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What is the “World’s Best Cartridge”?

I believe that a cartridge and a speaker, by far, contribute the most to SQ.

The two transducers in a system.

I bit the bulllet and bought a Lyra Atlas SL for $13K for my Woodsong Garrard 301 with Triplanar SE arm. I use a full function Atma-Sphere MP-1 preamp. My $60K front end. It is certainly, by far, the best I have owned. I read so many comments exclaiming that Lyra as among the best. I had to wait 6 months to get it. But the improvement over my excellent $3K Mayijima Shilabi was spectacular-putting it mildly.

I recently heard a demo of much more pricy system using a $25K cartridge. Seemed to be the most expensive cartridge made. Don’t recall the name.

For sure, the amount of detail was something I never heard. To hear a timpani sound like the real thing was incredible. And so much more! 
This got me thinking of what could be possible with a different kind of cartridge than a moving coil. That is, a moving iron.

I have heard so much about the late Decca London Reference. A MI and a very different take from a MC. Could it be better? The World’s Best? No longer made.

However Grado has been making MI cartridges for decades. Even though they hold the patent for the MC. Recently, Grado came out with their assault on “The World’s Best”. At least their best effort. At $12K the Epoch 3. I bought one and have been using it now for about two weeks replacing my Lyra. There is no question that the Atlas SL is a fabulous cartridge. But the Epoch is even better. Overall, it’s SQ is the closest to real I have heard. To begin, putting the stylus down on the run in grove there is dead silence. As well as the groves between cuts. This silence is indicative of the purity of the music content. Everything I have read about it is true. IME, the comment of one reviewer, “The World’s Best”, may be true.
 

 

mglik

Showing 3 responses by big_greg

big_greg
6,711 posts
 

The way this conversation has turned reminds me of a photography forum I used to frequent.  There were a number of really high-end commercial photographers that would participate in the forum and provide a ton of valuable information.  

Unfortunately, there were a few "know-it-alls" that would discount their experience and make baseless claims without having any actual experience that supported them. 

One by one the best contributors left, and once they did, many of the entry level pros and experienced hobbyists left as well.  The forum at one point would typically have about 50 active discussion threads.  I just looked this morning and there are 3.  The blind can't lead the blind.

big_greg
6,711 posts
 

For every one person who buys an LP 10,000 people buy a digital file.

Let's fix that.  For every one person who buys an LP two people buy a digital file.

Vinyl LP Sales Hit New Highs in 2021, Surpassed CDs – Billboard

big_greg
6,711 posts
 

back it up by inviting anyone to come and listen with me.....anytime. if you were here in my room would you go on and on like your posting? would anyone?🙄

I've been to Mike's.  He is a gentleman and very gracious and generous.  In talking with him, it's clear that he's humble and while he has a great deal of knowledge, he's also a continuous learner.  There isn't a hint of braggadocio or ego, just a love for music. 

As far as his system goes, all I can say is wow!  It's far and away the best I've heard.  He's put the work into his room and has taken a system approach that has resulted in something magical. 

This forum is following the pattern of others I've seen, where over time the experienced and knowledgeable members leave because of a few know-it-all egotistical posters.  After a while, most of the posters that are left are inexperienced members asking basic questions and then the next level of experienced members start leaving and after a while, the forum shrinks and becomes relatively inactive. After some time, what you end up with for the most part is the blind leading the blind.

There's a level of anonymity and insulation that the internet provides.  Some of you might behave in person exactly like you do on the internet, but in real life you wouldn't be invited back to someone's home or to hang out with a group of friends.

I've learned a lot from this forum and others and look for every opportunity to pay it back.  In that spirit, I try to limit my comments and opinions to things that I have actual experience with either in my system or that I've heard in a friend's system.  I don't want to be part of the "noise".

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