@invictus- While it may be true, that diamond is heavy, Dynavector has skirted that, by using a very short/small cantilever in their Karats.
'Diamond' cantilevers: a man's best friend?
An increasing number of cartridge manufacturers is offering models with 'diamond' cantilevers at the top of their range, generally priced at the wrong side of $10k. The price hike compared to - otherwise identical - models with boron (or other) cantilevers runs in the multiple thousands.
Can anyone explain why? Is this just an artificial price point to emphasize exclusivity or does it have to do with material or manufacturing cost, even if there's not much material to begin with? And speaking of artificial, are these cantilevers made from 'real' diamond, or some industrial type? Are all diamond cantilevers created equal or do we see a variety of diamond-like materials sold as 'real' diamond? And what about the rare 'one piece' diamond stylus/cantilevers used in a few vintage cartridges (Sony XL-88D, Dynavector, Kiseki Lapis Lazuli); are these new top dollar diamond cantilever cartridges (like some Koetsu's, Ortofon MC Century, Transfiguration Orpheus Diamond, etc.) of the 'one piece' type? And if not, what is the presumed advantage compared to ruby, sapphire, boron or any other cantilever materials? In short: does anyone know what the 'diamond' cantilever landscape really looks like?
And finally the really important question: do 'diamond' cantilevers - all else being equal - offer superior performance that would begin to justify the price difference? Has anyone done the required comparative listening?
PS: a have a nice collection of MC's with a variety of cantilever materials: sapphire, ruby, boron, aluminium, beryllium, or some combination of materials. But not 'diamond' (real or otherwise), so I'm curious to find out if I'm missing out on something.
Can anyone explain why? Is this just an artificial price point to emphasize exclusivity or does it have to do with material or manufacturing cost, even if there's not much material to begin with? And speaking of artificial, are these cantilevers made from 'real' diamond, or some industrial type? Are all diamond cantilevers created equal or do we see a variety of diamond-like materials sold as 'real' diamond? And what about the rare 'one piece' diamond stylus/cantilevers used in a few vintage cartridges (Sony XL-88D, Dynavector, Kiseki Lapis Lazuli); are these new top dollar diamond cantilever cartridges (like some Koetsu's, Ortofon MC Century, Transfiguration Orpheus Diamond, etc.) of the 'one piece' type? And if not, what is the presumed advantage compared to ruby, sapphire, boron or any other cantilever materials? In short: does anyone know what the 'diamond' cantilever landscape really looks like?
And finally the really important question: do 'diamond' cantilevers - all else being equal - offer superior performance that would begin to justify the price difference? Has anyone done the required comparative listening?
PS: a have a nice collection of MC's with a variety of cantilever materials: sapphire, ruby, boron, aluminium, beryllium, or some combination of materials. But not 'diamond' (real or otherwise), so I'm curious to find out if I'm missing out on something.
Showing 4 responses by rodman99999
@cleeds - There have been three iterations(every one an improvement), since the original Karat17D was introduced. I love my 17D3! The X is the latest, of the same model line. I may have to think about it. http://www.dynavector.com/products/cart/e_17dx.html |
"Just cannot accept the MC sound character. It’s significantly distorted from source tape. " Way too many MCs/arms/alignments/loadings, for me to make a blanket statement(though you may have been referring only to the Ortofon). I do also enjoy my Soundsmith SMMC1-M, MI, with it’s ruby cantilever(an Aida, in a different shell). An exemplary match, for my Magnepan arm. |