Yeah, another dumb "what's your opinion on these cartridges" thread. Back in the late 80's we had dealers where you could listen to the stuff.
So anyhow I have a Linn LP12 with Ittok arm and a 30 year old Audioquest B200L cartridge. I'm running it through the phono stage of a Jeff Rowland Coherence One into a Spectral DMA90 through a set of Kef R300's.
I prefer a little more laid back sound (err on the side of forgiving instead of fatiguing) but I like a lot of upper end detail, precise soundstaging, air, etc.
So far I'm considering an Ortofon Quintet S Black, Hana SL or a Benz wood - something at or below the $1k level.
I'd love to hear any opinions, suggestions, and experiences with those cartridges or others in the price range. I could possibly go higher if there is something out there that really shines for less than $1,500.
But doesn’t all the magic happen in the (LIVE) recording venue of the
studio? The position, location and placements of (booms) mics,
musicians, room sound treatments, the experience level of a competent
recording engineer ect?
Am I wrong to notice not only the
science of a recording but the ART form as well? I think there is a bit
more that goes INTO a recording than what you say above.
I agree with this 100%! But it really isn't anything relevant to this debate.
When a blank piece of vinyl is cut at the factory, in your opinion which
is more important. The cartridge/stylus making the grooves or the tone
arm?
There really isn't an arm- and you don't cut vinyl- you cut a lacquer. My Westerex 3D is as good an example as any, as a cutter head its a mechanical transducer built into an articulated mount- but its one assembly- I don't know of a setup that allows a different transducer in the mechanism- they can't be seperated. There isn't an arm because the mount drives the cutter across the lacquer with a worm drive. My cutter deals with warp (which had better be pretty minuscule in a lacquer) using a device called a 'track ball' which allows me to set the groove depth. So this really doesn't hold up in this debate either.
It's important to get setup right but don't get too obsessive. There
will always be the odd opera torture track that will give most arm/cart
combos hiccups.
There had better not be! I've yet to run into such a track- my system breezes through everything effortlessly.
I would have to say that I disagree with this. There is a huge
difference between my Benz Micro and my Koetsu Onyx. On well engineered
recordings, it’s not really close. There is an audible difference
between them and my Koetsu Rosewood Signature.
Now, I suppose you could say that I don’t have the Benz "set up" properly.
I
have a Sumiko MMT arm in a VPI HW MK IV table. Do those components
allow for the adjustments needed to "set up" properly, which in my 40
years of experience has simply meant to use that protractor-looking
thingy and follow the instructions of each manufacturer, then fiddle
until it sounds the best that I can make them?
@unreceivedogma I've owned the MMT; its a tricky arm to get the adjustments right. And yes, its a good bet that something was off with the Benz; it could simply be that it had a compliance value that in tandem with its weight and the resulting mechanical resonance, it simply was not going to be able to strut its stuff where the Koetsu did. If you're dealing with that, you can set the tracking pressure and VTA till the cows come home and the cartridge still won't track right!
The problem we're dealing with here is that the groove is ***microscopic***, so tiny adjustments have an enormous effect on how the cartridge makes distortion. By 'tiny' I do mean at or near microscopic. Most arms simply do not have the necessary provisions to do this right- you can get the basic stuff like tracking pressure and maybe even overhang, but the nuances are where this really makes a difference. Look up above in my post here- I've quoted someone who has come to accept that some records 'will give most arm/cart
combos hiccups.' This might be the case- but its a good sign also that something is amiss- and the most likely culprit is the arm not the cartridge unless the cartridge is actually damaged or its suspension is shot. I can list a good number of arm issues that can cause mistracking, and it really doesn't matter which cartridge you have.
IOW, if the arm isn't doing its job, expect mistracking. Obviously the converse is also true, if the arm ***is*** doing its job, then the cartridge will track effortlessly. When its effortless, that is when you will find that the cartridge (as long as its in good condition) plays a far less significant role in this.
Yes, you’re right the Linn K9, like the Linn Basik was made by Audio Technica, rebadged with a subsequent price hike. I think Rega did something similarly naughty with one of their MM cartridges.
