JWM10 with TNT Cartridge help PLEASE

Jeff's recommendation of the Dyna 20X is a good one IMO.I haven't met a Dyna that my former JMW10 didnt like.

Im also however, one of those 500 or so folks that would advise (not necessarily tell you) not to use the Shelter on the JMW.As there are folks using them who find them to sound good to their ears.

Im rather old school and think its important to look at the arm/cart compliance match closely before you mate them with eachother.( Thanks Dad, TWL and Dougdeacon) My reasoning comes from learning the hard way after mounting a expensive Lyra Helikon ( and paying stupid retail for it!!) on the JMW10 with my Aries table. I could never get it to sound fleshed out and kept waiting for it to "break in" and wondering why it sounded so lean and bright for over 150 hours before finally deciding to resell it and loose close to half its value. It all comes down to the proper match to at least hear the best from the cart.It will at least tell you what the true sound of the cart is like to help you decide if you like it or not..

Choose a cart that is of higher compliance Cu's to go on the JMW and you'll be much happier in the end. 12-15 Cu or higher

Of those you listed..the Benz models are good as well as the even better sounding Sumiko Celebration. Blackbird, GRado Sonata or any of the wood bodies..and my personal favorite, the line of ZYX carts. R100 Fuji is killer on that arm.

IMO look past the Koetsu's and Lyra's, Denons, as well as the Shelters. They are great sounding carts to be sure..but you'll not get the best out of them on the JMW-10 The newer JMW 9 Sign may well be much better at accepting the lower Cu designs though..Ken

Hi Jeff,

Its true that system matching involves more than cart/ tonearm matching..poor sound can result from any one or combo of factors such as not having a level platform which is so very important with the VPI JMW or any unipivot more so than gimbal or fixed bearing types. Another contributing factor would be under or overdamping of the cart,improper VTF, VTA,Overhang, and lateral Azimuth or tilt of the arm skewed to tilt from true perpendicular

All the above would be concidered fundimental basic parameters we do to set up the cart...so assuming everything is aligned, recommended VTF is set and the parameters are correct..The one factor that cannot be fixed is having a low complianace( very stiff) suspension trying to track in a groove on an arm that is prone or tends by its nature to want to move with the groove tracing itself!

Its like having a stiff suspension car speeding down a bumpy road, and trying to keep contact with the road at all times...same idea with the cart stylus..it cant do its job of tracing the groove perfectly because the the suspension's too stiff and in an arm that wont allow it to keep from crashing into the side walls of the groove..

Now the resulting sound that is heard from all this is typically a bright, thin upper mids and highs and lightweight bass response. Highs tend to sound spitty as well. Sometimes increasing the VTF or downforce can help make it sound a bit less lean..but the problem is still the mismatch and the result is poor sound and accelerated record wear.
This is very much my experience with how this type of mismatch sounds. Hope this helps..

Dougdeacon.. TWL.. or 4Yanks.. if your out there please feel free to add some thoughts here..

Jeff,

I would tend to agree with you on that single number of dynamic compliance as being perhaps a broad generalization or simplification in absolute terms as the only issue of compatability. But, certainly not one to be ignored as you stated previously.

Intersting to note that indeed the Helikon's Dyn compliance figure of 12 puts it in the area of acceptability and middle ground for use on the JMW...Lyra also recommends mounting the Helikon in a rigid, fixed bearing or linear tracking type tonearm of med. mass. This perhaps lends to suggestion that UniP's are not welcome players for this cart...A sentiment I tend to believe and as others have attested to...

Anyway..I sold my Aries/JMW to return to the more conventional designs once again as there has been much activity on that front and no shortage of many great arms nowadays to try out!..Thanks and happy listening!

Roger,

Sorry to be one of the hi-Jackers on your thread. My apologies if that was the case. Keep in mind though, that sometimes you can pick up some valuable info in these discussions, even if it seems irrelevant to your current question. In fact I did answer your question directly regarding the Celebration as a better sounding cart and a good choice over the Benz that you listed. Good luck with your rig! :-)