New Cartridge

MylesBAstor

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Apr 20, 2010
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MylesBAstor

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2010
11,236
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New York City
Liked it?

Well it's coming back after RMAF. :)

Hugs the grooves like a Ferrari, amazing low end and upper octaves. Very transparent. And this isn't even the best in the new line.
 

MylesBAstor

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Myles, IF any cartridge doesn't 'hug the grooves like a Ferrari' really what good is it?

Davey,

Because, all things being equal, no two cartridges exhibit the same tracking ability.

And certainly we can make a list of those cartridges, mistracking of old, old cartridges aside, that manage to sound good despite their not being the last word in tracking.
 

DaveyF

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Jul 31, 2010
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Myles, I am not aware of any cartridges that sound good, BUT cannot track well. IMHO, any cartridge that cannot track almost all LP's that you are likely to throw at it, has no value to me. Particularly in this day and age.
 

MylesBAstor

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Apr 20, 2010
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Myles, I am not aware of any cartridges that sound good, BUT cannot track well. IMHO, any cartridge that cannot track almost all LP's that you are likely to throw at it, has no value to me. Particularly in this day and age.

Davey you're playing semantics here. A certain degree/minimal value for tracking is required for a cartridge to sound good; even among the best cartridges, no two track the same. Then there's the few cartridges whose tracking ability stands out. (and we're leaving out the tonearm contribution.) Perhaps it is that the Ikeda really locks into the VPI arm. Perhaps it's the best cartridge's tracking ability that allows them to rise above the rest.
 

DaveyF

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Davey you're playing semantics here. A certain degree/minimal value for tracking is required for a cartridge to sound good; even among the best cartridges, no two track the same. Then there's the few cartridges whose tracking ability stands out. (and we're leaving out the tonearm contribution.) Perhaps it is that the Ikeda really locks into the VPI arm. Perhaps it's the best cartridge's tracking ability that allows them to rise above the rest.

Myles, semantics aside, I really do think that in this day and age, any cartridge should be able to track ( and track well) anything that you are likely to throw at it.
The fact that no two track the same, isn't IMO a good sign. IMHO IF one is paying multiple of thousands of dollars for any cartridge, job one should be that the cartridge exhibits no tracking issues whatsoever, BUT again that's just IMHO.
 

MylesBAstor

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Myles, semantics aside, I really do think that in this day and age, any cartridge should be able to track ( and track well) anything that you are likely to throw at it.
The fact that no two track the same, isn't IMO a good sign. IMHO IF one is paying multiple of thousands of dollars for any cartridge, job one should be that the cartridge exhibits no tracking issues whatsoever, BUT again that's just IMHO.

Davey all the top cartridges, given the properly matched tonearm, basically track well; this one appears a step above the norm, that's all.

Would you reject a cartridge because it only tracked to band four of the Shure Obstacle test and the Shure tracked to band five?
 

DaveyF

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Jul 31, 2010
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Davey all the top cartridges, given the properly matched tonearm, basically track well; this one appears a step above the norm, that's all.

Would you reject a cartridge because it only tracked to band four of the Shure Obstacle test and the Shure tracked to band five?

Actually, I would. What are the odds that the cartridge that could track to band five would sound worse than the one that could track to band four and fail at band five? IMO, any cartridge that holds itself out as SOTA must be able to track without distortion.
 

mep

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
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Actually, I would. What are the odds that the cartridge that could track to band five would sound worse than the one that could track to band four and fail at band five? IMO, any cartridge that holds itself out as SOTA must be able to track without distortion.

So are you using a Shure V15 cartridge Davey? If not, you need to be because nothing else will track like it.
 

MylesBAstor

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So are you using a Shure V15 cartridge Davey? If not, you need to be because nothing else will track like it.

Exactly.

I wouldn't own one.
 

JackD201

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Actually the Shure 44-7 tracks better than the V15 but sounds worse.
 

mep

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I have never heard of the 44-7. There you go Davey.
 

MylesBAstor

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JackD201

WBF Founding Member
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Yup, I've seen these things track while the turntable itself was being lifted and danced with, with record upon record stacked and insane scratching. Played normally, it sounds awful. Scratching sounds awful anyway so I figure that's ok. LOL.
 

rockitman

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Sep 20, 2011
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If you guys want an expensive cartridge that tracks poorly and sounds great, then good luck to you.

What cart is that ? I have never had a bad tracking mc cart...in fact I think carts take too much of the blame for tracking issues. Precise cart setup and tonearm choice are more important, IMO.
 

MylesBAstor

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Apr 20, 2010
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I'm kinda curious how we've gone from a cartridge tracking above the norm to mistracking?
 

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