The K9 was the one with the superglue trick. Sorry for any confusion. I later replaced it with the one that featured the Allen screw, the Linn K18.
There’s an image of it here where you can see how the Allen screw is supposed to hold it together better.
Amazingly the Linn K18 also appears to be based upon the Audio Technica AT 95E!
@atmasphere,
It’s important to get setup right but don’t get too obsessive. There will always be the odd opera torture track that will give most arm/cart combos hiccups.
’There had better not be! I’ve yet to run into such a track- my system breezes through everything effortlessly.’
Impressive stuff!
I remember experienced reviewers writing that Carmina Burana was one such ’torture track’.
Me, I used to get slight jitters playing the sole Maria Callas LP in my collection at decent volumes on my LP12.
Would it still track ok? Was the volume too high, or too low? Would the speakers cope, etc? Fabulous for testing dynamics and system headroom though.
Thanks again for sharing your considerable knowledge with us.
@rauliruegas You posted this: "Problem is that that gentleman is really a " roockie " in that specific issue but he think as his followers is an expert and is far away from there., like it or not all of them unfortunatelly(sic) are wrong." Firstly, it is rookie and not roockie. The gentleman you are referring to has not responded to the comment, but I think it is very insulting of you to state such a comment! Are you such an 'expert' in analog reproduction that you believe that a long standing manufacturer and hobbyist warrants this kind of reply? If I am one of his followers, perhaps that is because I have been in this hobby for many decades and happen to know that his points are 100% correct when it comes to this aspect.OTOH, I'm no expert, certainly not like you seem to think you are!!!!!
Dear @atmasphere : " its a tricky arm to get the adjustments right. "
why is that?, I can’t remember to have any single trouble to set up many of the cartridges I owned with.
" that something was off with the Benz; it could simply be that it had a compliance value that in tandem with its weight and the resulting mechanical resonance, it simply was not going to be able to strut its stuff where the Koetsu did..""
Way wrong. Almost any of the Benz Micro are spot on with the MMT inside the ideal frequency resonance range and the Koetsu is out of that ideal range ! ! !.
@daveyf : In that specific regards it's and is what his posts showed. It does not matters that he is a " long standding manufacturer " that has no truly relationship with the subject here.
He can be an expert in what he manufacture and this is not under discussion.
Btw, "
Are you such an 'expert' in analog reproduction .. "". I never said that and the subject issue here is about the importance in tonearm and cartridge and nothing more. I gave many facts that are the foundation of my non-expert opinion and your and his arguments showed nothing about.
Which the problem, no one is expert in all and each audio subjects and certainly you and he are not in the thread issue. Again, at least what you showed here but he showed too in other thread about tonearms too.
The people that like to speak a lot like him will tend a higher probability to make mistakes and he is talking and talking. His last post is an example of those.
@rauliruegas What 'facts' have you given that the cartridge is more important in the hierarchy than the tonearm? It has been shown by Origin Live and others that the hierarchy is tonearm first and cartridge second. You don't believe this to be the case, but that is far from a 'fact'.
@tyray I fail to see the relevance of the question in your last post?
Hey daveyf,
What a snarky post. I try real hard to always have a civil conversation here and somehow I think you feel as if you think you are better or somehow more knowledgeable than some others here on this thread.
The cutting tool that is mounted on the end of the arm on a cutting lathe at the time of the lacquer mastering is not a cartridge/stylus.
This statement is complete and utter bullsh*t. There’re many types of styli used in a lathe cutter head. There also are drive coils which act in a similar fashion as a cartridge.
But if you are asking if that cutter is more important than the arm to which it is attached to, i would say again.. no.
No stylus, no drive coils, no cutting head, no master, no commercial record period.
Firstly, it is rookie and not roockie.
This is where you’ve pissed me off the most. You taking issue with Rauls impeccable english writing skills. Your subliminal bigotry is not wanted, welcome nor needed here.
