Synergy

@tomic601 

Mr Carr and I have already discussed the problem and come to a resolution.

Many cartridges come with cantilevers leaning to one side or another which is why you always set offset by the cantilever and not the cartridge body. 

@rauliruegas ,

Sometime, a lot of times reality changes. Sometimes your mind changes. My mind changes all the time and in it's own little world it is entitled to do so. I'm sorry if you do not agree with my meanderings. 

@rauliruegas 

IMHO the only continuity in this mess is the music. Everything else is expendable.

We have had many complimentary and useful discussions Raul, so please do not belittle yourself.

All roads lead to Rome:-) 

RV it is not Synergy. Cheap moving coil cartridges suck. Many of us believe there are MM and MI cartridges that are much superior in that price range. One of the very best cartridges I've had in my system was the Soundsmith Voice. It is a $3000 MI cartridge that is easily comparable to $8000 MC cartridges. If you are a rock and roller the Clearaudio Charisma is a fabulous cartridge. It has great bass and is dynamic as hell. On the less expensive side is the Nagaoka MP 500. You can ask @lewm about it. He has one. 

@rauliruegas 

I beg to disagree. I'm unstable because I have two daughters. They make me listen to Primus. 

@rvpiano The Maestro is more or less neutral. The Talisman V2 Gold is very bright. If you really want "not as bright", go with the Charisma. It leans towards the bass and is VERY dynamic. The Firebird will come roaring to life. A friend has the one I owned and loves it. It has a Gyger S stylus on a boron cantilever same as the Goldfinger. It is a dual magnet design so separation is very good. Some people think it is made by Audio Technica. I was assured it is made in Germany. It does have a similar design. 

Good for you RV. At this moment I am listening to Neville Marriner's  L'Estro Armonico on Decca (Argo) records. Vivaldi was the rock and roller of his day. Too many notes! They had the same complaint of Charlie Parker. Just music. 

@lewm 

Great minds again. 

To me "synergy" when it comes to HiFi equipment is trying to fix an error with a corrective error. If you have a system that is too bright you fix the brightness, not add a dull whatever. Matching equipment is very important especially when it comes to amps and speakers, cartridges and tonearms and cartridges and phono stages. 

@mulveling 

It seems I have developed the same illness. I am cartridge bouncing again trying to find that perfect cartridge. Problem is it may not exist and this gets expensive. I am looking for a cartridge with the dynamics of the Atlas, the detail of the MC Diamond and the output of the Signature Platinum. Next on the list is the Hyperion MR followed by the MSL Ultra Eminent EX. The MC Diamond is a keeper because it is hands down the best at smaller classical music like string quartets. The best overall cartridge I have had in the system so far has been the Soundsmith Voice, so I have high hopes for the Hyperion.

@mulveling 

I was looking at the Van den Hul. They have a very high compliance which I think may have been your problem. I have the Hyperion MR coming which is replacing the Platinum Signature which was very nice , but a bit too polite for me. I'm about to sell the Atlas, another long unfortunate story. So, I was looking at Van den Hul, the MSL Ultra Eminent EX, the Kuzma Car 50 and the EMT Novel Gold. I'm leaning towards the Ultra Eminent EX as it's 0.6 ohm impedance makes it a great match for my current mode phono stage and the build quality of MSL cartridges is excellent. The preamp I have coming has a high output phono stage in it designed by Dynavector. I will collect a few high output cartridges. The Soundsmith Voice will be one of them, the Nagaoka MP500 another and the third is open for argument. I am not sure about the Verismo for you. If it is anything like the MC Diamond it will be a great classical cartridge with loads of detail and a fine image but a bit shy in bass and slam. I'm keeping the Diamond because it does string quartets better than any cartridge I have ever owned. 

@pindac 

As I told Mulveling above the Verismo is likely to be a wonderful classical cartridge, but if you listen to rock and/or jazz you might not like it. Ortofon's build quality is second to none. The most powerful well balanced cartridge I have had in my system was the Soundsmith Voice. I am about to hear the new Soundsmith Hyperion MR and will certainly report back. I am not so sure about rebuilds other than Soundsmith that rebuilds it's own cartridges and others for a very decent price. 

@lewm 

Looks whose talking! Experimenting is how you learn. 

RV, I think you should move up the Clearaudio line to the Maestro V2. It has a much better cantilever and stylus. It should be more detailed. The Charisma is really what you want. I had one which I gave to a friend and he loves it. He also had a problem with brightness and the Charisma with it's aggressive bass cleared that right up. It is one of the most dynamic cartridges I have ever heard and beautifully made and presented. It rivals moving coil cartridges in the 4-5000 dollar range. Next up would be the Soundsmith Voice which I can not say enough good things about. Mine is now driving a pair of Magico S7s. I gave it to that friend for his 70th birthday and he LOVES it.  I liked it so much that I bought a Hyperion MR, a $10K cartridge which I should have shortly.

@mulveling 

I am hoping that with its 0.6 ohm impedance the Ultra will mate well with my current mode phono stage. It is 1/2 the impedance of the Signature Platinum. MSL cartridges are extremely well made and the styluses are 1st class. But, it may not be what I am looking for. I can get an extremely good price on one which is another factor.  The VDH will work fine in my arm. I would do the Crimson which is reported to have more aggressive bass and punch with two poles. The Clearaudio Titanium is another cartridge I would like to try. 

