Telarc 1812 revisited

The Pioneer's tonearm and cartridge are heavy enough to keep the stylus planted in the grooves. This also means that the stylus is shaving away minute bits of the groove walls each time you play an album...

-RW-

Dear Boofer: Pioneer builded very fine TT. I owned the PL-630 ( that today is still running in my brother place. ) that is really good and the 540 is way better thaat what any person could think.

My sample of the Telarc 1812 is main part ( for very good reasons. ) of my whole items evaluation test proccess.

It's a magnificent top recording " even " that was recorded so many years with " digital " technology.

There is no " black magic " for a cartridge can track it.

If a tonearm always is important the main actress is the cartridge and in specific: the cartridge self tracking abilities.

Vintage cartridges had and has extraordinary tracking abilities ( as your Audio technica one and other AT cartridges as the AT 20SS. ) either MM/MI and LOMC cartridges.

I tested several of those cartridges in different tonearms even with tonearms that supposed could not be a good match but when the cartridge has the " right " tracking abilities it runs the Telarc 1812 with out trouble.

Tracking cartridge abilities depends on its design: cantilever/stylus/suspension and the like.

Why many today cartridges has not those tracking abilities is something out of my understanding because the knowlege about is " there ". Maybe because some cartridge designers are thinking as many audiophiles that when you ask about, the Telarc 1812 challenge, they give an answer like this:

" I don't care if my cartridge can't track the 1812 that's the only LP with that kind of high velocity recorded grooves. What I care is that my cartridge can track my normal LPs. "

but IMHO these persons does not know that the main cartridge characteristic is: tracking abilities. Everything the same a cartridge with better tracking abilities always will performs/sounds better.

What we need is that the cartridge always stay with dead applomb in the LP grooves follow it with out minute/microscopic " jumps " that generate distortions that we can hear it and that degrade the audio signal.

So, it's not a surprise that your humble TT/cartridge performs in that way when some today samples can't do it.

Regards and enjoy the music,
R.

Rauliruegas: Finally an answer I can live with; it's mainly in the cartridge itself! I know Audio Technica was instrumental in producing the Telarc recording; I have other older cartridges which can track the cannons, for exampe vintage Shures, and on many brands of TTs such as Onkyo, Kenwood, Technics, etc. of the 70's and 80's. TTs with Servotracer arms I also have found can track the recording, as on vintage Denon or Sony TTs. My Rega RP8 with Clearaudio Virtuoso is not up to the task, nor are other modern cartridges from Denon, Ortofon, Sumiko, and Rega, among others.