Ortofon A90 or Air Tight PC-1

First I did not leave anything out to manipulate anything. Second you are suggest that tas does not know how to set up a cart. Then all the other carts must have been set up improperly as well and only the manufacturer knows the correct way to set it up. Or it was defective. only 500 being made and this one was defective.

My last 4 cart. because I can not rember before, were Dynavector XV-1s, shelter 9000, PC-1 and now Goldfinger V2. The 9000 I did not like. Took a long time to break in and never really sounded right. The XV-1s and PC-1, to my ear, were very close. If I had to choose between them I would take the PC-1. The XV-1s cantilever is to easily broken and very expensive to replace. As far as the A90 I have not heard, but I have spoken to people whose ears I trust, mostly(all) negative. One such person called it "hype". Again, this for me, is second hand. But, the fact that it was excluded from the review does not bode well for it. Time will tell. Now I am where I wish to be(audio wise) and have no plans to change. The Goldfinger V2 is a final purchase for me as long as it lasts.

tas issue 206 oct 2010 anolog issue; "This survey originally included the $4200 Ortofon A90 cartridge", "Upon reading the review preprint, the manufacturer suggested that the sample was either defective or incorrectly setup."

Harry pearson reviewed ZYX Omega, Kubotech Haniwa, My Sonic Labs Eminent, Miyajima Shilabe, Dynavector XV-1T, Clearaudio Goldfinger V2 and Benz LP 5-MR. His review, " It is immediately apparent that the Goldfinger stands alone. It is like the turntable for which it was designed, a statement." I personally concur. I have been on the up grade train for many yrs and never before did one item make such a drastic(in a great way) difference. It, the golgfinger V2, is the best money I have ever spent on audio equipment. I can not image, even though clearaudio claims an upgrade is comming, any cart. sounding better!

If I am correct(if not please correct me), I believe, that like most carts the only recommendation that comes with the cart is the VTF. Every other adjustment is by ear. Although, the reviewers(HP) used a Fasgometer to set the Azimuth(It sounds like a cool tweek gadget for $250). Now, as far as the SRA is concerned, on my tt(walker black diamond) the only way I know of to adjust the SRA is with the VTA adjustment. Unless, you plan on shimming or bending something, I know of no other way. As far as I know there are no meters to test the VTA or SRA, they are adjusted by ear. Seeing that all the carts in the review were adjusted the same way for the A90 to be done incorrectly would mean that there is some special set up that has not been shared with the buyers/owners of the cart. Also this was not an "average set up". I have nothing against this cart. I hope it is a great one. The price seems reasonable and if it were as good as stated it would be a real deal. It just seem hard to imagine, with all the effort they put into this review and set up. I mean(ae written in the review), "Vertical Tracking Angle adjustment; an HP specialty". All I am saying is I would sample, research and/or test myself before buying. Or at least wait a few months to see if the follow up review comes out with an explination or a good review.

I have been giving this a lot of thought. I understand Essentialaudio what you are saying, but, to me, it is absurd to say the only way to install an anolog cart is with a digital microscope. So I went on clearaudio's site. They have a simple set of instructions to install the cart. To set the vta you measure the distance between the lowest part of the cart body and the test record, .2mm to .5mm. Now if you think about it, as your 92 degree angle, which I have read about elsewhere, it is all MATH! The cantilever should be the same angle off the cart body, with in a reasonable(minute) limit of error, on all the ones of a particular model and brand. Once you know that angle, the rest is easy to figure out. Hence the goldfinger solution. A simple, cheap set of feeler gages, then adjust by ear.