@rauliruegas ,

Hi Raul, I am full of distortions and as I get closer to terminal they are getting worse. But, I shall explain anyway. The Lyra is the best cartridge overall I have had in my system. I have decided to keep it and listed it as sold. The reason I listed it is an issue with the company regarding a cantilever that deviated a few degrees laterally, I shall not buy another. My conscious will not allow me to dump it on another person. 

The Voice is a high output cartridge I was using with my old AR phono stage. My current stage does not have a MM input. It is a very dynamic cartridge with excellent tracking abilities and a neutral character. Regardless of whatever it is you are talking about it is an excellent cartridge for the money. If there is an amplitude deviation it works in it's favor.  

I have no idea how Dynavector related to DEQX on their phono stage. It was only mentioned that they were involved somehow. I do not expect the DEQX phono stage to be a stellar performer, but it will give me high output cartridge capability and a place to try SUTs. RIAA correction is in part done digitally. My Channel D does the entire curve digitally and my sense is that imaging is superior although it is extremely close and this could be psychological. It takes a few minutes to change from one to the other as you have to relocate the input XLRs. I could record an album with both analog RIAA and Digital RIAA correction for comparisons sake, but have not gotten around to it. 

At this moment, because I am using a cheap temporary processor/preamp, all bets are off. My DEQX is going to be shipped next week. Once that is set up my room/system performance will be way more accurate than any analog system unless someone is EXTREMELY lucky. My opinion on cartridges will still be flaky because, unlike you, I am a flaky person. Everyone reading! Do not listen to my opinion on cartridges, listen to Raul and @lewm. They know what they are talking about. 

@mulveling and I will keep buying cartridges indiscriminately because we have a compulsive disorder.  

@rvpiano 

The Maestro is an excellent cartridge and build quality is beyond reproach ,  I do not think it is a big enough upgrade to justify the expense. I think you should wait a bit longer and shoot higher up. I have owned a Charisma. It is very dynamic, great for rock, but it has a dark character with a slightly recessed treble. The Soundsmith Zephyr MIMC is the same price and a better cartridge. It tracks better is more neutral and just as dynamic. It is also much less expensive to rebuild. If you require a high output cartridge the Soundsmith Voice is the one to go for. The Nagaoka MP500 and Goldring 1042 get honorable mentions. 

@rauliruegas 

When I went digital, everything including the turntable was processed digitally. The only thing added since then (1995) was digital RIAA correction. 

Living is learning and as you move along the audio evolutionary curve you learn about component interactions and problems you did not expect that require solutions. 

My main speakers will be bi amped not tri amped. This allows me to get rid of the RC network between the two transformers and use an amp that will handle the very low impedance of ESLs at high frequencies. I know of no better amp to drive the midbass and midrange of ESLs than the Atma-Sphere MA 2s. They are capable of putting more power into ESLs at those frequencies than any other amp. The problem is they have an output impedance of 1.7 ohms and the ESLs drop well below that at high frequencies thus the high frequencies roll of after 12 kHz. It is a very popular combination usually only affordable by older gentlemen that have already lost their hearing above that frequency. Only solid state amps have the ultra low output impedances that will drive ESLs at high frequencies effectively, thus the odd combination.  

You may have arrived at your destination. I am still enjoying the trip.

@rvpiano 

Then go with The Voice or the Aida, both are high output. I ran the Voice for about a year. I gave it to a friend for his Birthday after I got a phono stage that ran low impedance moving coils only. The Voice is an excellent cartridge and it has no major flaws. I have a Soundsmith Hyperion MR now and it is easily one of the best cartridges I have heard in a while, better than most and second to none. It is tied with several cartridges IMHO. From a technical perspective it really has no peers.

@rauliruegas 

I did not say it was neutral, which I prefer. Someone with a system that tends towards sibilance or someone who just likes bass might like a cartridge like the Charisma. It is also a fun cartridge because of it's dynamic capability. 

I try to buy cartridges that are better than what I had. Sometimes it does not work out that way. Lately, I have had my share of problems with cartridges, A noisy cartridge, a cartridge with an angled cantilever and a cartridge with a SRA of 89 degrees unloaded! Only my Trusty MC Diamond has been without fault of my current cartridges. I tend to use it on classical music, string quartets in particular. All my current cartridges sound more alike than different. You have to split hairs to find a sonic difference. Their individual signal to noise ratio in combination with my phono stage is way more obvious. The difference is recording and pressing quality is way more obvious. I will admit that I suffer from expectation bias now and again.  There is always a "best." It may change on a continual basis, or not. But, I also admit that I am a sucker for a new cartridge. As a kid I would save and save until I could afford a new cartridge and it was always a banner day when I got one. If I misbehaved my dad would take my cartridge away for a week or two. Finally, i managed to scarf away a second one and I would use it with headphones until I was out of the doghouse. It was still punishment and more than likely one of the reasons I hate headphones.

In the meanwhile RV is thinking we need to go out and do a joint or gummy or something.