i have a Kiseki Purpleheart mounted on an SME 312S feeding a Pass XP 17. I don’t know the capacitance of the included tonearm cable, though I may try to find that out. I’m pretty sure that when I did the tonearm/cartridge resonance calculation, the value was in range, something like 10cu. I had been playing around with all manner of load settings, mainly in the range of 100 to 452 ohms, and had settled for the most part on 452, though I sensed something was off, not a lack of high frequencies per se but a sense of harshness. When I increased the loading value to 1000 ohms, the sound became smoother and had better spectral balance. FWIW, 1000 ohms is in the 800 to 1000 ohm range recommended adamantly in Bob Levi’s Purpleheart review, as opposed to the Kiseki recommenced 400 ohms. His equipment is different than mine however. Still, it sounds like stereo5 made the same conclusion as me with a totally different setup. I don’t want to generalize here, but it’s tempting to think that these lower load recommendations are not optimal in many situations.
Cartridge loading
Presently I am using a ZU/Denon DL103 mc cartridge with ZU Audio's highest tolerances. I had this cartridge mounted on my VPI Prime and after going through all the various loading combinations, I settled on 200 ohms. I was always satisfied with my choice of setting. I no longer have the Prime and now use the Technics SL1200G turntable. After having the same cartridge mounted and aligned by the dealer, I inserted it into my system and enjoyed the sound immensely, never touching the 200 ohm setting.
Yesterday I was listening to vinyl most of the day and for some reason I found the sound to be better than ever, mostly in the treble area. The highs had shimmer when needed and I had played the same records many times before on the Prime and they never sounded as good as they did yesterday. Just for the heck of it, I checked the cartridge loading and found it was now set at 1000 ohms. As I said, when I put the Technics into the system, I never bothered changing the loading which was at 200 ohms as it was the same cartridge, just a different turntable.
I believe I know what happened, when I last used the tone controls on my McIntosh preamp, (you have to shuffle through a menu) I must have inadvertently put the cartridge loading at 1000 ohms. It truly sounds fantastic, better than I ever thought possible. The Bass is still very deep and taut, midrange is the same but the treble, oh my, so much better. Now the million dollar question is why should it now sound better at 1000 ohms, when it sounded great before at 200 ohms? Can the tonearm on the Technics have an effect on cartridge loading? I always thought it was all dependent on the preamp, amp and speakers. What am I missing here? I am very curious to know. The specs for my cartridge say greater than 50 ohms for loading.
Thanks
Yesterday I was listening to vinyl most of the day and for some reason I found the sound to be better than ever, mostly in the treble area. The highs had shimmer when needed and I had played the same records many times before on the Prime and they never sounded as good as they did yesterday. Just for the heck of it, I checked the cartridge loading and found it was now set at 1000 ohms. As I said, when I put the Technics into the system, I never bothered changing the loading which was at 200 ohms as it was the same cartridge, just a different turntable.
I believe I know what happened, when I last used the tone controls on my McIntosh preamp, (you have to shuffle through a menu) I must have inadvertently put the cartridge loading at 1000 ohms. It truly sounds fantastic, better than I ever thought possible. The Bass is still very deep and taut, midrange is the same but the treble, oh my, so much better. Now the million dollar question is why should it now sound better at 1000 ohms, when it sounded great before at 200 ohms? Can the tonearm on the Technics have an effect on cartridge loading? I always thought it was all dependent on the preamp, amp and speakers. What am I missing here? I am very curious to know. The specs for my cartridge say greater than 50 ohms for loading.
Thanks