What is the “World’s Best Cartridge”?

Dear all, I appreciate your comments including mathematics, statistics, brain science, and so on. Here - something more practical.

The question for me is not what is best analog or digital, but how to get the best of both. Like others I use digital mainly for searching out new music – what can be worth it, buying on LP. Analog still connects more with me emotionally - like Bernie Grundman emphasises in the video above.

So this is what I do. I mainly play LPs in my main rig, and digital in my home office and elsewhere. The main rig includes Lyra Atlas and Aesthetix Io phono stage. But then I bring in this little trick – a good digital recorder (Tascam DA-3000). So the best LPs are recorded to double DSD which is the best digital format I’ve tried so far (and I have moved up the steps).

The Atlas – to my ears – is very good indeed and a good match with the Io. Sure, there may be better carts but this has to be evaluated in context. The Atlas has a quite strong 0.56 mv output and the phono stage likes it. I could go lower, but then, I would be even more dependent on ultra low noise tubes in the first gain stage, which can be hard to find (esp NOS). So context and synnergy – with the phono stage, arm and player (etc) - is very important not just the cartridge on its own.

So, what happens with the ‘trick’? Recording LPs is work and takes time. Some have argued that double DSD is so good you cannot hear the difference from playing the LP direct. Well, in my system I can. The digital version is good, but still has a way to go. Probably, some tweaks to the Tascam recorder could fix some of this difference. An engineer told me that improving the power rails into the AD section(possibly with an external LPS), replacing the downstream op amps with better pieces, and replacing the internal clock and PS to the clock with an aftermarket internal clock, could be a way to go. I have not had it done, and it may be hard to get the Tascam schematics for the job.

I recorded to R2R for many years and still have my trusted old Revox A77 at my loft. Maybe I should get it serviced and upgraded, but I am not sure how to get it done within reasonable cost. Or if I would actually use it. Would I go into buying the best music in analog tape format? Even when I’ve already invested in vinyl versions etc before? Not sure about that - but then, I dont know much about cost or availability (maybe someone here can inform me).

The great thing for me, now, about digital, is about convenience. And yes, I admit it – sometimes about clarity, beyond what I hear from LPs. The gap between streaming (in my case, Qobuz) and records has become smaller, and I appreciate that. Convenience means finding new music through streaming – but also, recording from the analog Atlas/Io chain. With a small DAP - digital audio player (in my case Fiio x3ii) - I can bring the sound from my main rig wherever I want. Or most of it. Comparatively speaking, the Revox A77 weighs a ton. It is not something to bring along – although I can remember doing it, to good effect, to parties in the 1970s.

It is remarkable that even with the comparatively «stone age» technology of vinyl record playback, through all the troubles of cart, arm and phono setup, and digitial recording from that, my recordings still hold a candle to streaming. I often find them better, in the longer run. This is what I listen to into the night. Once again, more emotional. Even though I hear some reduction of clarity, some pops and ticks, etc. Maybe, it is the atmosphere, the more natural ambience - or just my old man’s ears.

+1 to atmasphere. The tonearm match is a key variable. Along with the cart output / phono stage match, which also includes a compromise between what you can accept of background noise for getting the best sound. Speaking as a tube enthusiast (converted after many years of investing upwards in solid state without quite getting what I wanted). I play flutes, some guitar,  etc - and playing along with the music from the stereo is my sure-fire method of finding what I like and not.

I am not sure, when I prefer my Atlas cart compared to digital streaming, and even (often) my digital recordings from LPs, how much is due to the specific capabilities of the Atlas, and what would be the result with a less costly cart. I am part of a group of music lovers regularily meeting for an evening, hosted by each of us, so we get to hear many music systems. We have an unwritten rule: this is NOT an audio testing and comparison event, who has the best system, and so on. Works fine. And I have learned to listen for the positive aspects of each system, and try to look away from limits and faults. Good idea. We tend to converge, listening to LPs rather than digital, on these evenings - regardless of the low middle or high cost of the cart and the rest of the system. At the same time, I do hear what the Atlas is capable of. Maybe especially, very delicate and refined treble, compared to digital (including 24 - 192 hi res), easy to hear with female vocal like Rosalia: Motomami, for example (digital sounds good; the LP sounds great). Also, the Atlas has fairly "explosive" dynamics, and is no slouch on bass, as others have noted. So I think, all in all, that it is a good idea to invest in a good cart, even if it is costly. This is where the musical information starts, and the job of the rest of the chain is to reproduce it as faithfully as possible.

Hi rauoliregas

I know - by your standards I am maybe a subjectivist eating bananas. And I have not heard a lot of top notch carts. Although we disagree on some points, I appreciate your comments, and your search for more objectivity. I agree that analog is truncated, limited and problematic in many ways. It is amazing that it is still competitive. But to my ears, there are digital problems too, often larger than the analog problems (even if the gap has narrowed). Digital is still not "perfect". Likewise, my 'purist' tube system may introduce distortions you would not like, but then again, I lived with top solid state for many years, and don't miss it. Or - truth to be told - only a little bit ; -).

I was asked about my music reference. I go for the best sound I hear, regardless of format. No prejudice. Sometimes the CD sounds great, better than the LP, or the streaming, or the sacd or dvd-audio - and so on. Probably mainly because it was mastered and cut more precisely to the specific format, or they had a lucky day, or whatever. But in general, AAA (all analog recorded) LPs are my choice cuts. But also more processed recordings. I go for the best sound. Not just acoustic or vocal but full scale prog rock or classical also. world music. Lots of references.

Like one bought just now, Toure, Al Farka, with Ry Cooder: Talking Timbuktu - 2 x 180g, World circuit 2015 - marvellous guitar sound and string interplay. For female vocal, Rosalia: Motomami on LP is superior to digital in my system. And for a "fat" prog rock sound - Deep purple: Whoosh, Ear music 2020 - try ’Man alive - likewise the LP version sounds better. To my ears in my system.

I am fine, as long as we can keep this a forum with friendly echange of opinions. We are all a combi of subjective and objective experience. Subjective sometimes lies before objective - look folks, this is what my ears tell me. Endless and unsolvable debate - no, I dont agree. Even if not always interesting.

Isnt this the nature of a forum like this? We do our best, to arrive at a better sense of the truth. It always avoids us, of course. Our muse is only partially there. But the free debate in itself is a rich source of information, we are better informed, not just "sheep" to use the term in Pink Floyd: Animals (which btw sounds good, more clear, from the new 2018 mastering on vinyl, in my system).