Introducing the Phono Cartridge Measurement Library

[dougi]

AUDIO TECHNICA VM540ML - YET ANOTHER SAMPLE

NOTES

• 
  
• Music Hall Stealth DD ->QUAD Artera PRE -> RME ADI-2 PRO
• <50 hours on cart
• test record not flat
• strange HF distortion wiggle (again)
• Certainly better than the VM95ML

 

[dougi]

AUDIO TECHNICA OC9XEN

NOTES

• Music Hall Stealth DD ->QUAD Artera PRE -> RME ADI-2 PRO
• test record not flat
• <50 hours on cart
• pretty warm response and ragged
• not the best channel matching
• I guess OK for a cheap MC

 

[dougi]

OLD DYNAVECTOR DV20XL

NOTES

• Music Hall Stealth DD ->QUAD Artera PRE -> RME ADI-2 PRO
• Test record not flat
• many hours on it (>1000)
• cantilever straightened after bending
• stylus likely very worn given the distortion?
• channel balance woeful

 

[dougi]

CLEARAUDIO AURUM BETA S WOOD WITH AT VM95EN STYLUS

NOTES

• Music Hall Stealth DD ->QUAD Artera PRE -> RME ADI-2 PRO
• Test record not flat
• CA cart is AT based, VM95 stylii fit
• <50 hours on stylus

 

[dougi]

CLEARAUDIO AURUM BETA S WOOD WITH ATN95E STYLUS

NOTES

• Music Hall Stealth DD ->QUAD Artera PRE -> RME ADI-2 PRO
• Test record not flat
• <50 hours on stylus
• the older atn stylus also fit the CA mm carts
• well matched below the treble in response but crosstalk not

 

[USER]

OLD DYNAVECTOR DV20XL
View attachment 297702
View attachment 297703
NOTES

• Music Hall Stealth DD ->QUAD Artera PRE -> RME ADI-2 PRO
• Test record not flat
• many hours on it (>1000)
• cantilever straightened after bending
• stylus likely very worn given the distortion?
• channel balance woeful

Shame about this one. It looks like it never fully recovered from the bent cantilever. Perhaps it has suspension issues as well. And from what I have seen, with more higher quality cartridges, once distortion rises over -20dB under 10kHz, it's definitely a sign of heavy wear. I'd advise not use it on your test record anymore!

 

[Balle Clorin]

AUDIO TECHNICA OC9XEN
View attachment 297700
View attachment 297701
NOTES

• Music Hall Stealth DD ->QUAD Artera PRE -> RME ADI-2 PRO
• test record not flat
• <50 hours on cart
• pretty warm response and ragged
• not the best channel matching
• I guess OK for a cheap MC

Sad to see, kind of confirms why the new OC9 series has poorer specs than the previous one, wonder why AT are satisfied with such a development.

 

[dougi]

Sad to see, kind of confirms why the new OC9 series has poorer specs than the previous one, wonder why AT are satisfied with such a development.

Yes it is no where near as good as your OC9ii ML you posted.

 

[dougi]

ORTOFON 2M BLUE

NOTES

• CA-TRS-1007 side 2, flattened a bit but still a slight warp
• Musical Hall Stealth DD -> QUAD ARTERA PRE -> RME ADI-2 PRO
• ~20 hours on stylus, but was on the daughter's TT until I swapped in an AT VM95EN so I could measure this. Claims no drops or bumps
• Strange performance, flat, reasonable channel separation but high distortion.
• WOULD BE GOOD TO SEE ANOTHER SAMPLE!
• Measured with headshell level. Baerwarld alignment.
• They have a high VTA need apparently (Hifi word review). Perhaps adjusting the VTA will help the HF distortion. I will try that. The TT has a VTA tower.

That's it for this weekend. I have a Denon DL-103R arriving this week and will give that a spin next weekend.

 

[USER]

Nice one! I've been wanting to see this here as it is a oft-recommended cartridge. Seems like a good medium compliance option provided you can get one with good channel matching. I'd say a little more azimuth refinement and you can get the right channel 2nd harmonic to better match the left channel one, leaving you with good distortion results for the class. The results bode well for the Black version, which is the cartridge I want to see the most as it is often compared to the Shure V15 V-MR.

