Top 3 high compliant mm/mi cartridges

Dear Rnadell: Yes, as Lewm posted that Ortofon M20FLSuper is a high compliance and very good one. Btw, I can remember any vintage MM/MI cartridge that was/is low compliance all the ones I know are high compliance, normally over 20cu.

Now, you know that Mr. Pritchard was the ADC founder/designer and that tonearm you own was designed by him, well after he left ADC he start Sonus company with new cartridge designs one of them was this one that's really good performer and that I have no doubt will be a very good match with the ADC tonearm ( the cartridge is very high compliance: 50cu, I think. ):

http://cgi.ebay.com/Sonus-Gold-Blue-Audiophile-Cartridge-NEW-FREE-SHIPPING-/220770169712?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3366ed7370#ht_1227wt_1139

As Lewm point out too today MM/MI cartridges like the Ortofon 2M line are really good cartridges.

Rnadell, cartridge compliance always is important when we are trying to find out a good tonearm match but compliance ( along tonearm effective mass. ) only can tell us the cartridge/tonearm combination frequency of resonance but not its precise behavior or quality performance level.
IMHO the best we can do ( this is what I do all the time with success. ) is to mount the cartridge and see what happen.

I posted several times that in some of my cartridge/tonearm combinations the resonance frequency was really out of the " ideal " range: 4hz-6hz and I can't report any problem with its behavior or whole performance.

Now: could be that the same cartridge/tonearm combination can shows/showed better quality performance ( everything the same. ) if that resonant frequency been 10hz instead 5hz?, yes coulod be and that's why a removable headshell tonearm design is a desired characteristic because changing headshell weight we could approach that ideal resonant frequency range.

Rnadell, anyway our ears are the best judge about.

Regards and enjoy the music,
Raul.

Raul,
Point taken.

There's a big difference between carts with a cu around 20, and those closer to 50. Most modern MM/MI carts have a cu around 20, and are designed to work in med mass arms. A cart with a cu around 50 (Sonus) might sound sluggish in a med weight arm. Some with a cu around 20, sound sluggish in a heavier arm.

The Sonus Formula 4 arm was a 4.5g oil damped unipivot. It can sound spectacular with carts of 20cu or greater. However, the structural rigidity will not support heavy weight or lower cu carts.

I think these aspects of cart/arm matching are often overlooked in evaluations. Japanese carts often have cu rated at 100Hz and are not comparable to 10Hz figures. Rules of thumb, multiplying 100Hz cu by 1.8 to get 10Hz cu, sometimes works, sometimes not.
Regards,

Nandric et al, I thought the issue with the AKG P8ES had something to do with the fragility of the wiring in the body of the cartridge, which is why there are so many of them out there with "one dead channel". This problem could not/would not be fixed by replacing the stylus assembly. Fortunately for Nandric, his apparently only needed the new stylus. (I've got a P8ES vdH but have yet to audition it.)

Rich, Why not try to find an ADC XLM to go with your ADC tonearm? It was once thought to be king of the hill at the 1970s retail price of ca $300 and much less if purchased from any of the then prevalent discount houses. Quality control was not the best, I can tell you.

Dear Fleib: +++++ " A cart with a cu around 50 (Sonus) might sound sluggish in a med weight arm. Some with a cu around 20, sound sluggish in a heavier arm. " +++++

My Sonus Dimension 5 sounds nothing less than spectacular on the Grace G.945 that's a medium EM tonearm and the Gold Blue sounds prety good on my AT 1503 that is more on the high EM side.

As I posted if we can is good try to put the resonance frequency around 8hz-10hz but if not the best way to go is: listen and decide.
Through the years and through a lot of test procedures with a lot of different MM/MI cartridges I found out that that tonearm/cartridge resonance frequency is important but not to important for we " stop " what we doing till we have the right EM tonearm. I found out that we can achieve more differences on quality performance through headshell changes ( different build material and headshell shape. ) than trying to match that resonance frequency.

I own the Ortofon MC2000 ( LOMC. ) that's a heavy weight cartridge with a high compliance ( for a LOMC cartridge. ) well this cartridge received a rave review through Audio magazine ( december 1984. ), the cartridge was tested in a whole Technics combo ( TT and tonearm. ) where the resoance frequency ( measured twice because the reviewer can't belive it can works. ) was: 5.1hz.

One of the LPs that the reviewe used was the Telarc 1812 recording and you know what: he loved, the cartridge performs with out any trouble on the bass with those " terrible " recorded canon shots.
The reviewer was nothing less than B.V. Pisha it self.

It was the best cartridge/tonearm match?, from the resonance frequency issue point of view certainly was not but performed as a " best match ". I already had a lot of this same experience with several cartridge/tonearm combinations.

Analog is a set of " imperfections " where the usual theories many times does not conforms as we could wait.

The performance and relationsship between a cartridge ( any ) and a tonearm ( any ) is " complex " because involve several and different factors that have influence on that performance level combination.
IMHO and as I posted that resonant frequency cartridge/tonearm subject can't give us a precise predictable quality performance level behavior.

Till today I never readed or found out any kind of " model " that predict(ed) in precise way what I will be listen in any cartridge/tonearm combination. Tha's why Dlaloum's ( in the other thread. ) " intent " is not only a enormeous one but with no " predictable " precise cartridge performance: at least not what we have to wait when listen it.

I respect your opinion that I assume comes from first hand experiences.
My first hand experiences as some other persons first hand experiences are what I posted here.

I'm not saying that the resonant frequency subject is not important because it is, things are that IMHO that sole parameter is not enough for we can decide which tonearm we could use it and till I have that " model " that can predict the cartridge true quality performance my advise is: please listen with what you have and decide according.

Regards and enjoy the music,
Raul.