@richardbrand I went back and found your post here where you mentioned the phono stage that was used with the Kiseki. Not familiar with Musical Fidelity but I haven’t read anyone describing the performance of any musical fidelity component as jaw dropping. I suspect that was the culprit for the noisy reproduction.
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 am used to the noise floor on digital (effectively, none) so I was quite surprised during the audition. I am used to noise when a record starts playing, but not before. The Musical Fidelity phono stage must get some share of the 'blame' since it has to do a lot of amplification. It was the same unit used for a big gala evening for B&W loudspeakers, and I am sure it would have been set up well. It was either an M8x (fully balanced) or an M6x - just can't remember. I was more interested in the Holbo. Footnote: Have just found out that Musical Fidelity is now owned by Pro-ject. It could have been the Bose - oops McIntosh - amplifier. It was not the Samsung (B & W) speakers. |
@richardbrand hahaha no not McIntosh. They’re quite. |
Thanks for the link. Your Equalizer looks extremely well made from the photograph. Are you an electronics professional? For others, the MC cartridges traded in were an Ortofon Quintet Black, and a 35 year old wood bodied Benz Micro.
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