Jonathan, Ralph ... thanks, as always, for jumping in. You always force me to get back to the raw numbers that always explain what I'm hearing.
I think the best we can hope to accomplish, in advising our customers, is to outline the general principles (as we have all done) - providing basic guidelines for fine tuning.
Both of your comments serve to me as objective validation of what I'm hearing, and justify the obtuse answer I always on give loading: "it depends".
So, what we've (re)learned here:
1. All of the capacitances in the cartridge to preamp path (interconnect, Miller capacitance, etc.) contribute to, and interact with the inductance of the coils to create a resonant tank circuit (look it up, if you're interested). This tank circuit can challenge some RIAA stages more than others, and we run the risk of shooting the messanger (the cartridge), instead of the overall solution.
2. The capacitive component of this tank circuit can be altered with a resistive load (look up "RC filter" and "time constant"). Loading can either be the "correct" solution, or a Band-aid.
3. "Just enough" is always the best solution to all of your adjustments. Exercise a delicate hand in applying any adjustment, whether it's loading, anti-skate, tracking force ... whatever.
4. Re-visit your adjustments when you apply a system change. This element was (obviously) most responsible for the wild variance I've experienced with the XV1s loading (anywhere from 35 ohms, to wide open at 47K). Re-investigate whether or not you were using loading as a Band-aid.
5. RIAA stages can go into hissy-fits (pun intentded) if they're not up to the task of handling any of the above. A good design will be more immune to much of the above, but again, the designer has to have a light touch with his implementation, because the "just enough" philosophy applies here as well as it does with the end user in his analog adjustments.
6. This is a great forum, and I learn a lot here, by thinking out loud, and in public. We should not however, underestimte the value of a good dealer to help you save time and money in navigating this minefield we call analog reproduction. They can save you countless experimental iterations (dealer disclaimer) Sharing anecdotal information is extemely helpful, but it is highly unlikely that any two audiophiles will have every element in their signal path identical to one another, so this advice needs to be understood in that light.
Cheers,
Thom @ Galibier
I think the best we can hope to accomplish, in advising our customers, is to outline the general principles (as we have all done) - providing basic guidelines for fine tuning.
Both of your comments serve to me as objective validation of what I'm hearing, and justify the obtuse answer I always on give loading: "it depends".
So, what we've (re)learned here:
1. All of the capacitances in the cartridge to preamp path (interconnect, Miller capacitance, etc.) contribute to, and interact with the inductance of the coils to create a resonant tank circuit (look it up, if you're interested). This tank circuit can challenge some RIAA stages more than others, and we run the risk of shooting the messanger (the cartridge), instead of the overall solution.
2. The capacitive component of this tank circuit can be altered with a resistive load (look up "RC filter" and "time constant"). Loading can either be the "correct" solution, or a Band-aid.
3. "Just enough" is always the best solution to all of your adjustments. Exercise a delicate hand in applying any adjustment, whether it's loading, anti-skate, tracking force ... whatever.
4. Re-visit your adjustments when you apply a system change. This element was (obviously) most responsible for the wild variance I've experienced with the XV1s loading (anywhere from 35 ohms, to wide open at 47K). Re-investigate whether or not you were using loading as a Band-aid.
5. RIAA stages can go into hissy-fits (pun intentded) if they're not up to the task of handling any of the above. A good design will be more immune to much of the above, but again, the designer has to have a light touch with his implementation, because the "just enough" philosophy applies here as well as it does with the end user in his analog adjustments.
6. This is a great forum, and I learn a lot here, by thinking out loud, and in public. We should not however, underestimte the value of a good dealer to help you save time and money in navigating this minefield we call analog reproduction. They can save you countless experimental iterations (dealer disclaimer) Sharing anecdotal information is extemely helpful, but it is highly unlikely that any two audiophiles will have every element in their signal path identical to one another, so this advice needs to be understood in that light.
Cheers,
Thom @ Galibier
