Thank's for the link.
R.
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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I sometimes feel delinquent (searching for the right word and settled on "delinquent") in not seeking out the best in modern digital experiences, in order to have a really good idea what is possible in that domain. I am sure the frontiers of digital are way beyond the boundaries of my digital experience, but on the other hand, I have 5 turntables and two systems and 3000 LPs, which by themselves are more than I can appreciate fully, due to lack of time and other distractions. So I figure why add to my choices when I can hardly do justice to what I already own. Raul, nice to hear from you. |
Flanders and Swann even wrote a track about audiophiles, styli and other HiFi paraphernalia. It can be found here Song of Reproduction - YouTube |
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