Detachable Head shell or Not?

I could say that I purchased about 2/3 or more of my LP collection new, but covering a span of time from the 1970s to the present. Furthermore I obtained about 1/3 of my collection from the estate of my dear friend whom I know purchased all of his LPs brand new. Because most of the time I was with him as we strolled the bins of a Tower records or other local record store. I treasure all of these LPs. But one can safely purchase preowned LPs, if one is careful about where they come from. For example, in Tokyo I buy used LPs, because the Japanese take inordinate care of their LPs. If the rating of the used LP is an A in Tokyo I don’t even need to look at it to know that it will play perfectly. But in this modern era, based on my experiences, it is a real crapshoot whether a newly re-issued LP will actually be of high-quality or even match that of the original pressing. Some of them are just plain awful. So if I were giving advice to a newbie, I would advise that person to purchase preowned LPs but with very careful inspection of each one.

What makes me smile is the idea of a $20K cartridge on a $100,000+ turntable in order to play even a mint vintage LP that one may have paid $5 or $10 for. Of course the buyers of those cartridges probably would not be caught dead with a used LP. They probably buy all their LPs newly minted from one of the many purveyors of such vinyl. I don’t think there is anything wrong with that, but it is an amusing social phenomenon, to me.

I’ve thought long and hard about doing that for the Kenwood L07J tonearm, the standard tonearm on the L07D turntable. Just to bypass their own IC and their internal tonearm wires, which are both the original Litzwire type. The Kenwood OEM IC must otherwise be plugged in to the tonearm base, using a massive DIN-type connector that is not compatible with a standard DIN plug. Running wires externally from the cartridge would also, of course, bypass the headshell connections. Just have not gotten around to it yet. Pindac, thanks for pointing out that you mentioned the idea previously. With respect and affection, you sometimes use so many words to say what you want to say that I confess I missed it the first time. Anyway, the idea is evidently not so esoteric, since at least three of us have thought of it independently. Now I am going to Google the Tru-Glider tonearm to see what it’s all about.

Evidently the Tru-Glider is an underhung tonearm with zero headshell offset. That’s cool! However the website contains BS typical of other manufacturers of underhung tonearms. They don’t seem to understand their own product. To wit: the claim is for “no anti-skate (presumably because no skating force), no azimuth, and no friction (!)”. The subject has been done to death here, but underhung tonearms DO generate a skating force, although I agree there is no use trying to counter-act it because it changes direction over the course of play. Of course, there IS azimuth any time you set up any cartridge, so I don’t get that claim, and nothing with a bearing, even if it is a string, as in this case, has NO friction. Still, I like the rest of the design, if it doesn’t cost a fortune.

Oops! $4700 to more than $6000.  Too much for my blood.

Jafox, Given the difficulty you describe in comparing tonearm with vs tonearm without, and with which I agree, I choose a second best option, which is to listen for several weeks on a regular basis to one setup in my own system where I know intimately every component in the pathway, and then to change from setup A to setup B and listen again for an extended period of time to B. Ideally, that would be followed by a second audition of A. But you’re quite right, it’s a comparison with more than one variable.

what tonearm offers both a continuous wire connection AND an interchangeable headshell?

Jafox, you’re replacing one conjecture with which you don’t agree with another conjecture that suits you. By the way shouldn’t the comparison be between tonearm A that has a permanent headshell, where the wiring runs all the way from cartridge pins to phono input jacks, vs tonearm B that has a removable headshell and a DIN output connected to a tonearm cable that has a female DIN at one end and RCA or XLR at the other? In this example, tonearm B in set up B would have 3 sets of physical connections in the signal path that are not present for tonearm A.

by any seat of the pants reasoning, it would be hard for me to believe that tonearm B would sound better than tonearm A with the same cartridge. But it is quite possible that there would be no audible difference, especially for a medium to high output cartridge.

Aulait, my ears tell me there is a benefit associated with a direct wire connection. Is it night and day, and can I measure it? No. As to Richard Mak; I don’t know who he is. Difference I hear is for low output cartridges only. I don’t know why Mijo mentioned compliance. As to removable headshells I think one must pay close attention to the fit between headshell and arm wand, as previously mentioned. Best to use the headshell made for the arm, but there is some cross-compatibility. Ortofon headshells are particularly well made and tend to fit well. Yamamoto and Oyaide too.

Mijo, are you thinking of the Z06 Corvette? Or is there really a plan for another ZR1? My friend and I have reserved a Z06, 50-50. But I want a Ferrari. Pre-owned is ok. 

+2 to Frogman. The best connector is no connector at all. IME, the worst sounding connectors have been those that are massive and pretentious. If I must use a connector, I use low mass types, like KLE.

For very low output cartridges, there is a good argument to be made for eliminating the headshell, because it adds up to two pairs of physical contacts in the signal path. So two of my tonearms one is a Reed and the other is a Triplanar have non-detachable headshells. Those two also have continuous wiring from the cartridge all the way to the photo stage. The result is that I seldom change the cartridges in those tonearms. But I have three other tonearms up and running and they all have detachable headshells. I cannot really say I hear a problem, but it makes the anal side of being an audiophile happy when you’re using a non-detachable headshell. I agree with everyone else that you can’t beat the convenience of a detachable headshell , at the same time. Right now my lowest output cartridge, the Ortofon MC 2000, is riding in a Dynavector tonearm with a detachable headshell. I don’t feel deprived of the nuances of its output. But who knows?

One caveat: not all headshells fit perfectly to all arm wands. Be careful that full electrical contact is made and that the connection is physically tight.