OL silver vs. Clearaudio Unify

Twl certainly knows what he's talking about when he speaks of matching mass to compliance, but the formula is not that simple. It is the total system mass - cartridge mass plus tonearm mass - which must be calculated in the formula, not just the tonearm mass alone. Given this, the mass matching may work in the Unify tonearm. For a quick way of figuring this out, go to http://www.vandenhul.com/artpap/phono_faq.htm#a2, which provides a convenient graph to simply add the mass of cartridge and tonearm and match it against compliance.

I personally own the lowest-compliance cartridge ever made - a Decca - and I can safely say that the Decca will always work better in a unipivot tonearm than in any other, mass matching issues aside. I'm actually a fan of unipivots, as it was a cheap unipivot which first beat my modded Rega which I championed for years. This type of tonearm, while fidgety, always sounds lucid and musical. The "wobbly" issue is never a roblem in practice, as the arm stabilizes within a very short time once the cartridge descends into the groove. If you like the Unify, for whatever reason, then take a chance, it looks like a very good deal. If in checking out mass loading you find a bad case of mismatching, then there are other reasonably-priced unipivots out there, including a Kuzma and an Audiomeca (which advertises on this site). Any other fans of unipivots out there?

Twl,

It's refreshing to hear from somebody who is so aware of the realities of physics in analogue: mass matching seems to be something of a forgotten art these days. This being so, I thought that some clarification of your point was necessary for Joeljoel, to wit, that the cartridge mass must be added to the tonearm mass to come to a total system mass for the calculation to be meaningful. Just because jj knows the mass of his cartridge, doesn't mean he knows to add this mass to the mass of the tonearm (no slight intended to jj).

The point concerning my Decca is that the Shelter is a low-compliance cartridge, and for this reason feeds a lot of energy back into the tonearm, as Dougdeacon noted. The Decca is the lowest compliance cartridge made, thus feeds back the most energy, and so provides an example in practice of unipivot/low-compliance matching (the Decca is a bitch to match to anything). Dougdeacon provides the most relevant information of all, actual examples of such matching with a variety of unipivots. Since jj seems to favour the unipivot (I know not why), then I thought I would encourage him, I have no agenda, and actively use a variety of tonearms, including a modded Rega, a knife-edge bearing, an air-bearing, and so on. Had he favoured the modded Rega, then I would have told him of my good experiences here.

I would add something to Dougdeacon's detailed expose, however, that very few combos can track the cannons, and the HFN testrecord is increasingly considered as an unrealistic test of a cartridge-tonearm combo. In practice, "real-world" records, which is to say regular commercial pressings, rarely present a problem. But nothing is perfect. To get back to my Decca (only one of my many cartridges), there are quite a few things it will not track well (except in one tonearm I have tried), but I love the sound and so learn to live with it. It's just plain a blast to listen to. For this reason, I keep other cartridges around, like the track-everything Shure V15. Perhaps jj just wants to have fun, too. But the Shelter should be quite a lot easier to live with than my Decca.

By the way, in getting back to the person who is asking for the advice, why do you lean towards the Unify, Joeljoel?

Doug (?),

You certainly have a point with respect to exposing bad matches. I have, actually, a collection of test records which were issued over the years, including a couple of Shures. The music on most of these is quite good! But though I should know better, I usually just stick whatever new cartridge I have onto an arm and "suck it and see," as the Brits say. Call me curious George, an inveterate tinkerer.

I can see that there's a lot of experience with the Shelter/OL tonearm, and it seems like the best bet for Joel. But a liking for aesthetics enhances one's enjoyment of a particular piece, pride of ownership and all that, and I'd hate to see Joel give up on it without giving it a chance...is there a mismatch in terms of mass/compliance?

The Shelter cartridges actually sound quite interesting: I'm always attracted to controversy, which why I bought my first Rega arm in the '80s. It seems to me that controversy is a sure sign of something good. Which is why I own a Decca as well. Perhaps I should buy a Shelter for the collection. If I do, I can thank Joel for introducing the idea.

Good luck to everyone in their search for audio nirvana and good old-fashioned fun, let's not forget...

Doug,

Hmmmm...This Shelter sounds more and more like my Decca: I'll but a Shelter if you buy a Decca! Just kidding, anyway, as I wrote, whatever the rewards, the Decca is a bitch, but some would say that's half the fun!...no pain, no gain...I'll probably buy a Shelter anyway, though I have a list...Cheers.