Here are two conflicting measurements that have been around for a while. Lowbeats seems to have been on the right track.

EAT B-Sharp Turntable Review - HomeTheaterHifi.com

Looking for a deck to spin vinyl that is a step up from the norm? The B-Sharp turntable from European Audio Team may be just the ticket you’re after.

hometheaterhifi.com

Ortofon 2M Blue: MM-System zum Toppreis - LowBeats

Obwohl nur das zweitkleinste der 2M-Linie, bekam das Ortofon 2M Blue die beste Bewertung im Familien

www.lowbeats.de

You can see here why this library is so needed.

 

[dougi]

ORTOFON 2M BLUE SECOND MEASUREMENT
At another azimuth I got the below. Better balanced distortion but not cross talk:

 

[ExPerfectionist]

I'm curious how consistent the cartridges are. If multiple carts of the same model were to be measured, would the readings look the same?

 

[USER]

The results look better. Ultimately having distortion be similar and the FR curves more consistent are what matters and are the signs of good set-up. Don't forget that the CA-TRS-1007 has issues with crosstalk and it is compounded by pressing errors and warp, so the lines don't necessarily have to align. They don't really do so beyond -25dB anyways, and yours may be a little worse. That's OK. There also could be issues with diamond centering--it's just hard to know everything. However, I think what you have is truer to the cartridge. The halfway points of both your sets of crosstalk measurements seem to meet at the same place, around -23dB, so that's a good sign.

 

[USER]

I'm curious how consistent the cartridges are. If multiple carts of the same model were to be measured, would the readings look the same?

Quality control matters a lot here. Both in terms of the manufacturer and the reviewer. That's why I posted those two last review measurements for this cartridge, which were a bit contradictory (and sort of rare in this way). From what I have seen, however, I trust low beats much more than hometheaterhifi. But the presentation of the data from both leaves a lot to be desired. One of the first posts on this thread is about comparison measurements and I think it offers positive proof of concept. We are capable of getting lab quality results and they can be consistent over a long, long period of time provided the cartridges hold up (see my Sony XL-30 example). We are using the same test records they used (or copies of them), after all, so that shouldn't be surprising. One of the great things about this site--we see this with Amir's reviews--is that we can scrutinize each other's measurements and provide feedback. We just reached the point where we are ready to publish our results after years of measurements but while this system is mature we are still going to learn a lot simply because of the amount of data we will hopefully have. We'll get better at this and it'll be evident which posters are more reliable as we all learn to better read the measurements. We are looking at measurements of the set-ups just as much as the cartridges after all. There will always be small issues because the medium has too many moving parts and is a bit ridiculous and the test records aren't perfect. This will be a sort of living and breathing archive because of the medium itself and because we want to open it up to the public. But I really do think we will learn to see past small issues and have confidence in what matters and in being able to make purchasing decisions based on the data.

 

[USER]

Realistic (Radio Shack) RXT6
Click to increase size

Notes

• During the 1980s and 1990s, Radio Shack was selling Shure cartridges under the Realistic house label
  • These are some of my favorite cartridges as they were excellent bargains and very popular
    • Possible Shure M111E or M97 equivalent
      • I have one so will confirm
    • You could easily find this cartridge for as low as $30!
  • There is a good chance the average person had a better cartridge than that uptight audiophile!
    • Radio Shack was legit, kids
• NOS, 0.2 x 0.7, biradial elliptical stylus
• Excellent distortion and crosstalk
• The resonance is elegantly pushed up past 20kHz so that it does not affect the audible range
• Azimuth is a little bit off (left and right FR not parallel all the way)
• Hard to beat this for the money

 

[bethslave]

Thank you for testing and posting all of this! I have a soft spot for Shure/RS cartridges. In my vinyl 'prime' years I used a V15 type RS and thought it was about the best thing I'd ever heard. I'm currently using an RXP3 with an upgraded ViVid Line HE stylus. Subjectively I like the way it sounds and don't hear any inner groove distortion but look forward to actually measuring it. I've got the CBS STR-100 ordered and hope to post results with the original stylus as well as the ViVid Line. That can give us an idea of how good some of the currently available replacement styli are as well.

