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EMT TSD15 tonality..colouration ?

I am looking for a cartridge upgrade. I started with a Denon 103pro and now use a ZYX RS30. I listen to a good mix of old (pre 70s) and new records.
I am considering the EMT TSD15 cartridge because of its reputation of being musical and dynamic at the same time.

I have heard the TSD15 SFL in the past on a Scheu TT and I could notice some lower mids boost which alters the timbre of the instruments and voices a bit. That worries me. The DL103 is spot on in its tone and timbre reproduction, its my reference but it doesnt have the dynamics I look for. The other day I also heard a JSD5 and somehow I did not notice the lower mid colouration that I first heard with a TSD15 SFL. But the JSD is outside by budget.

Has anyone else found this character with TSD15 ? Is it a colouration with the SFL version or is it also there in the SPH (spherical) tip also ?
pani

Showing 5 responses by thuchan

thuchan
1,009 posts
 
Pani,
don't buy used EMT carts which had a 'professional career' being played 3 months non stop. Most people only know about these used carts, they never listened to new TSDs or to even newer developments. If you especially go for a TSD15 Lzi you will go for one of the great carts in this audio world - the Japanese know, most European and American not.
Don't believe The old stories being told about TSDs. Real Bullshit or let it put in a more diplomatic way - a kind of ignorance

all the best
thuchan
1,009 posts
 
Of course we need to agree that the cart is one thing, the chain after is another.
Put an M5 BMW motor in a peugeot and?
Oh yes the road? The M5 needs good tarmac.,,no? Well a cart and TT etc....need good recordings...same thing "black surface".
Another suggestion is a TSD15 Anniversary Gold, okay for the budget and you will love it - I am pretty sure

all the best
thuchan
1,009 posts
 
Hi Millsoft,

the diamond in my Lzi is a special version with an especially polished, naked diamond bar on a boron bar and this in a sandwich construction with the cantilever leading to a clearer sound picture. As you might know the better the diamond the less modulations and noise. It depends very much on the polishing form but also (!) on the used material. The Lzi is very open, providing more details in a subtle and somehow emotional approach. 

Nevertheless a good TSD15 is a fine cart system I am using in many variants too.
thuchan
1,009 posts
 
Pani,
I am using SUTs and a MM phono but you may also go with an appropriate phono pre like the EMT 66JPA. I am running it in a FR-66s.
thuchan
1,009 posts
 
Pani,
WE 618B, Silvercore, Kondo KSL Sfz, Jorgen Schou,SPU-T1, FR AGT-5X, Tango MCT-999 etc.
The gain depends on the carts I am using, in case of my Lzi (the only one in this configuration) I am going for 10 Ohms.
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