Dear Lacee: +++++ " Surprisingly, I never heard in past tables and arms how good that Grado was.
It was always an entry level item, a step along the way,to a much better sounding one.
Or so I always thought.
I now have a new found respect for this old cartridge " +++++
well this is nothing short of what I found out several years ago with several humble vintage MM/MI cartridges and was on that time that I started a dedicated thread to share experiences incredible experiences on those humble MM/MI cartridges. Today that thread has over 7K posts related and as you many people now have " a new found respect for those old little gems ", I always say that those are : " the missed link ". Fortunately we found out and now we have a " new " realy fine analog alternative.
+++++ " What impresses me most about the SME combo is not that it will make a two grand cartridge sound good, but that it has made a well worn $300.00 one sound so good. " +++++
IMHO a cartridge is only a half-terminated item and its other half is the tonearm.
Whe a tonearm and cartridge performs as two items this means that tonearm is not helping for the cartridge showed at its best. When both performs as one integrated item then all shines. cartridge performance quality level depends in firt instance with which tonearm is mated: synergy here is the name of the game.
+++++ " I would definetly have to say that upgrading the table and arm is a more profund improvement than upgrading to an expensive cartridge on a cheap table. " ++++
well: " in a cheap tonearm ". That is the same experience by Cousinbilly1:
+++++ " with the top of the line 'tonearm', coupled to their cheapest cartridge "EASILY" outperformed the top of the line cart on the inexpensive tonearm " +++++
I never heard the Talisman V2 but I own the Clearaudio Virtuoso Wood ( non stock cantilever/stylus. ) that under my Agon Virtuoso review outperformed ( in my system ) the Goldfinger LOMC top of the line Clearaudio one and ( if you go and read through the latest pages on the MM long thread. ) one Agoner prefers in his sytem his vintage Technics P100CMK4 over his Lyra new top of the line 9K+ cartridge:
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?eanlg&1200430667&openflup&7233&4#7233
and I own some very cheap and humble MM/MIs that outperform almost any big big Kdollars cartridges out there.
One main characteristic where the MM/MIs take advantage over its LOMC " cousins " is that the MM/MI are better tracking cartridges and this not only means lower distortions but more music information that is in the LP grooves that the LOMC can't " read " because instead to always been in the groove are jumping ( microscopic level ) due to its low compliance design.
Anyway, very good experience you had with that Grado and now with your Talisman V2.
Regards and enjoy the music,
R.
It was always an entry level item, a step along the way,to a much better sounding one.
Or so I always thought.
I now have a new found respect for this old cartridge " +++++
well this is nothing short of what I found out several years ago with several humble vintage MM/MI cartridges and was on that time that I started a dedicated thread to share experiences incredible experiences on those humble MM/MI cartridges. Today that thread has over 7K posts related and as you many people now have " a new found respect for those old little gems ", I always say that those are : " the missed link ". Fortunately we found out and now we have a " new " realy fine analog alternative.
+++++ " What impresses me most about the SME combo is not that it will make a two grand cartridge sound good, but that it has made a well worn $300.00 one sound so good. " +++++
IMHO a cartridge is only a half-terminated item and its other half is the tonearm.
Whe a tonearm and cartridge performs as two items this means that tonearm is not helping for the cartridge showed at its best. When both performs as one integrated item then all shines. cartridge performance quality level depends in firt instance with which tonearm is mated: synergy here is the name of the game.
+++++ " I would definetly have to say that upgrading the table and arm is a more profund improvement than upgrading to an expensive cartridge on a cheap table. " ++++
well: " in a cheap tonearm ". That is the same experience by Cousinbilly1:
+++++ " with the top of the line 'tonearm', coupled to their cheapest cartridge "EASILY" outperformed the top of the line cart on the inexpensive tonearm " +++++
I never heard the Talisman V2 but I own the Clearaudio Virtuoso Wood ( non stock cantilever/stylus. ) that under my Agon Virtuoso review outperformed ( in my system ) the Goldfinger LOMC top of the line Clearaudio one and ( if you go and read through the latest pages on the MM long thread. ) one Agoner prefers in his sytem his vintage Technics P100CMK4 over his Lyra new top of the line 9K+ cartridge:
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?eanlg&1200430667&openflup&7233&4#7233
and I own some very cheap and humble MM/MIs that outperform almost any big big Kdollars cartridges out there.
One main characteristic where the MM/MIs take advantage over its LOMC " cousins " is that the MM/MI are better tracking cartridges and this not only means lower distortions but more music information that is in the LP grooves that the LOMC can't " read " because instead to always been in the groove are jumping ( microscopic level ) due to its low compliance design.
Anyway, very good experience you had with that Grado and now with your Talisman V2.
Regards and enjoy the music,
R.