2. analog
  3. 1080416376

Graham and Shelter matching - and other arms/carts

When you get a component that truly lifts your system up and reveals what's going on everywhere else, you learn things about your system that you hadn't realized before. My new Io Sig has shown me that I probably need a better linestage (I posted about this in Amps/Preamps), and it's also taught me something about arm/cart matching.

Now that the Io is in the system, I am hearing an unhappy balance between my Graham 2.2 tonearm and Shelter 901 cartridge. There's a tubby bass resonance that sounds to me like the Shelter cantilever feeding back into the unipivot arm structure. The outriggers on the Graham are supposed to minimize this effect, but perhaps the match just simply isn't made in heaven.

Instead, my Ortofon RS-212 tonearm, matched with Ortofon SPU Classic GM cart, is sounding much more balanced, real and musical.

That leaves me with the question of what to do with my Graham and Shelter. I'd like to have a "modern" arm/cart combo to compare with the classic Ortofon setup (I currently have 3 arms mounted on my table). My third arm is an Origin Live modified RB250, which currently has a Denon 103R mounted on it (probably not the perfect matchup either). The Shelter doesn't sound fantastic in the Rega - it's better in the Graham.

I do like the Shelter sound a lot, so I could buy an arm that's a more appropriate match for it, a Moerch perhaps. But I'd have to sell the Graham to afford that, and I kind of want to keep a unipivot.

Any recommendations for exchanging the Shelter and Denon for carts more appropriate for the Rega and Graham, or vice-versa?
patrickamory
patrickamory OP
193 posts
 
By the way, Raul and 4yanx, the Graham was fully examined by Bob Graham a year ago, and the Shelter is a recent replacement from Jay at Audio Revelation, so I'm confident that there are no problems with the equipment. The Shelter is actually the second 901 I've tried with the Graham, and on balance I think the problems are the same.

I'm thinking that Twl's probably right about the unipivot matching issues, at least to my taste and in my system.

Patrick
4yanx
1,576 posts
 
Patrick, sorry such has turned out to be the case with the 901. My personal experience was with the 501 and, though the compliance is the same, I didn't have the same issues. Fortunatley there are a number of cartridges out there that do work very well. Thanks for the info on the Jubilee, I've always wanted to give one of those a go. Now, if I only had the cash..... :-)
patrickamory OP
193 posts
 
4yanx - actually it wasn't the Jubilee that I've been using (though I'm quite curious to hear that cartridge), but the SPU GM Classic. Far more affordable too (but one needs a more exotic arm).

Best
Patrick
dickson
30 posts
 
Patrick,

I have had the Shelter 901 on my Graham 2.2 and I thought it was a fairly good match although the bass was not as defined as I would have liked.

I finally mounted the 901 on my Vector tonearm and now this really is a wonderful combination. Excellent bass on the Vector. Just goes to show what careful matching can do. Now that I have the Vectors, (yes I have two) it seems that I don't listen to the Graham 2.2 that much.

The Vector can be adjusted for differnt cartridges with the use of tuning weights and you can also change the weight of the silicone damping oil. My next step is to try an Ikeda cartridge in a Vector.
dougdeacon
3,338 posts
 
Dickson,
Very interesting post, thanks for sharing.

Your experience is precisely what I would have expected. I've only used my 901 on a Twl-modded OL Silver. But A/B-ing with and without the mod showed us that an arm's lateral stability and damping make an enormous contribution to the 901's bass amplitude and clarity.

BTW, what TT(s) are you using the Vectors on?

BTW #2, how do you deal with the 901's great sensitivity to tiny VTF changes. Every time the weather changes the cartridge does too. We can instantly adjust VTF by a few 100ths of a gram. Is there an easy way to do that on a Vector?
More to discover