This is the second time on this thread that someone has mistakenly made comments about Raul’s english writing skills on this thread. Raul does not and I repeat does not use a translation tool to communicate here. If he did those of us who know, that a internet translation tool really screws up the translation. What you see is actually Raul’s very good grasp of american styled english. I would not doubt if Raul not only speaks english, but french, portuguese and italian also. It’s a damn pity the most americans only speak one language, even though we supposedly have the best schools. Go figure.
my Blackbird has built in micrometer to adjust VTA, easy, precise, wonderful,
but, the cartridge is fixed directly to the long carbon arm. Azimuth adjustment by rotating the carbon tube a speck in it’s snug rear housing, tighten with set screw.
The SOB’s put the set screw on the bottom, what misery to get it right, the worst design feature. As azimuth is critically important, many a curse was issued, I should learn Russian to curse in their language.
Dear @luisma31 : As I already told you you just don't understand about and that's why you posted a wrong question because loading of a cartridge is not because its output level but because its internal electric characteristics and the phono stage ones.
It does not matters who whom addresses your question. Your knowledge levels are extremely low.
I don't care if you are friend of him that does not changes your wrong question and your comment " all the rigth answers " where exist no answer in the post.
R.
Raul,
I also like luisa31 have read your post here on gone for quite some time and have enjoyed them and they have always have been respectful. Why now are you being so mean to others? I would have never suspected you for being a bully?
When i have been in a recording studio as a pro studio player, not once did I see the boom moving around any type of axis to follow what the mic was doing (Yikes).
Hey davey boy,
Of course a boom doesn’t move around to follow a axis in a recording studio. You’ve completely taken what I wrote and twisted it to fit your bullsh*t to talk down to someone you don’t agree with.
Dear @tyray : That was a second post to him. Look in any internet forum you can be interested any one can post his opinion and in my first post to him that's what I did it but then he was angry because I posted my opinion and he claim to me that he did not asked to me.
So, I posted my answer to him that at the end every word is true even if seems as a bulling that in reality was niot the intention.
That's not accurate Raul, angry is not the word of how I felt, more like "surprised" and "attacked for no obvious reason", if your opinion to my post was purely technical fine, you obviously have a lot of experience, I am here to learn not to argue with people.But instead your opinion and reply about a post non directly related to you waswith these words "I was even more stupid than (somebody else)"The original post was removed because I reported you to the moderatorsBut I can't be angry to people that just do online rantingNow, why you reacted to my harmless post validating someone else's I can just think for some reason it bothers you when someone validates @atmasphere points of view, he could be wrong or he could be right as far as I know but from a user like you I would expect more civility.So yes you are correct you stated your opinion but you are leaving out the part where you name people stupid just because.
@tyray. You wrote this in your post:" I have a question for you. And this is not for arguments sake. I’m just curious.
When a blank piece of vinyl is cut at the factory, in your opinion which is more important. The cartridge/stylus making the grooves or the tone arm?"
Given your last post to me it is clear that what I suspected was true. You had no intention of being non argumentative and that post was ’BS’, the exact opposite was correct given your follow up post. Additionally, as Ralph pointed out to you it is a lacquer that is cut at the factory not a ’blank piece of vinyl’. You didn’t like my reply, and now you think you can come here and try and belittle my question to you...which still stands...how is your question relevant? I have a great suggestion to you in the meantime, please put me on your ignore list, as I am doing for you. Have a nice day.
With your rig, I would stay away from anything with a Shibata or microline stylus. They require spot on alignment and longer (lower tracking error) arms. The Hana 'E' (for elliptical) H (High Output) is a screaming deal. Forgiving stylus profile, high output eliminates MC preamp or transformer and additional cable complexity. At $475, you still get the MC goodness and detail that, as good as they are, an Ortofon 2M Bronze or Black can't quite deliver.
A proper alignment required for all cartridges and tonearms, this fact is not the reason to buy an inferior MC or MM with Conical or Elliptical profiles with very short life span, just because some think that they are easier in adjustment/alignment. Even if the cost for such cartridge is cheaper the re-tip will cost extra and it an elliptical tip can't be used for longed than 600hrs max.
It is very easy to setup a cartridge with advanced profile if a tonearm is not junk, the alignment process is the same as with elliptical. Personally i have never noticed any difference in alignment of any profile (i tried many). I just don't understand all that hype about Hana cartridges made by Excel Sound for low price.
