Is There An "Absolute" Best Cartridge?

Dear Lewm: So your " fruitles " that in my dictionary is a synonym of " useless " then is not exactly " useless ", fine.

+++++ " But you certainly have changed your mind quite a bit over the course of those 2000+ posts " +++++ ( more than two years I have to say. ), in that time I learn and this learning makes things change " quite a bit " and in the other side I have adapt me to different circumstances over the time, that not always is an easy task.

+++++ " "greatness of the cartridge will be evident from few first hours". I could not agree more, and its shortcomings will be evident only after a longer audition and careful comparison to some in-house standard, IMO. " +++++

I can say " evident from few first minutes " as its shortcomings.
This statement has foundation: standards to compare it ( like you point out ), depending of the effectivity and capacity of those standards to make a " value/measure " and your own skills, experience and training through the use of those standards you can achieve/know the cartridge or any audio item performance level with true confidence on what you find.

I'm " tired " to say that I have that kind of training and standards to do that in " fast track " way. I have 8-9 different LP tracks to make the 90% of that job: how many time take me to hear and discern trhough those tracks, that I know in deep like I know my hands, after cartridge set up/settle down? hours?, normally I can do it in less than a hour but not always this depends on the cartridge performance level. With the Acutex I really take hours because I was not perfectly sure if its performance level was/is at the same Technics P100C.

Using always the same your own standards/Lp tracks/tools is a must for audio item/system evaluation that facilitate this evaluation tests.

Two days ago with two friends of mine made a two different system evaluations where I carry with me only three of those 8-9 LP tracks.
Well in the first system with the first LP track ( Patricia Barber. I know in the PB track/Nardis even how many times she take air/breath through the track and even where/soundstage position those " breathe " happen. Btw, do you already heard and find the right number of those PB " breathes "?, in the Technics P100C review comes exactly what you have to hear, try it and see how good is your source. ) ) I detect in 10 seconds that something was not in shape with the performance of the tweeters. I explain my friends how I knew about and tell them that now hear/heard it again and then they heard it and the problem was fix it. Three minutes latter I discern on other different " problem " and in less than 40 minutes we all determine where the systems problems were and a process to try fix it.

Then we go to the other home audio system and in less than four minutes I was aware of atrouble in the low midbass/low bass that between other things were in detriment of the high frequency quality performance.

Why can I do that so fast? Am I really different from you?, certainly not what happen is that I have the right " tools " ( that right tools are the ones that you know and that you have it. ) and deep/long time training to do it, that's all.

Regards and enjoy the music,
Raul.

Dear friends: I was thinking these last days ( again and again ) on the quality level performance in the Technics EPC-P100CMK4 and the Acutex 315III STR and what I was thinking is mainly where are similar and where different and the importance of those " where " and how ner/far are those differences and I'm asking me: hey could be the other way around? that people could like more the Technics trade-offs against the Acutex?

Both cartridges have so high quality performance level and are more similar than differents that here maybe was/is a little unnfair to put one cartridge over the other on quality performance level.
It is true that the Technics has not that " live energy " that the Acutex shows ( no cartridge I know has it. ) but it is true too that the Technics has other characteristics that the Acutex can't shows at same level.

Unfortunatelly I can't edit the Acutex review but through this post I want to make a correction ( My mistake, the Technics deserve that correction. ) in the quality performance level of the Acutex in the cartridge ladder level performance.

The Acutex 315III STR belongs at 10+ ( not 10++ like I posted. ) level sharing this position along the Technics EPC-P100CMK4: Honor to whom deserve Honor!!!!

Now we not only have one " The Best/The One " cartridge but two great analog source alternatives: one MM and one MI.

Regards and enjoy the music,
Raul.

Dear Raul, Sometimes I write things just to stimulate discussion, but I am also "hampered" in a way by my training as a scientist. In real science, nothing should be subjective; in audio, we are usually left with subjective judgements, and we cannot do any better. Thus I have a hard time making a commitment based on what are always flawed and usually subjective data. Of course, when something sounds really terrible (to my ears), it's easy. But we are picking and choosing among high quality bits of merchandise here.

I know what you mean about tracks on particular LPs. I have two or three of those, too. I must admit the Azden kicks butt on the LP tracks I know so well. But then I have to ask myself whether it was just fortuitous that there is a particular affinity between the Azden and those tracks that I like to use as standards, because on some less familiar material, the Azden does not always crush the competition.

Dear Lewm: You already had and has to much time with the Azden and seems to me that you are less than satisfied with.

It is hard with out heard your cartridge sample what's going on because the Azden quality performance is first rate after 20 hours.

There are many factors that could affect its performance and mainly how the cartridge is surrounded to play ( your system. ) that I don't want to analyze this time.
What I want to put on the table is that due that these cartridges are really vintage ones ( 25-35+ years old. ) even if like the Azden are NOS items it is for sure that thre is differences between samples on the same model and maybe your sample is not right on specs against other Azden cartridges like mine or the other people that love it.
You own different tonearms and have wide experience on cartridge set up and fine tunning, my advise is that you try it not only in different headshells but different tonearms.

+++++ " But then I have to ask myself whether it was just fortuitous that there is a particular affinity between the Azden and those tracks that I like to use as standards, because on some less familiar material, the Azden does not always crush the competition. " +++++

different cartridges different distortions, maybe and just maybe you and the Azden are out of " synergy ".

Anyway, try to find the Acutex.

Regards and enjoy the music,
Raul.

Hello Raul,

I love reading your posts because your excitiment and enthusiam is contagious. I'd love to be able to get my hands on Acutex or Techniques to hear what you feel is the best.....but where do you find these?

They seem to be unobtainable.