Usually when we talk of compliance (and thus VTF) we talk about practical matters like record wear and tracking. But, in anyone's experience are there certain sonic traits that high-compliance (especially very high vintage MM) carts tend to display?
09-03-10: Paulfolbrecht Based on my experience with the Shure V15 on an SME 3009, I think the doc is right. Superb tracker, great detail.
To determine tracking ability, I suspect that in reality you have to look at more than just the compliance of the cartridge but would have to consider how well matched the cartridge is to the tonearm. The factors that you would have to consider would primarily be the compliance of the cartridge, the mass of the cartridge and the effective mass of the tonearm.
Right, of course. Cartridge/arm matching is pretty much a given - no cart can perform at it's best (or anywhere close) if mounted on arm with an inappropriate effective mass. Or the wrong bearing type - they say that these high-compliance carts like the vintage arms with someone "lose" bearings, right? It seems to be true.
I think of it this way: the stylus is attached to the cantilever and the cantilever is attached to a suspension in the cartridge body (which allows the cantilever to follow the groove). I think of the suspension as being a spring and the compliance is a measure of how "stiff" or "loose" the spring is. Low compliance corresponds to a stiffer spring and high compliance corresponds to a looser spring. I think what I am calling a "spring" you are calling a "bearing" but it's the same idea.
SHURE ULTRA 500 and V15V-MR with 30+ cu´s on 5 g effective mass wand of SME III track 100 microns (when very accurately adjusted) at 1.0-1.2 mN VTF. IME since 1987 superlative sound quality, especially the ULTRA with nuances and dynamics to die for. HC SHURE with vintage very low mass SME III or 3009 works perfectly.
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