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What about diamond cantilever/stylus combo

In the so called 'MM thread' J. Carr explained the differences between cantilever materials.The advantage of aluminum cantilever being that the stylus can be pressure
fitted while by the so called 'exotic cantilevers' the stylus need to be glued in the cantilevers. There are different conditions which the cantilever need to satisfy
in order to ,uh, satisfy the preferences of an designer. J. Carr also explained why he prefers boron cantilevers. Now I own the Sony XL 88 as well as the Sony XL 88 D.
'D' referring to the cantilever and stylus made from one piece of diamond. But here is my confusion. Both carts have the same 'generator' and also the same technical specs. But 'soundwise' they are as different as an Lada and an Ferrari (by way of speaking or by exaggeration). The comparisson between French wines as well between the French chief cooks come to mind.BTW the pudding will also do. Without any technical pretenitons I would think that the only explantion for the mentioned difference should be the diamond cantilever/stylus combo. If it was possible I would gladly retip my chosen MC carts with such cantilever/ stylus combo and pay, say, $1500 for the jewel. Now if there is demand then there should be supply? The question is if there is 'interesting demand' for the possible producer(s)?

Regards,
128x128nandric

Showing 3 responses by dover

dover
2,186 posts
 
@chakster 
This is the only Diamond cantilever that i have. Is it one piece or two pieces ?
2 pieces plus glue
dover
2,186 posts
 
@nandric 
I'm not bothered by cantilever material, the final arbiter is the overall performance in your TT/arm/system. FWIW the previous owner of my Final Audio Parthenon had both the Sony XL88D ( one piece diamond cantilever ) and Dynavector Nova 13D ( 2 piece diamond cantilever ). He kept the Dynavector, returned the Sony XL88D. Final Audio also offered 1 piece diamond cantilevered MC's designed by Yoshihisa Mori based on the Sony design - 1 with full 1 piece diamond cantilever/stylus, another with 1 piece diamond cantilever/stylus but the cantilever in the latter sample was half length with aluminium sleeve.
Over the years diamond cantilevers have been used by several lesser known ( in the west ) boutique cartridge manufacturers, but it is only one component in many that produce the final result.
As regards value, the incremental cost of the diamond cantilever on the Koetsu is $5k - even a cheap car would lose that value in 1 year, but you should get 3-4 years use out of the Koetsu, so it's all relative.    
dover
2,186 posts
 
@nandric 
You are right to question providence, as there are many "unsubstantiated claims" in these forums, but unlike "some" the previous owner of my TT wrote for "The Absolute Sound", "Australian Hifi" and other audio magazines in the 80's. Resident in Japan for 8 years during that time, a proficient Harpsichord & Piano player, you can actually read his review of the Sony XL88D in "The Absolute Sound" magazine volume 8, #30, June 1983, along with may other arms/cartridges that represented the high end in Japan at that time. The writer had personal access to both Mori ( Sony Soundtech ), Tominari ( Dynavector ) & Kitamura ( Final Audio ) and their respective reference systems in addition to his own substantive collection of high end of the day.
However you seem to have missed the point of my post which is "the proof of the pudding is in the eating" - but the "best pudding" is ultimately a matter of personal taste.
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