Cartridge Suggestions for a Black Widow Tonearm

Dear Pechichi: +++++ " and want to get a good cartridge for it, preferably a MC. " +++++

it is clear that the tonearm prefer a high compliance cartridge that normaly you can find in the MM/MI " area ".
I can tell you that there is nothing wrong with MM/MI against MC even are better quality performers in many ways, you can try it and I'm sure you will be satisfied with the MM alternative.

here you can read something about where you can find ( too ) some MM cartridge names that can help you:
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?eanlg&1200430667

Regards and enjoy the music,
Raul.

I use BWs on a number of my tables. I find the arm to work very well (even) with med to low compliance cartridges. There is a mistaken belief that you cannot use low compliance MC cartridges with low mass arms. This is just not so in my opinion. I have far better tracking with cartridges such as Koetsu in the BW than in other high mass arms I've owned. What you should not do is to use high compliance carts in high mass arms--remember the reviewers in the 90s breaking van Den Hulls in Forsell arms. I have used the following MCs; Koetsu ProV, Urushi, Rosewood, Mark Levinson, Cello, BPS, AC2, and Goldbug on my Black Widows (all) with no tracking problems.

I think the arm looks elegant as well :)

Peter

Looking at the best test of the arm I have it appears that at least 3 different arm tubes were offered: originally carbon fiber, then metal , than carbon fiber reinforced by graphite fibers. The last is the one I remember as the mass was 4.25 grams. They found that it was quite stiff in the bending mode but torsional stiffness was quite poor. They also found that the anti skate was 30% high so a reduction might give better results. The tracking weight adjustment was right on and the arm geometry was excellent. The add that " Additional mass might be worth adding with some low compliance cartridge types, e.g. moving coils". I would add the mass if I were using low compliance ones. The views on proper mass are quite divergent, I was on another thread where one poster insisted that low compliance MCs needed something like 30 grams to work well. The general consensus is that arms like the BW are better with MM but you can use MCs, the cartridge police will not come for you. I use to ride in a bicycle club where one member rode a mountain bike with road bike tires, it suited him and worked although it looked a little strange.

hmmm, a grace f9e or f9r or f9l may be a good match. there are still some floating around. an upper end grado maybe?

Dear Breuninger: I posted that " prefer " high compliances cartridges and by my experieces through other tonearms I concur with you about low/medium compliance cartridges with low effective mass tonearms and I can add too that the other way can be true too, I use my Oretofon MC 2000/Denon 1000A and even MM/MI high compliance cartridges in high mass tonearms with out mistraking because of that even if you can find the Audio magazyne review on the MC2000 you can read that was mounted in a non low mass tonearm.

These experiences tell us that we have to try/test before we say " no it can't work ".

Regards and enjoy the music,
Raul.