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New cart for under 1K

I am looking to buy a new cartrdige for my setup. My current system consists of a VPI Scout II with a Black Knight platter and 10.5SE tonearm (the TT Michael Fremer demonstrated a cartridge setup at last years show in NYC), JM Focal 936's, Mac solid state power & pre, and a Dynavector P-75 phono pre-amp. The Focal's are very accurate and tend to be bright in the highs. Brightness is what I am trying to avoid. I've found the highs to be too harsh for my liking, especially with vocals. Sibilance is also an issue and something I have attempted to control with speaker placement, VTA, damping fluid, and the tone controls on my old Mac preamp. My current cart is a Grado Gold. I am hopeful that upgrading to a new cartridge helps eliminate some of the treble harshness and provides a sweeter overall sound. I'm interested in the Dynavector 20x2 so far. Any other suggestions for 1K or under, Benz, Ortofon, Sumiko (Blackbird, a little over 1K, but what the hell)?

Thanks for you assistance!
davidlillis

Showing 8 responses by jjrenman

jjrenman
279 posts
 
I have a 20x2 low. With the correct loading it is far from bright or forward sounding. IMO it has the rare combination of incredible delicacy in the treble range with a slightly laid back presentation. Others have mentioned that it is an excellent match with a P-75.
jjrenman
279 posts
 
Johnnyb53, You state that "Spitty sibilants are the first sign the treble isn't right. In addition to an emphasis at that frequency range, it could also be tweeter overshoot or ringing." Agreed but ringing and resonant peak are the same thing.

I agree with you and everyone else that the Focal tweeter is "bright and cutting"
jjrenman
279 posts
 
Let's simplify if possible. Do you have any other sources. If so and they are also "harsh" in the highs than it is somewhere else in your system and I agree with those that you need to change out something other than your cartridge. (Probably your speakers as beryllium tweeters can be an "in your face" presentation). OTOH if other sources are merely "bright" and not "harsh" than the problem is the character of the highs not the quantity. (Probably the cartridge, Grado's are not known to be aggressive in the highs but IMO they do not have any delicacy or sweetness to the highs).

Bottom line, more input is needed.
jjrenman
279 posts
 
Most dome tweeters have the same problem in that the top of the dome resonates at the upper end of the audio band that can add an edginess or sizzlly quality to the highs. You will notice that your tweeters have a lens covering the dome of the tweet. Usually these lens's are put in place to block as much of this extra resonate energy as possible.

If you want to try an experiment you should pick up some felt dots that are sticky on one side and try putting them on the tweeter lens. Start with one about the same size as the lens and work up from there. The idea is to increase the effectiveness of the lens without negatively affecting the tonal balance. The dots are easily removable if you do not like the effect or when you are ready to sell the speakers.

BTW you did not mention what other sources sound like? Do you have a CD or DVD hooked up to the system?
jjrenman
279 posts
 
"It might also be helped with a well-placed capacitor or resistor in the crossover to roll off the highs a bit."

Actually it would be an inductor in series with the tweeter with a resistor in parallel with the inductor. However it will not change the character of the highs just the quantity. IME you can not deal with resonance peaks in the crossover you have to deal with them physically. IE blocking the offensive resonance, stiffen the dome or use a different shape and or material.
jjrenman
279 posts
 
Do you have a price range in mind for new speakers or are you just getting ideas? Are you open to used as well as new?What type of music do you listen to? Do you listen loud? What other speakers have you heard that you liked? Is there anything other than the bass that you like in your JM's?
jjrenman
279 posts
 
Johnnyb53,

Well said about tweeter types. I've been hearing great things about the GoldenEar speakers but have not yet auditioned them.

Another tweeter type that does not have the resonant problems of a dome are the dual ring radiator types. They are used very successfully in Sonus Faber as well as others.
jjrenman
279 posts
 
So you found a speaker with a metal dome teweeter that is not harsh. I'll bet you that there are far more speakers with metal domes that are considered "bright", "edgy" or "harsh" than are not.

BTW, the tweeter in the Harbeth is one of the few metal domes that is excellent. I believe it to be a Seas and it has been used succesively in some of the best speakers over the past twenty years. However if you look closely at it you will see that they use a clear "acoustic lens" on the back side of the grill to block the ringing that leads to a harsh high frequencies.
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