2. analog
  3. 140043-486

Hear my Cartridges....🎶

Many Forums have a 'Show your Turntables' Thread or 'Show your Cartridges' Thread but that's just 'eye-candy'.... These days, it's possible to see and HEAR your turntables/arms and cartridges via YouTube videos.
Peter Breuninger does it on his AV Showrooms Site and Michael Fremer does it with high-res digital files made from his analogue front ends.
Now Fremer claims that the 'sound' on his high-res digital files captures the complex, ephemeral nuances and differences that he hears directly from the analogue equipment in his room.
That may well be....when he plays it through the rest of his high-end setup 😎
But when I play his files through my humble iMac speakers or even worse.....my iPad speakers.....they sound no more convincing than the YouTube videos produced by Breuninger.
Of course YouTube videos struggle to capture 'soundstage' (side to side and front to back) and obviously can't reproduce the effects of the lowest octaves out of subwoofers.....but.....they can sometimes give a reasonably accurate IMPRESSION of the overall sound of a system.

With that in mind.....see if any of you can distinguish the differences between some of my vintage (and modern) cartridges.
VICTOR X1
This cartridge is the pinnacle of the Victor MM designs and has a Shibata stylus on a beryllium cantilever. Almost impossible to find these days with its original Victor stylus assembly but if you are lucky enough to do so.....be prepared to pay over US$1000.....🤪
VICTOR 4MD-X1
This cartridge is down the ladder from the X1 but still has a Shibata stylus (don't know if the cantilever is beryllium?)
This cartridge was designed for 4-Channel reproduction and so has a wide frequency response 10Hz-60KHz.
Easier to find than the X1 but a lot cheaper (I got this one for US$130).
AUDIO TECHNICA AT ML180 OCC
Top of the line MM cartridge from Audio Technica with Microline Stylus on Gold-Plated Boron Tube cantilever.
Expensive if you can find one....think US$1000.

I will be interested if people can hear any differences in these three vintage MM cartridges....
Then I might post some vintage MMs against vintage and MODERN LOMC cartridges.....🤗
halcro

Showing 2 responses by vair68robert

vair68robert
638 posts
 
Thank you Halcro 
for starting a very enjoyable and informative forum discusion .

So I have a question for the highly experienced and knowledgeable memebers ,  have you noticed liking or enjoying a certain
stylist shape or cantilever material ?

My limited experience has been with Grado only ,
a used MZ that came with the TT , then a used Gold , an estate sale Sonata ( new ! ) and what I am going to replace a Reference Master
( new and discounted  after the V2 came out ) .
All with eliptical stylist and aluminum cantilevers .

Thanks
Rob


vair68robert
638 posts
 
Thanks again halcro

Your unbias views are very helpful ,
I am currently looking at a Grace F-9 with a re-tipped shibata stylus
( spelled correctly this time ! ) and aluminum cantilever,
a new AT150sa ( discontinued ) which has a shibata stylus
and a sapphire cantilever ,
and lastly a low hr ( ? ) Grado RM V2 .
I know these don't compare to the level of cartridges that you and many of the others here have but they do have many of the features that the expensive cartridges have .

p.s.  I use a Tavish Design Adagio phono pre and a passive pre .
    I'm playing it safe by looking for MM s with over 4mv output 
    so it will be an all tube output .
 




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