A difficulties in alignment advanced stylus profile is a myth. The real problem is MC cartridge re-tipping!
And just what are those very good reasons rauliruegas. First of all everything you have said is anecdotal. Ralph's opinion of how the Grado sounded is also anecdotal. His opinion on how a tonearm should be set up is not. Tonearms and cartridges are very simple devices. I bet even you could design a moving coil cartridge if you put your mind to it. If you want a good cartridge you have to get yourself a Jan Jallaerts MC2 Formula 1. It easily out performs any cartridge ever made but you'd better have a very quiet phono stage. I can easily make the Formula 1 sound awful. Just put it in the wrong tonearm and set it up like most casual users. I am sure the Grado sounds better in Ralph's Triplanar set up as well as I know Ralph can. From what I have read so for I would rather have Ralph set up my turntable than you. You are always entitled to your opinions. I just wish you wouldn't try to shove them down everyone else throat's. It seems you have been a bit more forceful lately. What is stressing you out?
the Denon 103 is a pretty nice cartridge for the money. Its not perfect but it does many things very well sounding very natural on the right tonearm.
There are many MM cartridge for nearly the same price with much better overall sound quality of any tonearm.
The price of Denon is not the end, because there must be a SUT or MC phono stage to handle LOMC and super heavy tonearm. So the actual price is Denon + SUT or MC Phono. In this combination it is not cheap at all.
As for my opinion on this subject, the differences between most well made cartridges are relative to the flowery descriptions I see, minor. The most obvious is output and dynamic range. Next is tonal balance. Some cartridges lean a little bright others a little bass heavy. Ralph is right. As long as a cartridge is tracking everything you throw at it, any preference is personal. MC cartridges in particular are vastly over priced and many do not represent a good value. Take a look at the Nagaoka MP500. Here is a cartridge for $800.00 with a fine line stylus, a boron cantilever and great reviews. I would bet it is a better rock and roll cartridge than most MCs. Soundsmith and Grado both make excellent reasonably price cartridges. The Kiseki Purple Heart is just as good as cartridges costing $10K Price is absolutely no indication of quality when it comes down to MC cartridges once you get to a certain level of quality. The Ortofon Quintet Black S, the Clearaudio Essence and the Van Den Hull DDT-2 are excellent examples of cartridges using the best modern tech and materials at reasonable prices. After this it becomes purely a matter of taste, ego and tonearms. We have some fabulous tonearms on the market now but that is another subject.
Cleeds, I was joking. That cartridge costs $20,000.00 therefor it must be the best cartridge made right?:) I doubt I'll ever get close to one. Go to his sight and read the specs. If I told you you wouldn't believe me. I think Mike Lavigne has a Jan Allaerts cartridge. Not sure which one.
Btw, @mijostyn : that guess what? came because the Allaerts was mounted in the SME series models that you and your expert tonearm friend degraded in the tonearm/other thread.
As an added bonus, If you scroll down at the end of this link Raul provide, there is a collection of cartridge links/reviews of reasonably priced now vintage cartridges.
Second the suggestion of a Hana cartridge. I have a Hana EL in my Technics 1200G and it sounds great. Personally, I dislike the Ortofon Black but lots of people think it is wonderful. If you want more for more, I think the Audio-Technica AT-ART9XI would be an excellent choice for around $1200. (All this based on arm/cartridge compatibility, of course!)
I wound up getting a Hana ML and a Feickert protractor so I can do my own setups = freedom to experiment with other cartridges as the opportunities come up.
I only have about 5 hours on the cartridge but I'm happy with it. This is my first microline & the one thing I've noticed is how quiet it is. Surface noise seems dramatically reduced. I'm not sure if this is because of the microline or if my previous 30 year cartridges had worn styli and dried out suspensions that accentuated noise?
There is no sense in question about ''all carts''. The most members have experience with limited number of carts. Except Raul, J. Carr and perhaps ''the well infomed memer from (Dutch) New Zeeland''. Problem with Raul is that he get seduced in disputes about not relevant details. So the question asked is answered with own experiece and preference by individual members. Those are worthless because there is no consensus about anything. Better is to ask questions about particular cartridges. Then only those who know the cart can answer the question based on their own experience.
