[Sonnova]

On Fri, 19 Jun 2009 19:27:10 -0700, Harry Lavo wrote
(in article ):

"Andrew Haley" wrote in message
...
I know that moving-coil cartridges are much loved by the hi-fi press
and by many audiophiles. I also know that there are many claims about
the performance of cartridges, but there doesn't seem to be much in
the way of measurements available.

So, I'm wondering if there is any actual technical information
available that compares moving-coil and other designs. I've done a
web search and while opinions are plentiful, facts are pretty thin on
the ground. It's fair enough to prefer one cartridge over another,
but are any of the new moving-coil cartridges objectively more
accurate than, say, a V15? Or does no-one bother actually measuring
any more?

Thanks,
Andrew.

This isn't going to satisfy you, I am sure....but in answer to your question
"are any of the new moving-coil cartridges objectively more
accurate than, say, a V15?" If you value transparency and "you are there"
realism, the answer is yes...from many of them. And they don't have to be
new....my thirty year old Accuphase AC-2 playing through a modified Marcof
battery-driven headamp beats the pants off the Shure...and my old and
beloved ADC XLII ... and any Grado I've heard.

Back when measurements were common, the most distinquishing characteristics
of the better moving coils was a much faster rise time, with a very quick
cycle of overshoot and the a steady "top" to the square wave. By comparison
the moving magnets and moving irons generally had much slower rise times and
overly dampened transient response due to rolled off hghs (and that included
the V15). So the moving coils simply sounded more lifelike and "real"
(read: less "canned") when reproducing actual music. You heard this not
only in the featured instruments, but also in the amount of room ambience
caught that lent separation, body, and dimensionality to the reproduction.

Not objective enough for you? I'd suggest a library visit into the High
Fidelity and Audio magazine libraries, circa late sixties - early eighties.


Measurements for cartridges don't really tell you much. Sure, they can show
frequency response, square-wave response, ringing, output level, compliance,
tracking ability, distortion, etc., etc., etc. But none of these tells you
how the cartridge will sound. In this regard, cartridges are much like
speakers. While measurements can tell one a lot about speakers, ultimately,
you have to listen. Same with cartridges.