progress?

Dear Tonywinsc: Yes we have to take in count that all LPs comes with eccentric hole and warps , ideally is better to stay in the " safe " resonance frequency range: 8hz to 12 hz.

I only want to show that a good tracker tracks under almost any condition.

Regards and enjoy the music,
R.

Dear Boofer: +++++ " Except for the cannons, all mentioned TT's sound just fine, and if sound is what it's all about, well and good; but I think trackability should also be a concern, especially if today'sprices are considered.... " +++++

IMHO perhaps the main or more important cartridge characteristic/target is: the cartridge traking abilities.

Everything the same the best cartridge tracker ( between cartridge comparisons. ) is the best performer too.

Better cartridge tracking abilities means ( between other things ) LOWER DISTORTIONS: distortions that many of us can hear and discern about.

The main cartridge function/target is to follow the recorded grooves staying in touch with always.
Any stylus microscopic " jump " when the stylus is riding the grooves means added distortions and we don't want added distortions in our audio system.

In any decent TT/tonearm/set up the main responsability to shows great or poor tracking abilities fall in the cartridge it self. We don't have to have an stellar tonearm or TT for the cartridge can shows its tracking habilities. I made it " thousands " of test for tracking habilities with real music/recordings with " hundreds of vintage and today MM/MI/LOMC/HOMC cartridges.

One of the recordings I used is that Telarc 1812 Overture ( that IMHO is a great recording and not only because the cannons. ) and because the way ( over the recording. ) the cartridge trfacked I know how that cartridge performs against other cartridges and the differences I have to expect.

Only a few of the today cartridges can track the 16 cannon shots ( one of them is the Denon top of the line S1. ), other only part of those shots and depending which shots can track that's the way that cartridge performs with " normal " LPs.

Now, that is not only which cartridge can pass the 16 cannons shots but on each cannon shot: how it performs/sound? and ( again ) depending on the cartridge kind of sound/reproduction of each one shot will be its overall quality performance level.

Those people that still think that because no other LP is so demanding it's no important that his cartridge can't pass the test but the other LPs: wrong way wrong, it's important because the cartridges that can always performs in any other LP with lower lower distortions.

Of course that if the distoriton levels o what you are hearing is not important: well, is not important.

Dougdeacon, the recording can't damage your precious cartridge but it's a good test/experience to know which distortion levels you have at the source.

Several today and other vintage LOMC cartridges more than riding the LPs normal grooves are jumping on it! . This is terrible, not the Telarc 1812 Overture.

Regards and enjoy the music,
R.

Dear Mapman: Your posts are right as a theory, unfortunatelly in audio for some " unknow " reasons not always is acomplished.

This is an example and I already experienced several other that gone against theory:

In 1984 Audio magazyne made the review of one of the greatest LOMC ever, the Ortofon MC2000 ( that I own. ). This cartridge weight is 11grs and its compliance is 20cu.

The reviewer was the regarded B.V. Pisha whom mounted the cartridge in the technics EPA 250 through the SP-10MK2 TT.

The measured compliance was 30cu and the resonance frequency was 5.0 hz. Well trhough measures of the cartridge traking ability ( to many numbers to shows here ) Pisha writed: " this is the best tracability I have ever measured at low frequency.

The MC2000 tracks cleanly: even the level 6 on the Shure Era V. He continue: " as I had expected, the MC2000 reproduced very the very high-velocity cannon shots on the Telarc 1812 with no apparent difficulty ".

How that could happen?

Regards and enjoy the music,
R.

Dear Tonywinsc: Well, the tonearm/cartridge resonance was that 5hz value that's way out of the " ideal " range: 8hz to 12 hz.

I assume you have that review and is very interesting. The subject here for what Mapman posted ( he is right. ) is that all the cartridge/tonearm specs and measurements goes ( in theory ) against what he stated but in the real life the cartridge performs great. I own this Ortofon MC2000 and I mounted in several tonearms and in each one performs almost the same.

I own several very high compliance cartridges that I mounted in heavy mass tonearms and performs very well.

+++++ " I also think that stylus design/shape is a factor too for both low and high frequency tracking. Some stylus shapes definately work better than others. " +++++

this is absolutely true. I experienced about and I remember one of my latest test with the AT Precept 440 MM cartridge: things are that this cartridge ( over the time. ) was marketed with different stylus shape: Shibata, eliptical and ML ( line contact type. ).

All stylus/cantilever/suspension " mechanism " are the same but the stylus shape. Well, only the ML sample traked cleanly all the 1812 cannon shots, the other two failed and I tested in three different tonearms.

Regards and enjoy the music,
R.