Diamond Cantilevers vs Boron etc

[XV-1]

It seems that quite a few cartridge makers are introducing diamond cantilevers for their top of range cartridges. Eg Koetsu, YZX, Ortofon

Are there general sonic differences that the diamond cantilever brings vs boron etc.
Is it always better sound or different?

Why don't manufacturers bring out diamond cantilevers in their mid range cartridges?

It would be interesting to know from guys who have done the upgrades.

Cheers

 

[bonzo75]

This is what Jonathan Carr says on the Gon…


“Boron didn't become popular because beryllium was phased out - they coexisted for years, and during that period the cartridge designer was free to choose whichever one he felt best suited the design that he was developing.

I prototyped with beryllium a few times in the 1980s, but never totally warmed up to the sound. Around the same period I also prototyped with boron, but again with inconclusive results. And ruby / sapphire. And diamond etc.
In the end, for our early cantilevers I settled on a whisker-reinforced aluminum alloy (in rod rather than pipe form).

However, the whiskered aluminum worked best with a coaxial 3-way damper arrangement, which was time-consuming to adjust and sometimes drifted (or was whacked) out of alignment in the field.

Therefore, in the mid-1990s we put more effort into formulating rubber compounds for dampers, and the success of this allowed us to change our cantilevers from whiskered aluminum to boron rod.


One of the keys to a cartridge's sonic personality is the matching of dampers to cantilever - some dampers that work exceedingly well with boron are less good with aluminum or beryllium, some dampers are more oriented to sapphire / diamond cantilevers, yet other dampers are all-rounders that work tolerably well across a range of cantilever shapes and materials (but these may not nail the sound as well as a specifically dialled-in damper(s).



…

In most MM / MI cartridges, however, the damper surrounds the cantilever, and is enclosed within replaceable stylus assembly. Therefore, when you replace the stylus of an MM with a product from a third-party retipper (Swing, JICO etc.), you will be getting a new stylus, cantilever and dampers, and presumably the damper will have been chosen to complement the replacement cantilever choice.”

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[bonzo75]

And another discussion

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An increasing number of cartridge manufacturers is offering models with 'diamond' cantilevers at the top of their range, generally priced at the wrong s...

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[mtemur]

a cartridge maker once mentioned that dampers are important company secrets. they tell all the details about cantilever, tip, magnet etc but never reveal where they procure or how they manufacture dampers. the distinct sound of a cartridge highly depends on the damper used. damper has a major influence on sound characteristics.

 

[mtemur]

I have a tendency to like cartridges with boron cantilevers. I’m sure a cartridge’s sound can not be oversimplified only by it’s cantilever and I have no technical explanation for this but they sound more lifelike to my ears. Maybe it has nothing to do with cantilevers I don’t know.

 

[spiritofmusic]

FWIW, my Soundsmith Straingauge has moved from sapphire to boron, and I much prefer it. Previously it had speed and agility, but a little chilly in tone. Now it's maintaining all those positives, with much fuller tone and texture.
Not in anyway now a warm cart, but a great overall balance.

 

[theophile]

I have likened the cartridge to a vibration mop. Similar to a mop, a cartridge picks up whatever vibration is in the environment(record, headshell, arm, turntable, support, seismic) within which it is utilised. Including its own self resonance and the resonance the cartridge itself injects into the headshell/arm.

I really feel that we are only scratching the surface of what can be known about the absolutes of vinyl replay. For the now we are possibly only juggling the cumulation of all those elements' resonant flavours to arrive at a blend which suits our tastes. Viewed this way vinyl replay is fraught with pitfalls. Which is one reason why I feel that there are thousands of ways to screw up vinyl replay and few ways to obtain the optimum it might one day yield. I doubt that the younger generation has the appetite to pursue the optimum and I don't blame them.

 

[theophile]

Philosophically I view the item of vinyl media that we utilise as a closed book. The record we hold and replay can only sound as good as our system's playback of that particular pressing. In my opinion, the best we can hope to achieve in the action of replay, is fidelity to that pressing.

We have real life sound as an absolute reference to assess the fidelity of the particular pressing but the pressing itself can only ever be what it is: a facsimile. What it isn't, is real life sound.

In my opinion, replay fidelity to the pressing is high fidelity. What we have currently is an approach to the fidelity of the pressing. Juggling multiple resonant factors and you know what? Since resonance is a factor in all matter, that may be all that the absolute optimum of vinyl replay can ever achieve.

I reflect upon measures which aim to minimise extraneous vibration and note that the results of minimising extraneous vibration in the various elements which make up vinyl replay are always stated to make the result more natural and lifelike.

 

[jfrech]

The new Nagra Reference cartridge uses a ruby but 1/2 back encased in titanium. From the Nagra website "A stiff ruby cantilever is mated to a high strength titanium structure featuring a DLC (diamond-like carbon) coating. The titanium structure utilized in the coil body/cantilever interface addresses a traditional source of resonance and substantially reduces vibration unrelated to the musical signal."

I just ordered a Nagra Reference. I should have in a few weeks...

 

[gian60]

I compared at my friend home
Coralstone vs Coralstone Diamond
Diamonywas little more natural and transparent on mid high

 

[Solypsa]

Still after all these years I think it is a
designers palette. After all most of these material choices are in a catalog for industry ....

 

[thekong]

I have always wondered what is the difference in material cost to the manufacturer/ retipper between diamond, sapphire and boron cantilevers!

 

[theophile]

I have always wondered what is the difference in material cost to the manufacturer/ retipper between diamond, sapphire and boron cantilevers!

Scroll down the page for a price range:

Audio Technica ART20 cartridge.

If they could get a stylus/cantilever supplier to mount a MicroLine tip with its shank mounted in a laser cut hole in the cantilever, it would be...

forums.stevehoffman.tv

 

[jjhf1234]

Was fortunate to know the koetsu importer in the early 2000s and compared both the onyx and jade platinum in both standard and diamond cantilever designs. All were used on sme iv.vi or v arms with 50+ hours on each so grew very familiar with their sound profiles. Overall preferred both in the diamond cantilever config as there was a more natural and detailed sound.