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.
@atmasphere : Well I don’t remember exactly your words on the miono bass but I will look to my files and if I find out I will post. I think too that even has to be with the inverse RIAA eq.. Ican't remember
Anyway, the main issue is that LP comes with mono bass and today I can’t remember your exactly words on it but sooner or latter I will find out. Normally I don’t post something/issue just at random . To much threads and posts many of us read day after day.
R. |
Dear @mikelavigne : I was reading word by word of my posts referenced to you and in no one I posted nothing against or qquestioning you what you like it because it’s a personal opinion your opinion of what YOU like and no one can question it. Even my first post was a " congratulations " for the two new cartridges for the OP and even that I questioned rhe DaVa cartridge and explained the why’s ( btw, a DaVa owner posted that the SS power supply is better and that opinion goes against your friend that said tubes ps is better. ) about I gave its welcome to our high end community. I’m still looking else where for its specs with no luck yet. It’s weird that even Agoners in this thread not cared about especially with a " new kid of the ... ". I questioned the DS 45K eq. that seems a to high price added to the 15K very good cartridge design. The controversy with the Studer is that a controversy where some are in favor and others not at all. Then you posted:
" but ultimate performance does not involve digital.....in any step. "
That’s a radical opinion and obviously that exist other audiophiles as me that disagree with and this is a controversy too: some people in agreenment and some not at all.
Yes I know that you have not that kind of controversies in wbf but only " congraulations " and " thank’s " by your self. Well a different forum.
Even your radical statement, these are some statements posted by you all related to digital it self and in front to analog/LP:
""" there is an analog grainless liquidity, yet also a fine textural and timbral detail, that is ’un-digital-like’. it’s really quiet, yet the ambience in recordings that possess it is vinyl like. redbook files are really fine.
and has an overall top to bottom balance and completeness that i value highly.
Trio Arnold doing a 96/24 Beethoven TrIo (Op.9) on Quboz:
i am stunned at how digital in my room sounds, how great redbook files i’ve heard for 30 years have now come alive.
Wadax Reference dac and Reference server my experience is ’like’ vinyl. i get no sense that i’m not listening to good vinyl. i can listen all day to the Wadax without any listening fatigue, and melt into the musical experience.
A/B directly with good pressings where there is a gap between the 2. the vinyl is still more compelling and complete. """
I never read any where better praise to the CD/red book that what you stated here and I have the last 10 years or more posting the same about ( with out premium equipment as yours but a truly humble one. ) and like in this thread telling why digital is today reference and loss-less signal information media that means " complete ". All analog sources are and lost signal information and this means are " incomplete ". Yes, objective point of view.
But even you already used the complete word for digital in one of your posted statements.
This kind of controversies are the ones that helps all of us to improve to learn for the better and the best way for each one of us growing up always. So, thank’s to you for that, it does not matters what.
R. |
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