Ortofon A90 or Air Tight PC-1

Dear Albert: I don't know if you already did it but if not the very first step with the Audiocraft AC4400/3300 is to change its internal wiring for a better today quality performance wire.

About the A-90/Audiocraft combination I think that you can take advantage ( additionaly of Thuchan advise you ask for. ) on the S shaped arm wand where you can mate the A-90 ( or any other cartrridge ) with different weight and different build materials headshells that will help to permit that the A-90 shows its best in your system.
Here you can buy some different headshells:
http://electronics.shop.ebay.com/Cartridges-Needles-/64620/i.html?_trkparms=65%253A10%257C66%253A4%257C39%253A1&rt=nc&_catref=1&_ipg=200&_sc=1&_sop=10&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14.l1514

Btw, if you decide to try the S arm wand then I recommend too to change/use the IKEDA S-50 headshell wires.

Regards and enjoy the music,
Raul.

Raul,

Tonearm wire is already changed and I have Ortofon brand silver headshell wire in place plus a spare Audiocraft headshell for my S arm.

If you read back a few posts, Thuchan suggests the straight arm for Ortofon and leave the heavier "S" arm for another cartridge.

Currently the "S" wand is in place with Koetsu Coralstone and the two seem well matched, the sound is superb.

Louis (my friend with Kharma that you heard) is using a Coralstone with Fidelity Research FR66S and he thinks it may even be a better match than the Audiocraft AC4400 with S wand.

I have an A90 mounted on a SME V on a Kuzma Stabi Ref. The combination sounds fantastic and I am very satisfied. I have heard the PC 1 on a Kuzma with a Triplanar, while a decent combo IMO it is not as good as the A90 on the SME. My other table is a Garrard 301, Triplanar, Transfiguration Orpheus, another outstanding cartridge, Fidelity Research FR64S, Miyjima Premium Be mono.
mark

Dear Peterayer: If you analyze each one audio system of the persons that already posted here then you can/could understand why the " differences ".

I know very well Ortofon cartridges and, at least in this forum, for the very first time people are " talking " on Ortofon.

I own or owned several top of the line LOMC cartridges like: MC30, MC2000, MC3000, MC3000MK2, MC5000, MC7500, Rohman, Windfeld and the A-90 ( that I heard several times in my system borrowed for my friend. ).
IMHO there is a common characteristic that over the time Ortofon was/is coming refined: accuracy that for Ortofon means: lowering colorations/distortions ( that Downunder name it like " neutrality ". ).

Independent of the critical importance of any cartridge precise set up and tonearm matching many of us are accustom to cartridge " colorations " performance that in the A-90 are lower and different than what we heard through other cartridges.

In some ways maybe we have to " switch " our sound/music " normal " perception to the A-90 different one.

The other subject is that with a cartridge like the A-90 that posses that kind of accuracy the phono stage quality performance has to be first rate because the cartridge will point out the phono stage deficiences that even changing load impedance can't be fixed.

One factor that could help those A-90 owners that are not totally satisfied with or people that does not like it against other cartridges is that you can/could try different tonearm/cartridge " geometry " set up: Baerwald, Löfgren or Stevenson and hear what works best for you. Of course that you can try this kind of set up with any cartridge too. IMHO worth to try it always that you can do it, this makes a difference.

Btw, Albert you don't " take " my point: please forget about weight and be in focus with diferent headshell build material: this fact mainly is what makes the difference in the cartridge sound quality performance. The S shaped arm wand target is precisely that you can choose several and different build material headshell testing in which one the cartridge shows its best. What I'm telling you does not interfere in any way with the Thuchan advise or that you are using that S shaped arm wand with other cartridge,anyway your call.
In the other side the tonearm damping fluid makes a difference too. Good to know that all your Audiocraft arm wands are already internal re-wired as the tonearm too.

Regards and enjoy the music,
Raul.

Rauliruegas ,you have me almost convinced(laugh).