Glanz moving magnet cartridges

Sorry Nadric,

It's early here and so I just spotted the linguistic link (shine, glanz).

I would hope that the repeating on the MM/MI thread might bring more Glanz users forward. I'd still like the forms of discussion around set up tips, tonearm matching preferences, vtf, sra etc. I'd also love to think that some former or current users of the Glanz G series would have anecdotal and personal reflections that might help situate these gems in experiiental time and space.

As always...

Dear nandric: I repeat, those integrated headshell designs were a fashion on those old times and in many ways more marketing that a scientific achievment.

Almost all the cartridge manufacturers of this kind of designs were tonearm manufacturers too: Technics, Audio Technica, FR/Ikeda, Yamaha, Sony, ADC, etc, etc.

Wonder where those integrated headshell designs performs the " better "?, you are right!: with its tonearm counterpart designed by the same cartridge manufacturer.

I owned several of those integrated headshell designs on those old times and I remember the USA distributors/sellers how they push to the integrated designs against its stand alone brothers, curios was that normally first appears the stand alone one and suddenly after that the integrated headshell design arrived and some " stupid " people like me goes through the integrated designs too!. At the end we owned two same model cartridges that means profits$$$ for the manufacturers: who cares?????

Japanese manufacturers does not cares about those " high end " tonearms with non removable headshell designs ( the Lewm argument. ) because almost all of them have on sale their own tonearm designs that were the " best " tonearm match. The integrated cartridge designs were on sale mainly in Asia, then Europe and in lesser way in America.

Marketing always has an important " weight " on audio item designs and in many cases with no clear audio quality parameters/factors as its foundation.

Btw, 80% of the sales on Ortofon/EMT integrated cartridge designs goes to Asia where today still exist a " cult " for that kind of sound.

I don't see that you and the other " proponents " of integrated headshell designs have wide experiences with this kind of cartridges.

Regards and enjoy the music,
R.

Hi All,

Does anyone know of or have anything useful to say about the following? http://www.sibatech.co.jp/glanz/index.html.

I am just concidering their potential performance and how might match with the G series so I would appreciate any information here also.

As always...

Hi All,

Fleib posted the following on the MM/MI thread:

"Using a removable headshell you're much more likely to have vibrations remain in the headshell as they hit the headshell coupling. I have some arms with removable headshells, and I think this is true. IMO it's better to avoid additional resonance, retain greater arm rigidity, and allow the arm to dissipate mechanical energy."

This seems to make sense to me and might explain (in part) the biggest comparitive difference in the performance of the integrated cartridges that I have recently explored. This would still be the case even 'if' all other design factors were the same. That would also suggest the grounds behind Nagaoka and Glanz views of their own benchmark cartridges!

As always...