New Delos cart

Dconsmack...please supply a graph of this. Everything I have ever seen on this cartridge, shows a pretty flat response all the through. Prove it. +7db is quite a lot.

In the 2010 August issue of the German audio magazine "Stereoplay", the Delos was subjectively and objectively reviewed against other cartridges (at roughly comparable price-points). In addition to listening impressions, the article is complete with charts and numbers that show how the Delos measured in comparison to other cartridges like the Benz-Micro Wood SL, Kuzma KC2 (a ZYX OEM), Ortofon Cadenza Blue, and Ortofon Cadenza Red. This review can be downloaded from the website of our German distributor, Fast Audio. FWIW, the Delos came out on top (smile).

But when you see frequency measurements of a phono cartridge, there are a couple of questions that you should ask immediately, which are "at what temperature" and "at what groove diameter" (and with MM, MI or other high-impedance, high-inductace cartridges, "at what load").

This is because although the frequency response of a cartridge is commonly spoken of a single curve, in reality it is a number of different curves, affected strongly by various parameters such as the operating temperature (lower temperature causes the upper frequencies to be attenuated), and groove diameter (the upper frequencies are increasingly attenuated the closer the stylus gets to the LP label). A cartridge that measures as having a rising treble at 27 degrees centigrade and at the beginning of the LP will measure differently at 20 degree centigrade and the finale.

The frequency response likewise changes with with the choice of test record, and can also change with cartridge age (due to damper wear and stylus wear).

What makes matters even more interesting is that some of the tonal changes that we hear from a cartridge in a given setup may not necessarily appear in the frequency measurements. For example, if the tonearm is changed from, say, a Rega RB300 to a Triplanar, the high frequencies will sound noticeably different. But those same high frequencies will not measure differently (unless one of the setups is wrong).

Ditto for electrical loading (of MC cartridges). Change the loading of an MC from 1kohm to 100 ohms and how the high frequencies sound in comparison to the lower frequencies will be audibly different. But actual measurements will show no (or very little) change.

Same applies for VTA.

Same also applies for body construction. Put the same generator, cantilever and stylus in different body structures, and you can get a very different sound (while seeing little to no effect on the measured frequency response).

kind regards, jonathan carr

Jonathan...as always THANK YOU for your info. It's a pleasure to have you on here.

...and thanks for designing excellent cartridges for all of us vinyl fans!

JCarr,
Well, thats an interesting comment. So, are you saying that we can't measure differences in sound that we hear? Isnt that the mantra of hiend cable proponents when confronted with test data that shows no measurable difference between expensive cables and cheap ones. Do you have any evidence of audible differences with no change in measurement, and if so, do you have an opinion on what is causing these audible changes.
I think most of us here believe that different equipment sounds different, even if measurements do not show any differnce, but this is the first time I have read such a definitive statement from a manufacturer I trust. Care to expound?

The point is that what we normally measure and how we hear are not necessarily the same things.

Usually when the sound changes, _something_ will be measurably different, but in many cases it won't be anything as simple as a 20 - 20kHz frequency sweep.

The MC cartridge loading example that I gave in my earlier post is an easy and common case of audible changes that aren't reflected in typical measurements. If you load a cartridge down more heavily, the absolute level of all frequencies will diminish, but the relative level of 10kHz as opposed to 1kHz will not. What will change is ultrasonic stuff above 70kHz, sometimes extending beyond 1Mhz. What appears to be going on is that the phono stage (not the cartridge) can misbehave due to the ultrasonic, high-amplitude signals, and the ear (mis)interprets the intermodulation artifacts as "brighter" or "darker" sound. Such intermodulation has no harmonic relationship to the original signal, and the ear finds such inharmonic distortion far more nasty (and therefore noticeable) than with harmonic distortion.

Tonearms and headshells (and cartridge bodies) affect the perceived tonal balance, but this kind of stuff appears as blips or steps in the mechanical impedance response. You won't see it appear directly in the frequency response.

To borrow someone else as an example, I know that Syntax hears the Kleos as having much less upper frequency energy than the Delos. But do these two cartridges measure differently at the top? Very little difference; more than enough to be swamped by changes in the operating temperatures. Does this OTOH mean that Syntax is imagining things? Hardly - the body structure of the Delos and Kleos are quite different, resulting in different mechanical characteristics, which can and do give a different sound. FWIW, I hear the Kleos as having a "wetter" top end than the Delos, so Syntax and I are definitely hearing the same things. Where we differ is in how we interpret what we hear.

In general, I find that frequency response correlates to what I hear more so with amplifiers than with transducers. With transducers I get better matching to what I hear by looking at things like the mechanical characteristics (resonances and impedances) of the body structure or mount, distortion, and transient characteristics.

The likely reason is that distortion means that new high-frequency components are being generated. 2nd-order distortion on a 5kHz signal results in 10kHz artifacts that were not present in the original recording, 3rd-order distortion creates previously non-existent 15kHz artifacts. "Frequency response", OTOH, means greater (or lesser) sensitivity to signals - that may or may not be in the recording. Even if a component has a rising top end, if the recording doesn't contain signals at those frequencies, you will not hear it.

But even with amplifiers, the correlation between measurement and ear isn't always obvious. Change the power rectifier diodes in an amplifier and the tonal balance may change, but you won't see it in the 20 - 20kHz response. You will see it if you use a wide-band spectrum analyzer on the power rails, as "hash" extending out to 50kHz - 100kHz.

FWIW, I also hear differences between film capacitors - teflon as opposed to polypropylene, or tin foil as opposed to metallized aluminum, although when you go to measure this stuff, it will typically measure as -120dB or even less. A good resistor will measure around 130dB down, while a metal-foil Vishay will measure between 150dB - 160dB down (the smaller the signal, the trickier it is to make valid measurements). Down at this level, things shouldn't really be audible. But they are (smile).

kind regards,