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High compliance and low mass or?

Hi,

In researching cartridges for an upgrade, I am trying to determine which type of cartridge would be best suited for my SME 309 tonearm -- a high compliance, low mass cartridge like a Zyx? Or, would a cartridge with lower compliance but higher mass like a Dynavector DV-1 work better? Does it make a difference at all since both cartridges have a resonant freq of about 10Hz?
1musiclover

Showing 2 responses by dogpile

dogpile
118 posts
 

Question...what's the effective mass of your SME 309? Suggestions to follow...
dogpile
118 posts
 

1musiclover

To answer your initial question, I think what you need is a medium/heavy cartridge with medium compliance. Since your SME 309 has an effective mass of 9.5g, a typical ZYX cartridge is around 5g + another 4g with the added silver base which is recommended and required if you decide on a ZYX with your SME. You will need the added weight for a proper match.

The end result is 9.5g (arm) + 9g ( 5g. ZYX + 4g. silver base) = 18.5g - ZYX compliance is 15 x 10(-6) cm/dyne (horizontal) / 12 x 10(-6) cm/dyne (vertical). This is a great match.

The Dynavector will be a poor match (at least on paper).

just my 2 cents
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