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Yuour cartridge for Reed 3P "12 Cocobolo

Hello, my question is for Reed users:

- Which cartridge do you use with this tonearm in your system ?

- Which one perfectly match with Reed effective mass (18g) ?

- What is tonearm/cartridge resonanse in your system ?

Finally I got my new Reed 3p "12 cocobolo tonearm with effective mass 18g. Right now i use it with Audio Technica ART-2000 (limited edition) MC cartridge and LF tonearm/cartridge resonanse close to ideal (with my HiFi Test Records it's somewhere between 9-11Hz).

Audio-Technics ART2000 MC
9x10-6 (100 Hz,Japan)
line contact stylus
Weight 8g.
Tracking force 1.8g (recommended)

I'm gonna mount my next cartridge soon:

Argent MC500HS
8x10-6 um/nm (most likely at 10Hz, cos cartrige made for US market, but maybe it was made in Japan)
Weight 7g
Tracking force 2g (recommended)

In the future i would like to try few more cartridges, if anyone tried them on Reed please share your experience:

Miyajima Kansui MC
7x10-6 (100Hz,Japan)
Weight 10.4g
Tracking force 2.25g

Zyx Premium 4D with Silver Base MC
12x10-6 (100Hz,Japan) vertical
15x10-6 (100Hz,Japan) horizontal
Weight 7.9g
Tracking force 2g

Probably ZYX compliance is too high for Reed's 18g effective mass. Also i'm not sure is that correct to multiply 100Hz compliance on 1,5 or 1,75 to get 10Hz compliance ?
128x128chakster
chakster's avatar
chakster OP
6,144 posts
 
Seriously, it would be nice to hear some feedbacks from Reed users. Which cartridges well matched and which are not (based on your own experience).
sarcher30
596 posts
 
Hi Chakster, Had a Reed 12" 3P with cocobolo arm wand for about a year. It had no trouble with higher compliance carts on my table. Never tried a ZYX but had a few MM carts on it with no problems. Should work just fine.
chakster's avatar
chakster OP
6,144 posts
 
Hello Sarcher, did you measured reconance frequency with those high compliance (25-30cu) cartridges and test LP ?
dougdeacon
3,338 posts
 
The only thing a resonance frequency test and/or compliance formula can tell you is whether an arm/cartridge combo will resonate inside or outside the the "preferred" 8-15Hz band. This simplistic piece of data rarely has much effect on sound quality.

Still, to save you time and trouble, here's the answer:

18gm effective mass is a medium mass arm. As such, it will accommodate the large majority of contemporary cartridges (including ZYX and many MMs) without exciting resonances outside that so-called safe zone.

No mathematical formula or resonance test will help you find a good sounding cartridge. There is no "perfect" cartridge for the Reed or any other tonearm. Stop looking for certainty or objectivity where there is none.

The important question is this: how does the tonearm interact sonically with various cartridges. This has a far larger effect on music reproduction and it can't be measured with any test record or formula. That's the kind of user feedback you should be hoping to receive.
sarcher30
596 posts
 
By higher I meant no higher than around 20 cu. Yes I did test with a test record and one of the carts was around 7 hz. Still played just fine.

Doug is right though. I would not worry about the resonance until you get way out of the so called safe zone.

Never used a Zyx on my Reed so can't help you there. I would bet it will play just fine though. One cool thing about the ZYX carts is you can order one without the backing plate if you need a lighter cart. Not sure how that would change the sound though.
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