Introducing the Phono Cartridge Measurement Library

[Balle Clorin]

DL-1000A?

Denon DL-60?

 

[Quando]

As you probably know already, stylus replacement down the road is the drawback with moving coil.

Ortofon replaces it for half the price of a new one. In the case of the Cadenza series and others based on this generator, they replace the entire generator, they don't repair anything, Only the old casing remains after it is sent for repair.. There were also MC with replaceable needles, AT3100XE, I think they are no longer produced.

 

[Quando]

Denon DL-60?

Good model, just need to buy a better needle than the factory one

 

[Palmer]

Since this thread is about measurements, and I have been remiss in posting any... Here's the manufacturers plot of a Benz Micro Gullwing SLR.
Of course this is done in house, at Benz Micro - and in what I would think is a highly controlled environment.
It's probably cleaner than what I could come up with, but it is a response that I expect from a cartridge at that level.
I did dig, and found a plot for a Kontrapunkt b - can't vouch for it, but to me it looks more of what that cartridge should look like.
Once I have had some time with SJPlot, I will contribute with measurements of what I have in house.

 

[melloncolliecat]

The ones produced today for linear response; Nagaoka MP-500, Ortofon super OM30, or a JICO SAS/B for Shure V15-VIII, -VIV or Vx. JICOs seem to vary a bit in the top octave. Would love to see Sumiko Pearl with SAS MM1 stylus measured.

I've tinkered with the siblings that are the Excel 700, A&R P77 and Sumiko Black Pearl, and tried various styli combos. With one of them, I got an SAS MM1 stylus that was supposed to have "some life left in it", but alas it was way past its due date, with R channel really drooping from 5kHz and on. L channel looked OK, and if that's anything to go by, it's not closer to linear than the P77 or the Sumiko.

(I don't want to use my worn out MM1 on the test records, but I couldn't resist a check with it mounted in a Philips GP412III. The combo looked like it had potential for a more linear result, but the peak from 5kHz and onwards was steep, so you'd have to go below 47kOhm. The 412III is about 550mH, so if there's a higher inductance version in the GP4XXIII series, that could help.)

Anyway, it'd be very interesting to see tests of SAS styli for other carts than the V15 crew.

 

[Palmer]

I've tinkered with the siblings that are the Excel 700, A&R P77 and Sumiko Black Pearl, and tried various styli combos.

Funny, I bought an Excel 700 from Japan two weeks ago. Haven't had a chance to run it, and then Milton crashed the party. Could be a sleeper cart, and styli are available.

 

[USER]

I did dig, and found a plot for a Kontrapunkt b - can't vouch for it, but to me it looks more of what that cartridge should look like.

It's hard to know for sure as it doesn't tell us what test record was used but I'd say that I agree with you in that the FR should be tamer at both ends. It is very well likely intended to be -1 +2 dB. My guess is that that 2.5g tracking force is telling us that the cartridge is not compatible with the tonearm and that we are seeing an effect much like the following (see the blue) as the tonearm is not high enough in mass for the cartridge.

See this for more info: https://audiosciencereview.com/foru...tridge-measurement-library.46108/post-1643771

There seems to be a resonance below 20Hz that is having an strong effect. Again, it is fair to assume that in most cases cartridges perform similarly below 1kHz as long as they are no issues, so outliers should be scrutinized. Still, I think that those results tells us what we need to know about the cartridge and that it is a good addition to this thread.

 

[melloncolliecat]

Funny, I bought an Excel 700 from Japan two weeks ago. Haven't had a chance to run it, and then Milton crashed the party. Could be a sleeper cart, and styli are available.

Which suffix? Mine is the 700F, kinda rare and has the lowest inductance of them, which isn't too great, since it doesn't respond much to capacitance changes... You can check my A&R P77 measurement to see what kind of results to expect from your Excel. Sadly, the P77 stylus won't fit the Excel cart unless you remove just about all of the plastic housing... The MM1 does fit, but if I were to get an SAS, it'd be for another cart.

 

[Palmer]

I was wrong, apologies... ES 75QL

S-75QL Stylus for Excel ES-75QL | DaCapo Audio

Get Your S-75QL Stylus for Excel ES-75QL from Denmark's International Turntable Specialist. Browse Our Full Range of Top-Quality Excel Replacement Needles that will Renew the Performance of Your Excel Phono Cartridge

www.dacapoaudio.com

 

[melloncolliecat]

I was wrong, apologies... ES 75QL

S-75QL Stylus for Excel ES-75QL | DaCapo Audio

Get Your S-75QL Stylus for Excel ES-75QL from Denmark's International Turntable Specialist. Browse Our Full Range of Top-Quality Excel Replacement Needles that will Renew the Performance of Your Excel Phono Cartridge

www.dacapoaudio.com

I'm glad you were wrong. That's likely a much better cart. There's an old German "40 tonabnehmer test" floating around, really low resolution images, but from what I can make out, the 75QL (or if it's the 75QH in that test?) does look much more linear than the 700. (The 700 can also be found most everywhere in Europe, not sure about the US though.)

(Also, I hope you're OK after Milton! Horrible!)

 

[Palmer]

Thanks, I made out fine. Feared the worst, to be honest. I got to the 75QL while researching the 700, found a NOS example and impulse bought.

 

[USER]

DL-1000A?

Have you posted an "official" measurement of this? I'm wondering why it is not in the index.

 

[JP]

Don’t remember.

 

[Quando]

Shure V15 Type V MR, with original new needle, properly electrically tuned, resistance, charging capacity, blows the system. Everything else, can be thrown in the trash

 

[somebodyelse]

I don't think Shure with Jico Sas is linear, but maybe I'm wrong.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...easurement-library.46108/page-34#post-1802028

 

[Quando]

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...easurement-library.46108/page-34#post-1802028

Close

 

[JP]

Of course, the results published here should not be taken seriously, there are too many unknown parameters here for them to be reliable results. For this, it is enough to set the cartridge slightly differently and the measurement result will be different.
2. Drawing conclusions like this cartridge is better or worse because it has a more or less linear bandwidth is completely pointless.

You don't know what you're talking about.

 

[narud]

1. Of course, the results published here should not be taken seriously, there are too many unknown parameters here for them to be reliable results. For this, it is enough to set the cartridge slightly differently and the measurement result will be different.
2. Drawing conclusions like this cartridge is better or worse because it has a more or less linear bandwidth is completely pointless.
3. However, as good fun such measurements make sense, and the thrill of waiting for Spyder to draw a graph is priceless.

you posted numerous audacity plots over at shf showing what you thought was your great compliance matches of cartridges to tonearm and low amplitude resonance, only to find out here that you have signal chain issues as half the graphs you post have unnatural low end rolloff. the users here have taken the time to sort out issues when they post measurements and when something looks off, they ask for help.

 

[USER]

Folks, the sooner he posts his measurements the sooner he will get bored and leave. Let's just let this run its course. Let's not make this a thread about providing him advice that he will ignore. (This is not the thread for that.) As far as the measurements go, I'll take care of things and place anything usable in the appropriate place in the index. I got this.

 

[mglobe]

Back to the questions I asked previously, thank you to the suggestions of particular cartridges. Looking at what you’ve recommended was helpful. On the question of MC cartridges — I see some interesting ones here, but I’m wondering if it’s worth going down that road. Is there really an advantage? I’m not sure I see it in measurements, but maybe I’m missing something?