated), and my HT room (Anthem electronics, GR Research sealed box monitors w/ ribbon tweeters)

The Benz is a bit better, and the AT much better than the Benz on the sibilance to my ears. I'm sure different ears, different systems, all plays into this, but for whatever reason sibilance distortion really bugs me.

To me, other than the sibilance, the audio quality sounds really close between the carts. I probably agree with your rankings, but to me the better sibilance handling of the AT far outweighs the other gains that the Jubilee and the Benz carts may have.

Does anyone else have any comments about the cartridge sound quality differences/rankings from these audio clips?

That is interesting that you've found the Jubilee to be your best tracking cartridge. The big variable here is the tonearm. You are using Graham arms, and I am using a JMW9sig. It is completely possible, though as of now not confirmed to me, that the whole problem could be the matching with the tonearm (or just the tonearm itself), as opposed to just the tracking capability of the cartridge. My suspicion is that the Graham arms are much better at tracking than the JMW9sig.

I also wonder if there are any top notch, high end carts that track as well as the AT33PTG. ZYX perhaps, as Doug mentions above?

Goatwuss, I would have thought the medium compliance Jubilee (16cu) would be a good match to the JMW9 - at least from a low freq resonance perspective.
Is it possible that the JMW9 doesn't 'like' the heavier weight of the Jubilee (10.5g)?
For reference the Benz L2 weighs 9g and AT33 weighs 6.8g.
Looking at the specs the AT33 would appear to have medium compliance (at 10hz) and low weight, which perhaps works better with the JMW9.

When using the Jubilee in the Graham 1.5T, I always used the heavier counterweight - the Phantom 2 comes stock with a large diameter heavy C/W located close to the pivot - ie designed to work with heavier cartridges. In effective mass terms the 1.5T was supposedly around 11g, and judging by the lowering of fundamental resonance with the HFNRR disc, the Phantom 2 has a somewhat higher effective mass.

If the JMW9 does prefer lighter cartridges, then a ZYX at 5g and 15cu could be a just the ticket. Best to ask Doug, I have no personal experience with the ZYX (though I once owned their grand-daddy the Monster Sigma Genesis).

I heard a Rega P5 with a Benz Ace today. Sounded really good on the sibilants... RB701 perhaps?

Goatwuss, you may just be one of those folks that is extremely sensitive to sibilance. Some folks are. Most of us simply don't if the setup is spot on. Unfortunately, you may never find full satisfaction with vinyl playback.

Wendell

Narrod, as you've been one of the more active members in this thread I'm sure that you've listened to all of his recordings. Is your last response to indicate that they sound ok to your ears? Because to mine all but the last clip with the AT cartridge (and that one only barely) sound anything but 'hi-fi' or audiophile grade, and makes me think that if that's what's in store for me as I climb the upgrade ladder, I'll stay right where I am thank you very much. I agree with your general premise that everyone has their own preferences and we are all sensitive to different problem points in recorded playback, but I heartily agree with Goatwuss that this is a problem I wouldn't be willing to live with. It'd be interesting to hear the same recording from other member's setups for comparison. I don't own the recording, and am currently a couple thousand miles from my setup, but it'd be great if anyone else could post a comparison.