Denon, Shelter arm choices

See the thread on Shelter 901/Graham. Apparently someone with that combination is experiencing a bloated bass.

I can vouch for Shelter 901/SME V. It's a great combo. Good extension on both ends, very detailed. On my system, I woudl describe it as on the analytical side of neutral. My friend just purchased a 901 with his SME 309. Apparently he's experiencing some anti-skate problems. I am going over tonight to help him figure out what the problem is.

FrankC

This doesn't exactly answer your question, but the Ittok works great (on a Linn LP12) with the Shelter 901. The 901 is a fantastic cartridge; great low end, mid range, and high end; the bass is deep and tight, the midrange is open and airy, the high end makes cymbals sound real. I've compared it to the current (not the old) Koetsu Black and the Dynavector 17DII and it has the best qualities of those two plus more; it's really in a different league than either of those two. It's hard to imagine a more detailed, realistic and pleasing cartridge. Get an Ittok and an LP12, mount the 901 and you can move on to upgrading other parts of your system - or just listen and smile.

LP12 an upgrade? You're kidding, right? I like the Ittok arm on a friend of mine's Linn, but his rig, even with "better" electronics just cannot compete with mine. Especially since I added the battery option today. There was an immediate and noticeable improvement. Way, way, way more than a hundred bucks worth.

Now the 901 is a different story. If I quit buying other crap (not all audio related) I would have one by now. I was actually going to buy one when the Supatek came available. But, it was just too good of a deal to pass up!

Frank, did you find the problem with the 309? I was looking at a 312, and that may be an option too.

The other thing I'm going to do today is the TWL HiFi mod. For some reason, I have not gotten around to doing it yet.

Jphii,

I went to my friend's place last week and ran his setup through my HFNR Test LP. To me, it was set up correctly, and sounded fine to both of us when we played a set of 3 randomly selected tracks from some of his LPs. Somehow he got this crazy idea that when you play a non-grooved side of an LP, the cartridge/arm should stay stationary if it is set up correctly. I posted the question on Audio Asylum last week. This is indeed incorrect. The correct test is if you set Antiskate to 0, and leave the cartridge on top of a STATIONARY non-grooved LP, the cartridge/arm should not move.

My friend recommended setting VTF at 1.95g. That's where I set mine as well.

FrankC

Joe,

I'll third the descriptions and kudo's for the 901. If neutrality, transparency, detail, harmonic integrity, speed, physical presence and endless extension at both ends interest you, this cartridge has all of it. It's alive yet non-fatiguing at the same time. With a solid table and a suitable arm the 901 is the cat's ass. Even a slightly crooked one like mine is jaw-dropping.

Be prepared to adjust VTF constantly. We hear differences with changes of .04g or less depending on the weather. Since January our typical VTF has dropped from 1.95g to 1.70, setting entirely by ear every time we listen. The easy way to do VTF on a Rega 250 is to add Twl's HIFI mod (get it from Tom) and then add my VTF-on-the-fly mod to that. If you have to move the counterweight to tune VTF you'll quickly tire of it, and you'll never get the most from a 901. Believe me, this is critical.

Also be prepared to adjust VTA, possibly for every record if you're a picky classical listener as we are. The magic of a 901 playing a large orchestra is indescribable, but you must set VTA perfectly to achieve it. Changes of .04mm (1/24th of a turn on the Expressimo VTA collar) make the difference between a flat presentation and a staggeringly 3-D one.

Finally, be prepared to have your records really clean. It may be partly due to our wood platter, but a properly set up 901 will play everything that's on a record, whether it belongs there or not.

I haven't heard any good arms except my modded OL Silver, so take the following FWIW. My current #1 dream arm would be a Kuzma Air Line, which "only" costs twice what my Teres 265 did. My dream pivoting arm for a 901 would be either a Schroeder Reference or a Triplanar. Any of these should be wonderful with a 901 or similar cartridges. A Basis Vector should play a 901 well but changing VTA on a Vector is a pain. I wouldn't put a 901 on a Graham myself, too many reports of loose bass for me to risk that kind of dough. Too bad, since in every other respect it's a wonderful choice. Maybe the new Graham Phantom?

BTW, what happened to "I'm on a budget"?! ;-)