I really have to admit that the "Widow" was THE arm that got my juices flowing(and my money)about analog "coolness".
Before "that" everything was the latest DUAL table.Not that I was not happy.
Btw,on the gorgeous KD-500 it looked SO high tech.
I wonder how the combo holds up today,as these were gorgeous products.....back in my Dahlquist days.When I had hair -:)
Best. |
I wouldn't put FUN as the first word to describe this hobby. Expensive, frustrating, disappointing, and tedious all come before "fun". I am a private pilot...another "fun" hobby. It's only "fun" after you've landed at the place you wanted to without denting anything. |
Thanks so much for the imput, I have ideas's now as to what cartridges to look for. Is this hobby fun or what? |
If you can find a Sonus Blue Body...I bet soundsmith could fix it for you |
I remember getting good results with these 'back in the day' with an Ortofon OM30 and OM40, both of which are still available. The mounting, height, weight, and compliance all worked out great for this arm. |
The chances of finding a Sonus Blue cartridge with a rubber compliance that wasn't hardened by now would be very slim. That's unfortunate as it would be ideal for the Black Widow arm(I had one in a Magnepan Unipivot I way back when). Replacement styli haven't been avaiable for those for a number of years either, Sonic Research having gone out of business long ago. Here's company that offers a variety of older cartridges: (http://www.adelcom.net/cartridge.htm) |
In my experience Mortite dries up and is bad for that purpose. You need an ultra high compliance cartridge. Also, the Black Widow was designed for a light cartridge since the arm is easily flexed. |
Look for a good Sonus Blue or an ADC cartridge. I had both of them in my Black Widow, and they were magic. |
One "Widow" mod my dealer did for me was to place some "Mortite" around the exact center of the arm's tube.I knew nothing(like today)at the time,and thought the arm may have been imperfect,but it sure sounded good!
Best. |
I once owned the BWidow mounted on a Denon and had good results with Sonus Blue, and high output Denon moving coil. It may be a low mass arm, but sounded great. |
Get a grado wood body.Ive read there good for light arms.A guy on another sight swears by them with his sme series III.If it works on that set up it will work on yours too. |
Rodman is right, not only is the widow ridiculously low mass,it is also a double knife edge bearing (like the early SMEs).These were once thought to "chatter" if too low a compliance cartridge is used.Most moving coils would be out of the question! Over the years I found the Shures (type III or newer),ADC XLM,Sonus Blue,Empire 2000 EII, B+Os,and AKG P8 all suitable. This was when the industry was on a "low mass" kick.BTW,you will notice that there are almost no arms available today that are this low mass.You might be better served to look for a used MMT or Audioquest PT,that way you would have more cartrige choices. These are usually available at a pretty reasonable price.The BP works well with the MMT. |
Mr J- Which V15? The V15 series began in 1964, and there have been a plethora of variations since, with many differing compliances. |
Shure V15 was made for that tonearm. My friend has that combination and it sounds great |
This site has a formula that you may find useful: (http://www.theanalogdept.com/cartridge___arm_matching.htm) |
Actually- The weight of the cartridge is not what's important. The Black Widow is a VERY low effective mass arm, and needs a high-compliance cartridge. The Blue-Point(at 12x10-6cm/dyne) is considered a fairly low compliance cartridge. Here's a good treatise on compatibilty: (http://www.gcaudio.com/resources/howtos/tonearmcartridge.html) But then- That's science and physics, which don't ALWAYS apply when it comes to audio. |
I once owned THAT exact combo, in my Dahlquist days,and really enjoyed it.Go for the Blue Point,as the "Widow" likes that kind of cartridge.
Best of luck |
