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?
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Sorry, I grew up in Hastings which was one of the original Cinque Ports set up over 900 years ago. These towns effectively had independent navies, which were deployed to support the king in exchange for the elimination of duties. Signs of smuggling were all around, from secret hiding holes in pubs to secret tunnels. The cliffs in Hastings are riddled with caves and tunnels used for smuggling. Nearby Romney Marshes was renowned for dangerous bogs, which smugglers could traverse, but which stopped the Revenue Men who were chasing them. Even in Australia, there is a smuggler's tunnel in Echuca, built to avoid Customs Duties collected between NSW and Victoria. Nowadays, we fully support free trade. Avoiding Customs Duties used to be a national sport, but now these have been replaced by a flat 10% Goods and Services Tax, the game is hardly worth the candle. When rules are too stupid for words, I don't support the idiots that invented them!
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You have been playing your own game with FSE. With the extra clue that it relates to Ortofon, I can finally disclose that it is a patented technology which Ortofon call Field Stabilizing Element. Others can decide whether it is a game changer or just a refinement! Ortofon have interesting videos on cartridge setup and especially what variations are acceptable. |
All I could really find out about optical attenuation was its use in reducing the signal in long distance fibre-optic cables, for testing. One method was to wrap the cable around a pencil a few times. The sharp bend lets some photons escape the internal reflection, but is also likely to break the fibre |
Not a challenge for anyone not living under a rock. English folk are people who are from England. Scottish folk are people who are from Scotland Welsh folk are people who are from Wales. When I meet someone who claims to be English, I assume they are being truthful.
Your comments are offensive. Being English has nothing to do with race. If you conflate being "English" with a specific race, then you are the bigot in the room. Your earlier post where you claim to not personally insult people is clearly nonsense. Kia pai tō rā. |
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