Had a chance to listen to this cartridge for a couple of hour today. It will be returning for review very, very soon to be followed the the new top-of-the-line Kai cartridge from Ikeda. Oh yes, it's around 0.15 mV output so going to need a quiet phono section with gain to spare.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.