What is the “World’s Best Cartridge”?

@dogberry  , I never listen to anything else I have to say, worthless drivel. 

@rauliruegas, @atmasphere, @mikelavigne  I think we can all agree that balanced signal cables are essential for long runs. The benefits in signal to noise ratio and other parameters can not be overlooked. I am beginning to learn that the same is true when dealing with small signal levels. I have recorded Sheffield Lab 17 balanced, unbalanced, with and without digital RIAA correction. I have yet to involve other listeners and I will after I figure out the best way to transfer that much data. Gammaman has the Classic Records 45 rpm crate set of all the Led Zeppelin albums. I’m up there now to Zoso and loving every minute.

@mijostyn

i use the proprietary darTZeel 50ohm BNC ’zeel’ interface for my long runs (one 8 meter, the other 11 meter) in my system. properly executed, even better than balanced. a one meter 50 ohm cable sounds the same as a .5 kilometer of 50 ohm cable.....when properly executed. impedance matching rules.

but fully agree that RCA is not up to the task of long runs. XLR is far superior for that. and the pro audio world rightly chooses XLR as a superior interface compared to RCA.

OTOH with short phono cables it’s all execution. whatever sounds best. possibly all things being equal balanced might be superior technically......but......of course.....all things are pretty much never equal. you have to listen to pick the winner. the LFD execution is crazy stuff. if LFD used XLR i suppose it might be even better.....but most of the best phono preamps are not true balanced designs, which is another issue.

btw; i have that Classic Records 45rpm LZ box set. i’m sure you are having some fun with the dubbing. you need to hear it with the DaVa sometime.......freaking awesome. superior to my LZ 15ips 1/4" master dubs.

if you want to learn about the theory behind the ’zeel’ 50 ohm cable interface, here is a paper published in the September 2001 issue of Stereophile by Herve Delatraz (manufacturer/designer of darTZeel), describing ’echo’s in conventional cable interfaces, prior to the introduction of the brand darTZeel. you will need some some math, physics or engineering chops to digest much of it.

http://www.townshendaudio.com/PDF/Impedance_matching%20deletraz%20paper.pdf

@mikelavigne 

Hi Mike I followed your thread on the phono cable sea on WBF.

Whilst I do not doubt what you have heard in your system ( and I assume no-one here has heard your system, so comments are speculative ), and I have huge respect for your commitment to analogue, I have concerns re the LFD phono cable.

Firstly I am a little jaundiced by the brand since a friend was loaned a pair of LFD Reference mono blocks and quite frankly they were awful. So bad we pulled a pair of unmodified Leak TL12plus monos out of the cupboard and confirmed our fears the LFD had less resolution and information than the old Leaks ( driving some Von Schweikerts ).

I have also heard the LFD phono at length - again underwhelming, not as bad as the mono's but midfi at best.

With regards to the LFD phono cables I note from the WBF thread that the development for the more expensive model from the lower one basically involves playing around with physical construction and attributes and listening. There is no science discussed.

The warning signs that this cable is simply a tone control, is twofold -

1. Adding bundles and combos of wire a la Yamamura is trial and error.

2. More importantly you must ask the question based on the following observation

A moving coil cartridge is an inherently symmetrical device ( coil and 2 tails ).

A MC step up transformer provides an inherently symmetrical input ( coil and 2 tails).

Therefore why would you use an asymmetrical cable where the +ve and -ve sides are different in this application. It makes no sense.

Have you ever tried balancing a wheelbarrow with one side heavier than the other ?

Unfortunately, there are a lot of awful cables out there regardless of price. ( I use to distribute several high end cable brands back in the mid 80's and have tried multitudes including many different constructs and many prototypes from various manufacturers ). Most high end cables are a set of compromises chosen by the designer - hence the endless debates. When one of my pals tries a new megabuck cable out, I usually grab a pair of my old cables from the 80's, take them over, do a blind test, and hey presto the $8k cables usually go back.

In my own system I use 2 phono cables depending on the cartridge - both twisted pair plus shield from 2 different manufacturers.

I have one that is highly capacitive that I use for all MC's ( the best phono cable I have tried ).

I have a different phono cable that has very low capacitance that I use specifically for moving iron and moving magnet cartridges. ( With moving magnet cartridges the electrical parameters of the phono cables and phono input form an electrical circuit that determines the cartridges high frequency linearity and phase response, unlike MC's ).

Similarly with SUT to phono - my reference phono cable is too capacitive and I have a specific lower capacitive cable for this application - in this case it is not twisted pair but a speciffically woven symmetrical litz wire loom that is closest to my reference without the negative impact of capacitance in this application.

Interestingly on WBF there was a thread on what cables do CH Precision owners use. I find it interesting that half a dozen owners use half a dozen different interconnects between the same pre/power. You cant explain this by the system whole, because the pre/power are all the same - ergo, these guys are buying tone controls, not reference cables. 

Hope this has given you something to ponder - if I were you I would grab a few pairs of well designed basic cables ( symmetrical construction not asymmetrical or coaxial ) and go back and compare to your LFD - it might be illuminating, and educational - one way or the other.

 

 

 

 

 

 

@dover

over the years i’ve had multiple phono cables through my system; currently i have three other ’basic’ phono din<->rca’s i have swapped in and out. over the 3 years i’ve tried various versions of the LFD including the Dongle/Raptor recently. the LFD’s have been significant steps up over my other choices per my comments in that thread you read. as well as big steps up over my basic choices. when i did my listening my local friend ’jazdoc’ helped me to listen and judge. he had also been involved in previous phono cable swaps in my system with Durand phono cables and Found Music phono cables of various build choices. so this is something i have done my fair share of.

as i wrote, you have to view LFD cables as components. they take you further. you likely also read other comments from LFD cable users in that thread. my viewpoint is not singular.

so your perspective does not reflect my experience. i do respect that you have an opinion.

LFD electronics are not relevant to the high end hand built LFD cables. if you find info on LFD electronics you will find that they are very modestly priced.......never heard them myself and have no opinion about them. i respect overall skepticism about any high end cables........and know it’s always going to be presumption of guilt. zero benefit of the doubt.

before i separated myself from my money i did my listening tests. not trying to sell LFD cables......they are over a year back ordered and impossible to get.

it's easy to take shots........much harder to acquire and listen and then report. which is all i’m doing. if you ever hear top level LFD phono cables do please tell us about it.