Raul,
Well, where to begin?
Firstly, I must apologise for your interpretation of my reference to: "in conversation and debate with friends whose hearing ability might exceed the Audiogon norms". I can now see how this might read as an attack on the listening ability of other Audiogon contributors. It was not meant to be so. The Agon "norms" to which I refer are varied but include the (possibly necessary) tendency to accept persectives from people who are playing in different set-ups, environments and with different hearing abilities, tastes and expectations. That a few of my friends are professionally well situated to demonstrate exceptional hearing skills was not the point so much as that we hear familiar music both on the same systems and at the same venues. I did not mean to upset or undermine you and am sorry for the obvious upset that my comment has caused.
Although you have not addressed the questions concerning sonic variations and live performanceS, I do appreciate that you used to refer to your wide experience of live events and its influence on your views and selections. Some of the books that I have referred to simply enable us to draw out many of the consequences that relate to such a criteria (varying live performances) in contrast to recapturing the single performance as recorded on mastertape before being reworked onto vinyl. Again, if you felt that I was making an attack on you personally, I promise I was not and again apologies for any lack of care with my words.
Next, regarding the subject of the Glanz, I wish you every success in finding the MFG-71L. I have only seen two come up for sale in the past and these were both on Japanese sites if that helps. Although its specifications are clearly not as good as those of the G7 (and not neglecting that the G7 has unique design characteristics), it might better satisfy your targets and/or outperform the G7. Maybe when you have one I will send you the G5 for comparison and I would not close my eyes to the possibility of the former being better under certain conditions.
I also respect your logic about the connector cables on integrated cartridges. However, what can I say? It has not been my experience with a few of these in real life. I wonder if we could upgrade the coil wires in our favoured cartridges and if the OCC wire is an unnecessary degradation!? I'm not joking with that question, although it either points to accepted compromise or opens a series of challenges. I know that Len has gone down that route with his Music Maker Classic but I would not pay the asking price until I have respected or wide enough first-hand feedback as some guidance.
Regarding the offset and alignment of the cartridge, all I can do is refer back to the manufacturer statements that I have provided before about the integrated cartridge being designed "to operate on most standard tonearms - with a 50mm standardised length." As I say, my experience supports their views although I am not saying that one of the two specific tonearms that I believe I have now identified would not get even more out of the Glanz[es]. Once I get hold of either arm I will hopefully be able to fully address our remaining concerns regarding alignment. On another positive note, I have heard back for Van den Hul and he can definitely retip the G5 and G7 and so longevity need not be a major problem.
Please feel free to contribute your opinions. They are frequently appreciated and I do not align my personal identity with any cartridge or hifi system. A disagreement on either need not therefore be a hassle for me.
Happy listening and look forward to hearing again
