Is There An "Absolute" Best Cartridge?

Trav

I was somewhat tongue in cheek with my Technics EPC-U1200 post.

Just goes to show how the mighty have fallen, but it does have a glow in the dark stylus :-)

Dear Mordante: IMHO is useless any comments in your "
philosophical " opinion other that I'm not speculating
not even in theoretical way what I posted in this thread are
experienced facts.

Regards and enjoy the music,
Raul.

Mordante, your post was way too smart, intellectual and educational to find the applause it surely deserved.
Few really like it to look into a mirror.
Logic and philosophy in its consequence does not qualify for be taken serious in personal audio nirvanas ...... it is the nature of the game: this is always about individual emotional experience via an individual matrix.
The funny thing is, that the very same lonely personal experiences often cry out for absolute statements.

Dear Mordante: I know that the Dorian is your " best " cartridge.
Well, if you can spend 200.00 buy the Azden one and if you think that after the Azden settle down and you fine tunning it that the Dorian is still your best one then let me know , send me the Azden and I pay for it.

Regards and enjoy the music,
Raul.

Dear friends: Looking for the " best " as a whole audio system, looking to achieve not only nearest to the recording but almost " on the recording ", looking for better " roads " to achieve top analog ( through cartridges. ) music enjoyment I try and take different options that today help me to be " nearest ", like many of you.

You can read in my virtual system everything I change in my amplifiers/speakers/subs/etc, to be " there " even I have to build/design ( with José ) my own phono stage and own line stage and with Guillermo a tonearm/mat and on deck an amplifier.

Why I take all these hard work/research in those different item projects, just for fun?, no that's was/is because I don't find the items " out there " that help me in more precise way to be " nearest/there " and our designs already help me on that quest a lot.

In the past ( last five years I guess, maybe more .) I spend 100K+ heavy dollars only testing/enjoying LOMC cartridges and around 10K on MM/MI ones.
This investment with only one target: that some way or the other some of those cartridges " give me " what I'm looking for.

Well, the Technics EPC-P100C MK4 is the analog source that put me " almost there " ( btw and belive me: as more hours running this cartridge is improving over what I posted in the cartridge review!!!. ) and I share this great experience with you becaus eI think is important, unfortunately only the few owners of this cartridge can enjoy it due that is a vintage/non current cartridge production.

Finally I find the analog source true Reference and following/reading the Pedrillo/Travbow restlessness on how attain that cartridge quality performance yesterday Guillermo and I had a meeting on the subject and decide/talk that due that we already have the " Reference " maybe it is time to make our self design phono cartridge, we will meet again to discuss in formal way this exciting new project.
Of course that we have to finish the tonearm/mat projects first than the phono cartridge one.

Fortunately my friends/fellows/partners are people that makes things happen, we have a good team I can say.

We will see how that project comes.

Regards and enjoy the music,
Raul.