lewm

Responses from lewm

Cartridge options for current gain phonostages (47 Labs)
Pani, The only criteria for performing with your phonocube or some other current-driven phono stage are internal resistance/impedance and inductance. Ideally also you want a cartridge with very low voltage output. But since all these parameters go... 
Cartridge options for current gain phonostages (47 Labs)
I'd welcome the input of others with conventional phono stages, like all of mine, but my experience with mono, derived by paralleling the two stereo channels, is the opposite of yours in terms of the effect on apparent hf reproduction.  High frequ... 
Cartridge options for current gain phonostages (47 Labs)
I can't get my mind around the idea of hooking up the two channels in series for mono output.  I don't doubt that it works, but I am not sure I understand why.  Also, if you wire in series, is it not the case that internal resistance/impedance dou... 
Grace Level ll
Compliance does not change much, unless you also change the suspension elements, which should not be necessary in most cases and was not done in the case of my Ruby.  On the contrary, I would think that an NOS OEM cartridge built in the 80s is mor... 
Cartridge options for current gain phonostages (47 Labs)
"My Sonic Labs Eminent, the Air Tight PC series, and, especially, the super-low-inductance Haniwa HCTR01 work extremely well with current amplification type phono preamplifiers." I found this statement online in a review of another phono stage tha... 
Rega RP8 and alternatives in $3000-4000 range
I am going to attend the Capitol Audio Fest this weekend.  Out of curiosity I will take a look at the VPI turntables; the company usually has a big display at the CAF.  Yes, the only reason why VPI tonearms (in general?) would work better with MM ... 
Rega RP8 and alternatives in $3000-4000 range
tzh, I am wondering why you judge a turntable based on the tonearm that comes with it.  Is it imperative to purchase the VPI tonearm as a package deal with each of the two VPI turntables that you mention?  Until now, I did not think so, but I cert... 
Why do turntables sound different?
Anvil, With reference to direct-drive turntables, you wrote, "Coupling a motor to the platter, in my estimation is a compromised design."  You are not the first person in your industry to make such a distorted statement, so I am sensitive to it.  ... 
Grace Level ll
Dear Chakster, You may be correct about the excellence of the Level II Grace cartridges.  However, it is not always a good idea to judge a cartridge solely by the materials of which it is made or by the shape of the stylus.  My only point is that ... 
Grace Level ll
Ceramics used in audio, sounds like a sexy idea, but every such implementation has been short-lived, so far.  This suggests to me that it doesn't work very well.  Kenwood made an optional ceramic mat for the L07D. They are VERY rare.  I think they... 
MONO cartridge recommendation
rossb, You've certainly thrown a monkey wrench into the discussion, if what you say is true. Can you cite some sources to support the idea that a mono LP derived using a stereo cutting head will react differently from a "pre-1968" or true mono LP ... 
MONO cartridge recommendation
Salectric, If your mono LP is truly pristine, I don’t suppose you would have a particular problem with noise due to surface wear, but the point was and is that on mono LPs, the audio signal is encoded only via lateral deflections of the stylus. An... 
MONO cartridge recommendation
bdp24, I really don't know what you are trying to say.  Using a mono cartridge that was built from a stereo cartridge by internally bridging the two channels is precisely the same thing electrically as using the mono switch on a preamplifier.  Bri... 
Who needs a MM cartridge type when we have MC?
dc_bruce, If moving mass was the whole story, then MI cartridges would be king. They have lower moving mass than MCs.  So do the optical and strain gauge cartridge types.  (But many do say that those are "special".) 
MONO cartridge recommendation
In theory, there is absolutely no difference between using the most common type of mono cartridge, which is a stereo cartridge within which the two channels have been bridged to give a mono output on both channels, and using the mono switch on you...