Origin live Cartridge Enabler - a review

Hi, thanks to all for getting involved. I`m not sure that I have an answer for the arm mass increase issue that lewm was recommending, I mean where do you get these from?
I had the opportunity of another listen last night. Side 1 of `Crime of the century`. I couldn’t believe all the detail, clarity and timbre that I was hearing for the first time. Like looking at a street lamp in the dark with smudged specs, then cleaning them with a microfibre cloth and seeing the difference!
I wonder what other hidden value we have in our turntables through using enhancements?!
I have the Origin live mat waiting at home for using, but first I want to get a good idea of the Enabler.
I appreciate the comments on the cartridges, thank you chakster. I have seen too many positive comments on the Hana SL to be moved, and hopefully it will remain in reach financially in the next few months! Our economy is not in the hands of experts!!

@lewm I apologize if I came down on you too hard for recommending the AT ML170, but I confess I am a bit tired of reading about its wonderfulness. The OP wants to talk about the Enabler, per se, which seems at least to be cost-effective.

Sorry for that, but even my own threads are always goes to a different direction with comments from different users, it’s always like that. I don’t mind.

Regarding the enables i wish to know why none of the cartridge manufacturers using them or recommend for use them?

I remember my manual for Grado where John Grado adviced NOT to use anything between the cartridge and headshell.

I think it’s all about coloration, some people like it.

@hdm Right, i’ve been praised AT-ML series for years on this forum, actually i’ve learned about it from this forum, but from the users who left the forum long time ago, everyone is fascinated about this model. I had at least 4 samples, upgraded to AT-ML180 (my favorite MM).

It’s pretty sad that we don’t have new discoveries, people only repeating something about Hanna, Grado, Nagaoka ...

I just came across this discussion after buying the Cartridge Enabler, and I thought I would add my experience. I got the Enabler because for years I wondered why no one addressed the cartridge/headshell interface. I suppose I'm sensitive to this question because for many years I used an air bearing turntable (platter and arm). Those designs, of course, are aimed at completely isolating the cartridge from the rest of the world. so when I went to a pivoted tonearm (the Clearaudio Satisfy arm and Virtuoso Wood cartridge) I was very aware of where the cartridge was contacting the world. Thus my question.

So when I saw that Origin Live was in fact addressing this issue, I decided to try it, and I'm really glad I did. For me, the difference was dramatic--everything was cleaner, purer, and better organized. The ambient cues, especially, were much more present. Lyrics were easier to understand, and individual singers in a group were easy to distinguish. In other words, a whole of gunk was gone. 

I'm a musician, and my whole approach to audio is subtractive--I want to remove anything that is between me and the sound that was originally recorded (I mention being a musician because it means I'm hypersensitive to the true sound of instruments). But I'm often unaware of those obstacles, or at least unaware of how much they are getting in the way until they are removed. That's what was happening here. 

My primary measurement tool for gauging any audio component is my feelings. And here, too, I may sometimes be unaware of how I'm feeling listening to music until it changes. In this case, I realized after installing the Enabler that I was no longer tensing up in crescendos. Before, I was finding that my rig could sometimes get harsh and aggressive as the volume of a recording increased, so every time a crescendo came along, I start to brace for the assault on my ears. Not that I knew I was doing that before--it was only after I installed the Enabler that I noticed how relaxed I was as I listened. That tension was gone. In fact, every rough edge is now gone. I can listen to and enjoy even very poor recordings, which is something I was avoiding until now; again, to avoid that harshness. 

I've read all the comments above about why the Enabler can't work, but for me the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and these days I'm a glutton for what this little thing is doing for me. 

A note about installation: as someone else here says, you will probably need new, longer bolts to make enough room for the washers and the pad. And you may need to adjust VTA a bit and possibly the azimuth (this is easy by slightly tightening or loosening one of the cartridge bolts). You'll have to fiddle some to get everything lined up, but if you go slowly and carefully it's pretty easy. And well worth the effort.

I have an enabler on a $4500 turntable and a $1600 tt. There is no doubt at all that the enablers made a difference for the better. First thing I noticed was that the sound of tapping on the plinth no longer went through to the speakers. That was worth the price right there. As for the sound itself? It’s more focused and secure for lack of better words to describe the sound. Soundstage remains large, bass is tighter, midrange is focused and no high end glare. Any false resonances or bloom you may have had are gone. Whether you like that or not is another question. I think it lets the true colors of the cartridge come through at its best. Cartridges are Soundsmith Paua ES and Hana MH. 

I kept trying to say that my theoretical issue with the idea behind the Enabler means nothing and should be ignored by anyone who’s had favorable results. No matter what MC may think of me, I actually do try out modifications and tweaks in my own systems and I am often surprised by the results in the light of theory based predictions. I cannot claim to have experimented with the beloved PHT; mea culpa. I won’t because the maker does not offer even a vague explanation for why I should.

It’s very easy to add a few grams of mass to a tonearm. Heavier head shell screws and wrapping the arm wand in tape or heat shrink are some ways to do it. I will wager the Koetsu loves high mass even more than it may love the Enabler.