Dear @nandric : "
disputes about not relevant details. "
Well certainly is not relevant to you but the subject ( " detail." ) to put the tonearm importance above the cartridge in LP analog rig is more relevant for some of us that what you can think.
In this kind of " disputes "/discussions always are learning audio information shared for the people involved that helps any one to improve his audio knowledge levels and for me one forums target is this precisely: learn.
I fail to understand the purpose of ranking components by value. I see often contentious posts: Cartridge vs cartridge setup Cartridge vs cartridge+tonearm
Everything in the audio chain matters. Do cartridges sound different? Yes Is a subpar cartridge audible? Yes Do tonearms affect the sound? Yes Does platter surfaces affect the sound? Yes Does platter material affect the sound? Yes Does....Yes.... you get the picture
The entire audio chain matters. With the exception of those who buy pretty, most of us do a cost/benefit or more specificity a price/performance analysis to evaluate components as 99.9% of us have budgetary constraints (limited bank accounts). When we elevate our audio chains, we look at affordable upticks and address bottlenecks (weak links). If, for example, I continuously upgrade my audio chain with the exception of speakers, it’s likely that my speakers will become my weakest link.
We each have unique audio chains with various strengths/weakness links. Other than starting arguments, what’s the purpose of ranking? Since when does “this is better than that” trump the importance of maximum audio performance by maximizing audio chain components?
Forgive me if I’m reading this wrong, it may be that good to great cartridge setups commonly exists, in @atmasphere experience of “optimum” cartridge setup by others is rare. When you think about a stylus in the groove, is a very minuscule stylus/diamond tilt audible? Absolutely!
What complicates setup is that less than perfect stylus to cantilever mating is common, and occasionally the cantilever is less than perfectly mounted. Most will align using the cartridge body which doesn’t address this less than perfect mating/mounting. From the side, I surmise that few mount it to the ideal 92degrees or to whatever one seems ideal. I also surmise that few check the accuracy of stylus to cantilever mating. Now granted there are a few talented experienced folk that can reach optimization by ear, but many/most have not experienced “optimum”. @atmasphere seems to be alluding that there’s much more performance that can be wrung out of your existing cartridge if it is not yet optimized.
Dear Raul, My point is that questions about ''all carts'' make no sense. This in contradistinction with particular cartridges. You own the most carts among us while your capability is to judge their quality. We all profited from your contributions about specific carts. I bought all MM carts which you recommeded despite the fact that I prefer MC carts. So, to use you own argument, we can learn from your knowledge about specific carts. However this does not apply for your many disputes.
Dear chakster, your skeptical attitude against retips is curious. First thing is the fact that no manufacturer use their own cantilevers and styli. Those are produced by big Japanese jewel companies. The same apply for repair services. That is to say that retipers use the same cantiler/styli combos. This part is then glued in the so called ''joint pipe''. The aluminum part in which cantilever is glued on which coils are fastened and in which tension wire is fastened. Together those are moving parts by which one try to reduce the moving mass. Preferably by reducing the coil wire. To glue the cantilever/stylus combo in the joint pipe is not ''rocket science''. Why should whatever manufacturer do this better than an experienced retipper?
There are a great sounding cartridges mentioned in the thread, but the price/performance of the Hana line is tough to beat. That’s why they sell so many of them while garnishing many positive reviews. The Hana assembly line is shared by far more expensive cartridges - seasoned experience and expertise.
The idea behind the Hana is to use the knowledge/experience of well seasoned high-end cartridge engineers, coupled with quality ready available parts to keep costs down. This recipe has been a huge success.
You can end all the threads mentioning 4 cartridges:
Denon 103 (MC) Hana (MC) Nagaoka (MM) Audio-Technica (MM)
All of them are relatively cheap, affordable, not all of them are universal for all tonearms: Denon has the lowest compliance of them all and was designd in the ’60s, Nagaoka has pretty low compliance for MM, Audio-Technica are mid compliance MM. Hana is just one of the cartridges Excel Sound made, they have been making cartridges since the ’70s for many other manufacturers, but it wasn’s something special. Well what do you expect from a $400 cartridges?