 

[JP]

Here are two conflicting measurements that have been around for a while. Lowbeats seems to have been on the right track.

I’ve found LB measurements to be in line with my own and others that I’ve come to give credence to. HTHiFi on the other hand usually always show things that give me pause.

 

[dlaloum]

RE: Shure V15 V

I have one of these, on a Thorens 160 with a Mission 774 arm (the original). I tried to characterize it with a HIFI News record, but indeed the record is not so good.

One thing I've found is that the brush "sings". I have been transcribing my best vinyl over the years, and you can hear in the quieter passages the music from and adjacent louder grooves. For this reason, I never use the brush, the arm/cartridge resonance is well matched in my case and my records are pretty flat.

I was wondering how much the brush impacts on the measurements. I would expect that the signal from the adjacent grooves shows up as "distortion", although it will probably not be at a harmonic multiple with what is being currently being played.

If any of the author of the measurements would be so kind to give it another spin without the brush, it would be extremely interesting to see if differences could be measured.

Thank you so much for this really cool thread!
- Fabio

The original Shure brush works very well, as advertised - but it has a damping "goo" in the hinge...
The SAS version has no damping "goo" it therefore only provides very marginal damping (yes when I measured it there was a measurable consitent damping effect, but very small) - it is similar to the Stanton brushes, in that the mechanical effect of the weight of the brush is the main actor - the stanton brushes have long flexible bristles that add to the effect through their flexing, and resistance between the individual bristles, where the SAS does not have that.
Some owners have added a dab of heavy grease to the hinge point - and this can apparently provide much better damping - getting the right density of grease, and the right amount may be a challenge - I have never done this, as my arms have damping...

I have occasionally noticed pass through from previous tracks, particularly on records where the tracks are very closely spaced - but this is not related to the brush, and happens with any cartridge... it appears to be a side effect of spacing the tracks too closely... a production flaw.

 

[Doodski]

The original Shure brush works very well, as advertised - but it has a damping "goo" in the hinge...
The SAS version has no damping "goo" it therefore only provides very marginal damping (yes when I measured it there was a measurable consitent damping effect, but very small) - it is similar to the Stanton brushes, in that the mechanical effect of the weight of the brush is the main actor - the stanton brushes have long flexible bristles that add to the effect through their flexing, and resistance between the individual bristles, where the SAS does not have that.
Some owners have added a dab of heavy grease to the hinge point - and this can apparently provide much better damping - getting the right density of grease, and the right amount may be a challenge - I have never done this, as my arms have damping...

I have occasionally noticed pass through from previous tracks, particularly on records where the tracks are very closely spaced - but this is not related to the brush, and happens with any cartridge... it appears to be a side effect of spacing the tracks too closely... a production flaw.

The goo is usually a clear liquid silicone of a high weight grade. It is usually available at electronic supply places and wholesalers. That's where I got it from when I needed it for Dual turntables that use it in the mechanism underneath. No goo = no worky well and need to be pretty close on the weight but not while splitting hairs.

 

[USER]

Realistic (Radio Shack) RXT5
Click to increase size

Notes

• Another Shure cartridge sold by Radio Shack under the Realistic name
  • Possible Shure M110E or M105E equivalent
• Lightly used, biradial elliptical stylus
  • There is no evidence of wear in the distortion measurements
• Cartridge inductance is higher than RXT6 that replaced it (700mH vs 550mH)
  • We can see the effect in the high frequency resonance shape
• Excellent crosstalk ("phantom center" measurement of about -34 dB)
  • There is no excuse for a modern cartridge to fare worse
• Again, azimuth could be better adjusted to have left and right channels more parallel with each other
  • My Denon DP-35F is not the best turntable for p-mount adapter set-up and use
  • However: the diamond tip may not be centered and this might the cause
    • I'd have to adjust for this to figure out if this is the issue
    • Being able to take good pictures helps with troubleshooting
• Another bargain from Radio Shack