So from reading the reviews it seems like a good deal of companies are not exactly honest in their claims. Is it possible to compile a list of manufacturers which generally do not engage in obviously deceptive practices?
I don't know about Denon as a whole, but I have a good deal of faith in their phono cartridge division. Every cartridge you buy comes with a piece of paper which has the results of the tests the performed with respect to output and frequency response. It isn't terribly detailed, but the test results have the "stamp"—or rather a "seal" called an inkan (印鑑) or hanko (判子)—which is unique to the engineer that performed the test (basically it's their signature except more Japanese). Theoretically I could go to the Denon factory where they made my cartridge and find the individual who performed the tests, if I were so inclined. Not to sound like Denon shill, but that seems pretty sweet for cartridge that costs a couple hundred dollars (expensive, but on the low end considering you can spend tens of thousands of dollars on cartridges). I haven't really bought that many phono cartridges, but I don't think this is a common practice.
The phono division of Denon was the only example I could think of (from my experience) where the manufacturer made an overt effort to earn the confidence of the consumer. Then again, Denon cartridges aren't really aggressively marketed at all. It isn't surprising that they aren't more popular with audiophiles as their literature makes no claims about "PRaT" or whatever audiowoo is cool these days.
Anyway. Here is ca crappy picture of what I am talking about. As you can see the Denon DL-103 is pretty very flat for the given testing conditions and some guy is willing to attest to that. It isn't the "best" cartridge in existence, but I don't think it is too bad for a design from 1962 that only costs like $300 CAD.
Cheers!
I don't know about Denon as a whole, but I have a good deal of faith in their phono cartridge division. Every cartridge you buy comes with a piece of paper which has the results of the tests the performed with respect to output and frequency response. It isn't terribly detailed, but the test results have the "stamp"—or rather a "seal" called an inkan (印鑑) or hanko (判子)—which is unique to the engineer that performed the test (basically it's their signature except more Japanese). Theoretically I could go to the Denon factory where they made my cartridge and find the individual who performed the tests, if I were so inclined. Not to sound like Denon shill, but that seems pretty sweet for cartridge that costs a couple hundred dollars (expensive, but on the low end considering you can spend tens of thousands of dollars on cartridges). I haven't really bought that many phono cartridges, but I don't think this is a common practice.
The phono division of Denon was the only example I could think of (from my experience) where the manufacturer made an overt effort to earn the confidence of the consumer. Then again, Denon cartridges aren't really aggressively marketed at all. It isn't surprising that they aren't more popular with audiophiles as their literature makes no claims about "PRaT" or whatever audiowoo is cool these days.
Anyway. Here is ca crappy picture of what I am talking about. As you can see the Denon DL-103 is pretty very flat for the given testing conditions and some guy is willing to attest to that. It isn't the "best" cartridge in existence, but I don't think it is too bad for a design from 1962 that only costs like $300 CAD.
Cheers!
