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What is the “World’s Best Cartridge”?

I believe that a cartridge and a speaker, by far, contribute the most to SQ.

The two transducers in a system.

I bit the bulllet and bought a Lyra Atlas SL for $13K for my Woodsong Garrard 301 with Triplanar SE arm. I use a full function Atma-Sphere MP-1 preamp. My $60K front end. It is certainly, by far, the best I have owned. I read so many comments exclaiming that Lyra as among the best. I had to wait 6 months to get it. But the improvement over my excellent $3K Mayijima Shilabi was spectacular-putting it mildly.

I recently heard a demo of much more pricy system using a $25K cartridge. Seemed to be the most expensive cartridge made. Don’t recall the name.

For sure, the amount of detail was something I never heard. To hear a timpani sound like the real thing was incredible. And so much more! 
This got me thinking of what could be possible with a different kind of cartridge than a moving coil. That is, a moving iron.

I have heard so much about the late Decca London Reference. A MI and a very different take from a MC. Could it be better? The World’s Best? No longer made.

However Grado has been making MI cartridges for decades. Even though they hold the patent for the MC. Recently, Grado came out with their assault on “The World’s Best”. At least their best effort. At $12K the Epoch 3. I bought one and have been using it now for about two weeks replacing my Lyra. There is no question that the Atlas SL is a fabulous cartridge. But the Epoch is even better. Overall, it’s SQ is the closest to real I have heard. To begin, putting the stylus down on the run in grove there is dead silence. As well as the groves between cuts. This silence is indicative of the purity of the music content. Everything I have read about it is true. IME, the comment of one reviewer, “The World’s Best”, may be true.
 

 

mglik
larryi
3,726 posts
 

Wow, lots of different subjects being covered here, and all of them are interesting.  For the matter of using Quad 57 speakers,  I personally like them, regardless of their shortcomings.  I've heard the Dave Slagle stacked Quads and dedicated tube amps, including a setup that used two stacks of two per channel (four 57's per channel).  I liked the two 57 per channel setup, but, there were other Quad 57 fans who actually preferred a simple pair of Quad 57s over any stacked array.  Again, it is a matter of personal preference. 

The only field coil cartridges I have heard are the Audio Note cartridge and a Denon 103 that Dave Slagle modified to use field coil magnets.  Both are very lively sounding cartridges.  My experience with field coils is more in the way of speakers, and I have heard several systems with both a solid state and a tube power supply for the magnets.  I was frankly shocked, and somewhat disappointed, that the tube power supply sounded considerably better.  I was disappointed because a solid state power supply would be much more convenient--less heat, no concern over tube replacement, and much better voltage stability (the tube supply changed voltage as everything warmed up, and it required more adjustment to maintain optimal sound).  

Ag insider logo xs@2x
rauliruegas
12,820 posts
 

Dear @larryi  "" My experience with field coils is more in the way of speakers, and I have heard several systems with both a solid state and a tube power supply for the magnets.  I was frankly shocked, and somewhat disappointed, that the tube power supply sounded considerably better.  ""

ASre you telling that the same field coil speakers that you listened came with both different power supply designs as an owner choice good alternative?

I posted almost the same question to @mikelavigne  about the DaVa cartridge Reference and now that I did a little research on the DaVa seems to me that comes with tube power supply only, noth both kind of power supply but ML is an owner a he knows better on that cartridge regards.

 

R.

lewm
12,508 posts
 

Since a power supply for a coil in a field coil cartridge only has to produce smooth DC, I think, what after all is the difference between a tube power supply and a solid-state power supply for such a device? Is it merely the use of tube rectification? And I guess probably there would be voltage regulation, also done with tubes versus transistors.

mikelavigne
2,147 posts
 

after a few more days listening to the DaVa Reference, my ears tell me that this cartridge plays at the very tip top of cartridge performance. can’t comment on other field coil cartridge efforts, this one is the real deal and a serious effort.

whether you believe in a tubed power supply or a solid state power supply is not the issue here (a $1500 to $2000 price difference).

i know how it stacks up against my own references, a friend has the top level DS Audio Master One, and has also had the Grand Master. he says the DaVa Reference is looking those level in the eye (at 1/3rd to 1/6th the price) and he is very impressed.

there is a 6 month wait time right now to get one.

cd318
2,636 posts
 

@inna

The best cartridge in the world is no cartridge. It is reel to reel deck playing tapes.

However, if true regarding that Grado, it may prove that MC is a flawed design and has always been. That’s what some have kept saying for ages.

 

 

Nice.

I tend to feel the same way about Moving Coil designs.

Just too many compromises.

 

As an aside, it might be worth asking whether the ’world’s best cartridge’ would also happen to be the world’s best tracking cartridge?

 

 

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