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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
audphile1's avatar
audphile1
7,853 posts
 

@richardbrand 

My Umami Blue arrived today, along with the Soundsmith Counter Intuitive. I anxiously awaited the end of my work day and installed both the cartridge and the Smith. 

I’m blown away by the difference this cartridge upgrade brought to the table (pun intended). It’s simply incredible. Right out of the box it’s a major step up. I can only imagine what it will sound like after it breaks in. Super thrilled. 
Major differences are - more open sound, better clarity, mids are killer…vibrant, grainless and airy. Instrument separation, placement and focus are all several notches up. Soundstage grew in every direction. Noise level is significantly reduced. What shocked me is how much quieter it sounds even in dead wax! Barely any noise there. While playing no noise at all. 
I was running the ML at 1000 ohms load to open up the presentation. Umami Blue is great at 470 ohms. I’m leaving it all as is until it breaks in. 
So far I’m extremely pleased!


 

lewm
14,658 posts
 

100W is a very high bar.  At 5V, that would be 20A. That merits and active LPS for sure.  I would wager your cartridge draws less than 1W. way less.

richardbrand's avatar
richardbrand OP
1,376 posts
 

@lewm 

100W is a very high bar.  At 5V, that would be 20A. That merits and active LPS for sure.  I would wager your cartridge draws less than 1W. way less

Of course.  I was just generalising about battery power, which could be used for almost any HiFi box except power hungry amplifiers.

Don't forget the power supply in an Equalizer has to power the equalizer circuits as well as the three diodes in the cartridge.  A reasonable model of the cartridge would be an optical mouse.  Mine works for months before needing a charge.

richardbrand's avatar
richardbrand OP
1,376 posts
 

@audphile1  Awesome news!  The Sydney HiFi Show is only weeks away.  I will be snooping around.

Keep us posted ...

lewm
14,658 posts
 

My thought is to separate out the power to the cartridge from the equalizer. And then use a battery supply only for the optical sensors. Should be easy. 6V battery with regulator to 5V. I’d use a small car battery with a trickle charger for off hours. 

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