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Graham and Shelter matching - and other arms/carts

When you get a component that truly lifts your system up and reveals what's going on everywhere else, you learn things about your system that you hadn't realized before. My new Io Sig has shown me that I probably need a better linestage (I posted about this in Amps/Preamps), and it's also taught me something about arm/cart matching.

Now that the Io is in the system, I am hearing an unhappy balance between my Graham 2.2 tonearm and Shelter 901 cartridge. There's a tubby bass resonance that sounds to me like the Shelter cantilever feeding back into the unipivot arm structure. The outriggers on the Graham are supposed to minimize this effect, but perhaps the match just simply isn't made in heaven.

Instead, my Ortofon RS-212 tonearm, matched with Ortofon SPU Classic GM cart, is sounding much more balanced, real and musical.

That leaves me with the question of what to do with my Graham and Shelter. I'd like to have a "modern" arm/cart combo to compare with the classic Ortofon setup (I currently have 3 arms mounted on my table). My third arm is an Origin Live modified RB250, which currently has a Denon 103R mounted on it (probably not the perfect matchup either). The Shelter doesn't sound fantastic in the Rega - it's better in the Graham.

I do like the Shelter sound a lot, so I could buy an arm that's a more appropriate match for it, a Moerch perhaps. But I'd have to sell the Graham to afford that, and I kind of want to keep a unipivot.

Any recommendations for exchanging the Shelter and Denon for carts more appropriate for the Rega and Graham, or vice-versa?
patrickamory
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rauliruegas
12,808 posts
 
Dear friend: I use the Shelter with: SME IV, Micro Seiki MAX 282 and Dynavector DV 505. Great with all these tonearms.
Raul.
4yanx
1,576 posts
 
Oh, I'd love to afford a ZYX for my 2.2 so that I could give you my impressions! :-)
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rauliruegas
12,808 posts
 
Dear Patrick: Taking ( like a absolutely true ) what 4yanx told you , I think that before you change your arm or the Shelther you have to ask to your Graham dealer what he think is happen ( maybe your tonearm has an internally problem. Who knows ? ) and to your Shelter dealer the same question. Both of them have to support you.
Best wishes and always enjoy the music.
Raul.
twl
3,251 posts
 
For using a DL103R or Shelter on your OL modded RB250, major improvements can be had using the HiFi mod. You can read about it on the analog page "Strange Tonearm Tweak" thread. It describes exactly how to make it DIY. If you don't have the time, I can make one for you. There are about 40 Audiogon users who have this mod, and can attest to its effectiveness over short and long term. It is primarily designed for low or mid compliance cartridges, and not for Grado or high-compliance cartridges.

I had a DL103R on my OL Silver tonearm when I invented this HiFi mod. It was a very satisfying improvement overall. Cost is very low. If you DIY, it is only a few dollars.

Additionally, if you add Doug Deacon's "on the fly VTF mod" it will simplify small VTF changes needed for the very VTF sensitive Shelter cartridges. Also good for the DL103R.

That helps out for your RB250, but the Graham question is still up in the air. For that, I'd still recommend trying out a ZYX. In very revealing systems, tonearm matching becomes even more critical, and perhaps the Graham is not in the ideal category for that Shelter cartridge, although many seem to be happy with the combo. In my opinion over the years, I feel that low compliance cartridges always stress any unipivot design to the max, due to large amounts of energy being fed into the arm, and sometimes this reveals some less-than-perfect sonic results. The Graham is one of the best stabilized unipivot arms, and even it seems to show some occasional shortcomings when mated to these low compliance cartridges. I have been taken to task for this opinion about unipivots many times by unipivot users, but the fact is that this kind of problem keeps popping up from users with problems resulting from these matchups. My gut feeling is that even the best unipivots are "on the edge of stability" with low compliance cartridges.

My 2 cents.
IMHO, YMMV.
patrickamory OP
193 posts
 
Hi guys,

Right now I'm getting so much enjoyment out of my Ortofon arm/cart combo that I haven't been worrying much about this... and actually I'm thinking of mounting my second Ortofon RS-212 with an Ortofon classic mono SPU. Maybe it's time to sell off all my modern arms and carts. Thanks for all the tips.

Patrick
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