Hi Lee,

I listened last night via my iPad and H6's and found it quite difficult. There were some subtle differences but I want to listen again from home and with better speakers. I'll get back to you.

Dave

Hi Dave,

Thanks for that. The differences are quite evident on my Pentas so hopefully you should be able to hear them on you big system, funnily enough a friend of mine couldn't hear much difference on his H6s either...

Lee

Link to the WAV version (around 25mb) - http://www.filehosting.org/file/details/496945/CART%20TEST.wav

Lee

 

Fourth and final one is by far the best to me.

 

1 - Good tonal balance but occasional breakup (doesn't sound like a stylus issue though, could be an issue with the capture?) - Not so good at tracking HF off to the sides. Slightly flatter presentation than 4.

2 - Bad breakup, don't even bother with this one

3 - Good tracking but weird tonal balance - very bulky across the lower mids and kind of irritating, un-musical bass. High output though.

4 - Lower output than the others I felt, but very natural and relaxed sound overall. Excellent HF extension.

 

Hope this helps. Listening on studio monitors here so about as revealing as it's going to get!

That's great. Thanks for the input :-)

I will reveal what carts they all are in good time.

Lee

Anyone else willing to give me their opinion? It will really help and I promise to write an article on here of my findings once I have some more data.

Lee

 

I did a first pass using my computer and speakers. I couldn't tell a significant difference between the four samples. For me it is hard to jump between samples and tell if, or how, different they are. I tried to compare shorter segment samples between the four. Jumping back and forth between the beginning seconds of the first and fourth samples though didn't reveal anything different to my aging ears.

-sonavor

Thanks Sonavor,

I can't really hear a difference through my computer speakers either but the sound when played back through my Beomaster8000 and Pentas is quite different. Some of the carts seem to have distortion in the upper mid frequencies.

Lee

I separated the four samples into individual tracks so I could switch between them quicker in iTunes while listening to them through my office stereo system (Yamaha C85 preamp, Yamaha MX1000 power amp, Yamaha NS-500M speakers) and still can't tell much difference.  To my ears Track Number 2 sounds more different than the other three. Tracks 1, 3 and 4 sound really close to me with Track 3 maybe sounding best (although I am afraid I am not familiar with the track).  I wouldn't mind hearing a 1:15 minute sample from each cartridge of something more familiar like Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto #1 with Van Cliburn or Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade Track 1 (Scheherazade, Op. 35 / The Sea and Sinbad's Ship).  Or maybe the track 14 or 15 of Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition with Fritz Reiner and The Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

-sonavor