Cartridge Recommendations

Dear Raul,

if you ever have tested the Kondo IO-m in a pure Kondo chain, meaning Kondo KSL SFz and Kondo M7 as I do and as Roy Gregory has described it in a very good way as the "Kondo artillery" you would no go for the active high gain phono stage or something may be wrong with you :-)

This is real excellence! believe me or not. I invited you many times but you prefer living your philosophy which is ok for me.

best & fun only - Thuchan

Dear Thuchan: I readed the RG review but he does not compare with nothing near a MM/MI alternative.

In the other side, I think that you did not heard in the last six months a top MM/MI cartridge in the right overall set-up and this is IMHO what makes you post what you post because with out a fresh experiences on the best of the best on MM/MI cartridges ( not the ones you own. ) in the right audio system how could you attest that this alternative can't reach the Kondo one?. IMHO makes no sense to me that you states something with out heard it and taking reviews as to confirm what you heard on the Kondo one.

Anyway, I'm only trying to help Hatari. Enough on this subject, it is useless to go on.

Regards and enjoy the music,
Raul.

Dear Raul,

you are a MM afficinado and I am a MC afficinado. As simple as that.
Nothing wrong about it and we both will enjoy.
On MMs the opinions vary too as you have seen on the MM thread and among my 10 MMs (you have much more I guess) there are some (!) other audio friends assessing my units as their favourites. It is just a matter of taste.

best & fun only - Thuchan

Dear Thuchan: Not really, I'm an audio analog and digital source afficionado that learned to enjoy what the " market " has to offer with performance levels of excellence.

Btw, ++++ " other audio friends assessing my units as their favourites. " +++++

because IMHO they not own yet the other higher performance cartridges that some ( as me ) already owns. It is not a matter of taste IMHO it is a matter of be aware what really does means " levels of excellence " where those distortions that you and your friends like it has no room. Why always want you to put everything in audio on the subjective approach?, I know that you as many of us are a " result "/created through the AHEE ( on audio through the years. ) and this fact is a very limited one and a very convenient too because that: " It's wrong but I like it " is the norm of AHEE mediocrity.

I fro my self am trying to be away on that precise regard.

Regards and enjoy the music,
Raul.

Thanks again. Lots of food for thought. My propensity to get a new cartridge will depend on how long it takes for my IO-m to return.

Thuchan - I do use the Kondo SUT with it and have been generally very happy. The preamp used to be a Shindo, now it will be something new.

Raul - interesting, and economic idea, I will consider.

Larryi - as above, using the Kondo SUT, will now likely be with a Nagra VPS. There was nothing about the Kondo that bothered me, only that it needed service (taking it away from me). I wired my DaVinci with Kondo cable as well.

Glai - thanks.

All - many thanks, all great input. I will see what the ETA is for the IO-m before spending more dollars.

Cheers