The world of great inexpensive cartridges consist of so many different models from too many different manufacturers, but the knowledge and personal experience with different cartridges is so limited that we have always discuss the same models again and again.
It’s too bad. I wish people could inform each other about new discoveries, not just mainstream models from any online recordshop based on receit review chart.
Dear @kennyc : "
I fail to understand the purpose of ranking components by value. I see often contentio.......... ""
Well that's you because other of us think different. The first post about was:
"
The big deal you're going to find is that if the tonearm properly tracks the cartridge, then the choice of cartridge is far less important than people make it out. "
followed by this other post from the same person:
" I discovered that the arm is more important when ".....
You said:
""
I also surmise that few check the accuracy of stylus to cantilever mating. ""
I posted in the first page:
"
Every audiophile knows the importance to match the cartridge/tonearm combination and to make an accurated geometry alignment.
Now, we can have a great cartridge mounted in a great tonearm and even can't shows at its best if the TT/cartridge/tonearm overall alignment/geometry set up is not made it accurately
"
I can add that almost everyone knows that it's the cantilever/stylus the ones that be align in the protractor.
@rauliruegas One thing I realized is that I needed to be able to do my own setups - hence the purchase of the protractor.
After that purchase my budget was reduced and so were my options.
I spoke with a couple distributors who both recommended the Hana ML. One was out of stock and he still recommended it instead of trying to sell me something he had in stock. Maybe they make more margin on the Hana's, I don't know. Being able to buy a cartridge with a USA warranty also made me feel better.
Anyhow, I'm not disappointed with the cartridge. The only thing I don't like about it is the shape of the body - it's difficult to gauge where the cantilever is without getting your face down to its level.
First of all Raul, I did not denigrate the SME arm. It was a great arm in it's day. It is not as good as some others by virtue of it's geometry. I generally reserve denigration for uni pivot arms. I hate to say this but that turntable system? is a mess. You need to clean that up. A record clamp that massive is not necessary with vacuum hold down. It is bad for your bearing. Belts that long are also a problem. I am grad for you that you can afford a Formula 1. Maybe some day I will be able to also. Value is an important issue for most of us. We want to get the most for our money but we also expect performance to be within a certain envelope. Those of us on a budget or who are married look for the least expensive item that will get us there. I am more likely to trust the opinion of someone on a budget than someone who can spend anything they want. For those people if it is more expensive it has to be better.
Now granted there are a few talented experienced folk that can reach
optimization by ear, but many/most have not experienced “optimum”.
@atmasphere seems to be alluding that there’s much more performance that
can be wrung out of your existing cartridge if it is not yet optimized.
This. +1
Due to the crude adjustments or complete lack of adjustments on many arms, optimizing the cartridge is very difficult if not impossible! If ever there were things that cause analog to be problematic as opposed to digital, this is certainly one of the big ones. Flip that coin over- if you have an arm where every adjustment is easy, and add to that no arm tube resonance and no chatter in the bearings then you can get the cartridge to perform.
I can give many examples but a small one is this: If you wish to optimize VTA using an SME5 it is done by raising the arm. But first you have to use a tool to loosen the arm pillar from the base. Then you can use the threaded rod on the left side of the arm that bears against the mounting plate, thus raising the arm. Did you go too high? backing up the adjuster does not cause the arm to sink- you have to push it down. Hint: Apply a dot of white paint to the top knurled knob (which should be several times larger) so you can count the number of turns you've set up... watch it though- when you loosen the arm pillar, the arm can rotate with respect to its base. Point is- its tricky. With the arm I have now there are two graduated scales and I can adjust the VTA on the fly. This design has been copied by a lot of arm manufacturers but SME isn't one of them.
Arm tube resonance is the simple fact that the arm tube is made of something, and that something can vibrate. It should be damped so it can be neutral. Most arms have nothing in this regard- some do. Now if your arm tube is editorializing while you are trying to play music, will your cartridge perform the way it should? Of course not. If the bearings in the arm chatter because they are set slightly loose, same thing. If the bearings are in the plane of the arm tube rather than the LP surface, same thing.
