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Headshell Washers : Nylon or Stainless Steel?

Few things are unimportant which are so close to the most critical interface in hifi (stylus >> groove)....

I've been using Nylon washers for nearly 18 months now, mainly for their protectiveness of the headshell finish. The nylon also performs 2 other potentially useful jobs : insulation (breaks possible GND loops - although I've never suffered one before) and constrained layer damping.

There's no denying that setting up a cart accurately is much easier with stainless steel (they don't change shape under compression and end up skewing the cartridge) although, as you know, if stainless steel is used we must be certain that it's 100% non-magnetic.
Another minor source of worry with washer choice are tales of cartridge bolts which have secretly loosened due to inadequate torque. (Although I'm certain the owners would notice this straight away...)

My main question is do the nylon washers have any ill-effects or disadvantages that you can think of?
(e.g could they compromise the rigidity of the "closed loop" - bearing in mind we are using them on top of the headshell not underneath?)
So what is the source of any sonic differences - the damping ability, or something else?

Personally I can't see them having any effect on the closed loop as the cart body is in intimate contact with the headshell and there is plenty of friction there(?)
Please discuss....
moonglum
pryso
1,958 posts
 
Sksos 1, I agree your method would minimize the chance for alignment changes. So I would hope anyone else attempting to compare various mounting hardware would follow your example . . . then report back here. ;-)
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tdaudio
201 posts
 
Where can you find nonmagnetic stainless steel washers?
dev's avatar
dev
832 posts
 
Not the first time I have read such and seems to be debatable at the most, are you guys also using a torque driver, say for example using one Albert Porter has been selling?

My friend whom set's up my arm and cart is against it, also doesn't flavour SS washers either, I can't answer for him.

I have yet to do the comparison as Sksos1 refers to above which seems to be easy enough, not changing really anything.

One more thing to try.
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
12,045 posts
 
Moonglum, there is no need to worry about ground looping the cartridge when mounting it in a tonearm.

If mass is an issue, go with titanium washers.

I would avoid nylon as the cartridge has to be coupled to the tonearm as rigidly as possible otherwise you will get colorations. Dougdeacon's comments are similar to my own observations.
moonglum OP
619 posts
 
Thanks Atmasphere...again this isn't a phenomenon I've personally encountered but was more of an Urban Legend :)

I'd like to try the titanium but sourcing them could prove difficult unless folk like Brinkmann offer them as an accessory.
Speaking of Brinkmann, here is some background on the Pi cartridge mounting philosophy :

"Helmut Brinkmann is alleged to have tweaked the Pi's design for 18 months before achieving the desired results, the machined aluminium body being designed to control the dissipation of resonant energy. The cartridge weight is a substantial 14g."
Brinkmann, as mentioned earlier in the thread, "supplies aluminium screws and titanium washers, which, in combination with special damping between the cart body and headshell have been sonically tuned to create a unique musical instrument."

This approach by Brinkmann is of course by no means unique.
(Remember the Music Maker III "Classic" alum-foam sandwich "biscuit" which separates cart from headshell?) There is also an adhesive layer for attaching the cartridge to the biscuit whilst the biscuit itself is screwed to the headshell. Not my scene but a lot of people out there like it.

If anyone knows of titanium washers that can be sourced in the EU or UK I'd be most obliged. All of the titanium ones I've seen so far are serious washers - not the dinky little ones (2.6mm?) that we use for carts :)
Best regards...
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