Is There An "Absolute" Best Cartridge?

of course there's not... unless we're all going to buy the same source components, same amplification components, same speakers, same cables and set up in the same room. Oh yeah, and I guess we'd have to clone Raul's auditory cortex and transplant it into each of our temporal lobes...

There are so many variables in audio, ESPECIALLY analog! I have no idea how anyone deems anything as "absolute best".

Here's the thing - and I've expressed this before to Raul directly - I applaud what he's done. He's brought to light a ton of older MM/MI cartridges that most have forgotten and given detailed reviews of what he hears from each of them. I get that and appreciate it.

What I don't get is how so many people can line up and just accept it all as gospel. Again, I'm not denigrating the great work Raul has done - I'm just saying, if I'm going to separate my cash from my bank account on an audio purchase, I make damn sure I've got more than one person giving me an opinion on the item.

When I read dozens of people saying "the Shure V15-VMR has a razor flat frequency response" that gets my attention. When I get one person declaring something as being the "best ever, period" that gets me shaking my head in wonder.

Raul - the only logic answer to your original question in this thread is: NO.

The things that make me wonder,why some of the new "state of the art" cartridges are not much better than some of "state of the art" models from 20-30 years ago,according to some who can actually afford to buy the new top models.If CD would have been introduced ten years later, I wonder how much more cartridge technology would have advanced.Why should one have to spend $4K + to hear a current state of the art cartridge?Why would it be hard to believe the Technics EPC-P100MK4 could be one of the best ever produced?Its a shame Technics/Panasonic doesn't produce these fine cartridges anymore.

03-09-10: Stanwal
"The 205 was one of the best , if not the best MMs ever built. I still have a couple that need rebuilding. But I never heard of ANY p mount cartridge that could compete with a good standard mount given the compromises necessary by the mounting system."

I own a 205, and it is a stellar cartridge that competes even with the $5000 MC I have.

Raul:

First, how does one separate the sound of the cartridge from that of the arm/table?

Second, I think what HP said many years ago in one of his cartridge surveys still applies today. To paraphrase HP, if all these cartridges are supposed to represent the real thing, then how come they all sound so different. I think that just like humans, each cartridge has its own unique set of strengths and weaknesses. The trick is as cartridges get better, for them to maximize their strengths and minimize their weaknesses.

I have to say that I've recently heard many cartridges that I'd like to hear in my system such as the Clearaudios, ZYX, Ortofon, etc.

Hey and if you're happy with your rig, all the power to you! Many people spend their entire life searching for the Holy Grail :)

Myles