I master LPs. I know what the master tapes sound like, and how LPs produced thusly are supposed to sound. I heartily recommend to anyone to do something similar- at the very least get a nice set of microphones and record something you can stand to listen to and get it mastered to LP. Then you will have a reference. This is invaluable!
@rauliruegas “i can add that almost everyone knows that it's the cantilever/stylus the ones that be align in the protractor.“ I think you missed my point First, it appears you’re confusing cartridge cantilever with tonearm. Second, I’m referring to manufacturing inconsistencies whose point you appear to miss.
Many/most who purchased a cartridge act/assume like both cartridge cantilever and the stylus are “perfectly” mounted which is not the case. Cartridges are not commodities where everything is the same, nor automated assembly lines where tolerances can be closely monitored. They are usually hand crafted by gifted artisans as such there are variations from cartridge to cartridge - teeny tiny variations of the stylus angles can have a significant audible affect. Certain manufacturers have a reputation for consistency in their stylus and cantilever mountings, others not so much. Some cartridges have to be returned because the stylus was mounted badly.
I’m not an authority on how to “optimize” a cartridge as I’m currently wading through this subject, but I’ll pass along what I know so far. You’ll need magnification to inspect the quality of mountings for your specific cartridge. Michael Fremer suggests using a usb microscope to achieve 92 degrees stylus to groove angle as viewed from the cartridge side, and check the verticality 90 degrees from the front. This stylus to groove adjustment method circumvents the inconsistent stylus to cantilever and the cantilever to body issues making them both moot. I’ve also read that after cartridge break in, angles may change so need readjustment. There’s also Analog Magik cartridge setup software which I’ve yet to explore/research.
To adjust zenith, using a quality protractor is an valuable tool. But if you want to “optimize” your cartridge, you can’t automatically assume that the cartridge cantilever is “perfectly parallel” to the cartridge body because of manufacturing variations as mentioned above
”Optimizing” your cartridge takes significantly more time/patience/effort, but it’s free (not counting any additional tool purchases) and will pay dividends for all your cartridges - for now and future purchases.
Forgive me if I haven't read every word of every comment posted on my thread
(please point it out if I've missed something), it has gotten pathetically long as people continue their pissing contests .
I understand the challenge to accurately mount a mechanical transducer where it needs to be perfectly aligned in 3 dimensions: pitch, yaw & roll to put it in common terms. My tonearm, the Linn Ittok, doesn't provide for adjustments in roll (azimuth). I know that this can be measured with a test record and a scope. If azimuth adjustments need to be made, I can get shim stock.
My question is how can one accurately measure yaw (twist) and pitch (VTA)? I have a USB scope but trying to accurately measure the angle of a stylus to a record surface, or the angle of a cantilever to a record groove using a cheap optical instrument while coping with parallax seems silly. Buying software that magically simplifies this seems more so (again, correct me if I'm wrong).
On the other hand, I'm sure some do it by ear which IMO shouldn't be dismissed. The best musicians I know tune by ear and they understand that no acoustic instrument can be "perfectly tuned" but they know what works 90% of the time.
Try the nagaoka mp 300/500 for excellent sound altho i am not quite sure its compliance is matched to the ittok. Someone with that information please chip in.
@klooker The Linn philosophy with regards to tonearms seems to be that the ability to adjust azimuth is not important. Your Ittok has limited adjustability in regards to a number of set up parameters. Linn seems to think that the cartridge manufacturer should have exacting manufacturing tolerances to make azimuth errors irrelevant. This is not something that I personally believe occurs. Unfortunately, the weak link with the Linn platform is the Linn arm(s),although no one connected to Linn will agree with me.
@daveyf I’m the last guy who’s going to defend Linn and their superior opinions.
So what adjustments does the Ittok lack besides azimuth? Besides overhang, VTA, twist/yaw, and anti-skate what is there?
Oops, I just re-read your post and you said "limited adjustability". Using the Feickert protractor the cartridge seems to be right on within a fraction of a mm. It's hard to gauge the tangential alignment though.
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