This is all just marketing BS. If a cartridge tracks well and sounds right (I like mine neutral) I could care less what it is made out of. Having said this it is interesting to note that all my current cartridges have boron cantilevers. The phonograph cartridge is a rather simple device. There is not a whole lot you can do to separate yourself from the pack. Unfortunately, some companies and/or marketing firms will come up with a BS story to try and separate themselves from same. IMHO tracking ability is the most important spec followed by a nice flat frequency response curve. Some people look at cartridges like wine, each one has a special character good for playing certain genre of music. IMHO the best cartridges are neutral and play everything well.
New Zirconia Pipe Cantilever .. What's up with that ?
Reading Namiki website i discovered new type of cantilever available today:
Zirconia cantilever (Pipe) , well this is the only pipe cantilever (except for aluminum) available today to my knowledge, correct me if i’m wrong. This is something new.
"Because the material’s relative density is comparatively high at 6.0, we make full use of our technology to process it into a pipe shape. This cantilever plays a charming sound that is different from other materials."
Physical properties for currently available cantilevers described here.
**Any new cartridges with Zirconia Pipe cantilever available on the market ?
BTW: Browsing Namiki website, to my surprise, on top of the page i recognized that "unique cantilever" of my ex ZYX Premium 4D cartridge. In many of my posts i have mentioned this construction as something special, because the MR diamond is press-fit and the cantilever described by ZYX as Boron. Now i think that joint pipe for stylus tip (press-fit) was made of Zirconia and the rest is Boron Rod.
Since they are both hollow PIPES (black color) i assume they are Zirconia (no other black pipes from namiki).
This is what Nakatsuka-San using in Airy III and Premium 4D ZYX models (owned both models).
Zirconia cantilever (Pipe) , well this is the only pipe cantilever (except for aluminum) available today to my knowledge, correct me if i’m wrong. This is something new.
"Because the material’s relative density is comparatively high at 6.0, we make full use of our technology to process it into a pipe shape. This cantilever plays a charming sound that is different from other materials."
Physical properties for currently available cantilevers described here.
**Any new cartridges with Zirconia Pipe cantilever available on the market ?
BTW: Browsing Namiki website, to my surprise, on top of the page i recognized that "unique cantilever" of my ex ZYX Premium 4D cartridge. In many of my posts i have mentioned this construction as something special, because the MR diamond is press-fit and the cantilever described by ZYX as Boron. Now i think that joint pipe for stylus tip (press-fit) was made of Zirconia and the rest is Boron Rod.
Since they are both hollow PIPES (black color) i assume they are Zirconia (no other black pipes from namiki).
This is what Nakatsuka-San using in Airy III and Premium 4D ZYX models (owned both models).