How to choose a cartridge you can't hear on your system?


My personal cartridge history has gone from a humble Goldring to a decent Benz H2 and finally a Dynavector XV-1s.  Recently my 3 year old decided to break the needle on both my Dynavector and Benz (two arm setup).  This tragedy prompted a me to send my Dynavector out for re-tipping and the purchase of a new cartridge to sustain me through the expected rebuild period.  I bought a decent Sumiko Evo III.  

All of this is to come around to a realization.  In many ways, each cartridge brings something new to the table.  The Evo II had more solidity or weight to the sonic presentation than the others.  The Benz had a seductive warmth and the Dynavector a detailed nuance I most enjoyed.  I don't think it is possible to know ahead of hearing a cartridge in ones own system which brands house sound one prefers.  

I find cartridges to be the hardest audio component to buy.  How do you choose?  
chadlesko

Showing 9 responses by inna

With the climate change advancing we may see snow storms in Sahara soon enough.
So, we can't believe what " some manufacturers/experts " say, question is can we believe any of them? And if yes - who ? 

Oh boy, such a wondeful arrogance that you can shatter anyone's belief. I don't belong to any camp when it comes to this. I am a tape man, I think that vinyl is inferior medium, regardless of what cartridge you use.
chakster tried many cartridges, both vintage and modern. Why do you argue with him before doing the same? This reminds me the thread regarding power cords. Go ahead and try. Before you do it your so-called opinion is just that, it's not an opinion yet. To put it another way - you have no necessary experience to qualify for the opinion.
But, as I mentioned before, to buy vintage cartridges you have to be an expert or have an expert friend or a professional. And yes, you may lose some money, but you may save more by making the right choice. In any case, to even consider $5k cartridge you also got to have a phono stage of two/three times the cost and absolutely reference level tomearm cable. Not to mention table/arm. Cartridge is not the most important element, most people have no idea of how a great MM can play, they just jump to $2k or more modern MC and plan on getting $5k one real soon. That's not audiophile approach.
I would never do it, this can be a very costly mistake. Besides, many brands don't have anything that I could call 'cheap'. Over $1k is not cheap, at least for most.
Dealers could have at least a few set-ups for auditioning.
Not my problem, though. When and if I am ready to pay thousands  of dollars for a cartridge, I'll make couple of phone calls and get precise advice. You got to have priviledges and connections, then you'll be fine, cartridges or not.
I see. You support the system as it is and then complain that it’s no good. Who in fact makes it possible to thrive? Stop buying this multikilobuck $hit without listening. In one year they will beg you to listen, personally deliver it to you and will send you flowers on Christmas. And if not - to hell with them and their cartridges.
I also look at what members here with apparently good hearing, taste and budget use. They most often use one or more of those - Lyra, Transfiguration, Kiseki, Allnic, AirTight, Koetsu. I don't see many Dyna, Benz, Clearaudio etc. Some set-ups look like sound great with Ikeda and Ortofon. If I could afford any of those and wanted MC I would think and consult with someone regarding how all of them would work in my arm and with my phono. Then the choice would not be very difficult. Still, I would probably have to choose one out of two or three.
Sometimes, I can know by knowing my preferences well and reading about others' experiences. Even in your example, without much of elaboration on your part, I choose Sumiko. I would just go higher in line. Simple enough. But I suspect that if you want one cartridge combining all strengths of those three and without much negative, you might like Transfiguration more than Lyra. It's a guess of mine.
So that's the answer to your question. Unless we know for sure - we guess.