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What innovative, unconventional cartridge designs can you recommend?

Most cartridges have a stylus and cantilever where the transducer (magnet, iron or coil) sits on the far end of the cantilever.  What other designs are there?

I am mindful of two designs which put the business end right on top of the stylus.  The first is the moving coil (MC) Audio Technica AT-ART1000 which places two tiny coils, each 0.9-mm diameter, with eight turns of wire directly above the stylus.  Australian price is about AUD-7000 and there apparently is a newer model, slightly less exxe. the ART1000X.  This has square coils for a bit more output, and threaded mounting holes.

A downside is that stylus replacement involves a factory maintenance program and the Australian website page describing this service does not exist.

Another design is optical, exemplified by DS Audio's range.  While these still need a stylus to trace the groove, the signal is produced by reading the intensity of light produced by a Light Emitting Diode (LED) hitting two sensors.  Between the LED and the sensors are two 'shades' mounted above the stylus which change the amount of light as the stylus vibrates.  These cartridges need a special "photo-stage" to replace the conventional phono-stage which is an additional expense.

Australian prices including photo-stages range from AUD-2,150 for the DS-E1 to the DS Master 3 at approximately AUD-40,800, which is a bit outside my price range!  Where is the sweet spot?

What other way-out designs are there?

richardbrand
richardbrand's avatar
richardbrand OP
1,424 posts
 

@pindac 

Thanks for the link to Mr Nixie - I was aware of their equalisers before I decided on SoulMate.  Certainly they are at different ends of the weight scale!

I was rather put off when I read 

And so, Mr. Nixie once again looked far beyond the horizon, threw all available technologies into a pot, and after vigorous stirring and adding Mr. Nixie's legendary Knoff Hoff seasoning

I found it hard to understand Mr Nixie's ecosystem - what bits and pieces would I actually need?

As far as I can tell, Mr Nixie's DS-Tube control unit is not fully-balanced.  It is not listed as a compatible system on DS Audio's website, although this may simply reflect insufficient world-wide distribution network.

I also think it is more expensive!

I note that there are quite a few European manufacturers making equalisers that have websites with less imaginitive descriptions of their technologies!

richardbrand's avatar
richardbrand OP
1,424 posts
 

@retiredaudioguy 

Actually listening to my latest acquisitions seems to be difficult in Australia.

I sent an innocent email to the local distributor, asking where I could audition DS Audio in either Sydney or Canberra.  Dozens of dealers list DS Audio, but who carries stock?

Anyway I will be waiting for a few weeks before my DS Audio cartridge arrives!  The SoulMate shipped yesterday and will probably arrive today or tomorrow.

Patience can be a virtue

devinplombier
1,679 posts
 

In addition to their DS Audio pres and a few mainstream components such as amplifiers, Mr. Nixie’s website mainly features a plethora of bizarre devices.

As far as I can tell, their DS-Audio to RIAA Converter, "barely larger than an XXL cigarette pack!", converts the cartridge’s signal to a format compatible with any preamp’s MM phono input. Presumably that involves subtracting RIAA equalization before the preamp adds it again.

As y’all know, DS Audio open-sources their equalizer design in an effort to facilitate acceptance of the technology:

https://ds-audio-w.biz/cms/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Technical-information20221212_c.pdf

I don’t know about you, but I’d rather take a stab at building a DS equalizer myself than give Mr. Nixie 799€ for what appears to be $60 worth of parts.

 

pindac's avatar
pindac
3,995 posts
 

The description highlighted, relating to a content on the Mr Nixie Web Site are a concoction not typically seen in use.

The guestimate of approx' 10%-15% BOM for Parts relating to retail is quite typical, hence why DIY Builds have such a large volume of Builders and Wannabe Builders.

I'm totally pro avoiding retail costs and achieve the most attractive of designs and function at the side of the scale for costs, that are considerably less than retail.

My route using commission design/builds does add to the cost quoted above, but still enables substantial cost savings to be had, which is first of the experiencing 'music to my ears'.  

richardbrand's avatar
richardbrand OP
1,424 posts
 

@tcutter 

If there are settings for the bass output, I suggest you start at the highest frequency setting because the bass can be prodigious

The SoulMate equaliser arrived yesterday, so I got a chance to read the manual.  There is a single bass filter setting (on or off) which seems to be there to eliminate very low frequencies from warped records (warp speed?) but is does not apply to the optical cartridge input.  This is the entry-level equaliser from SoulNote after all ...

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