Art Dudley Listening

@JA (John Alexander)

Why can't bench test results be performed on cartridges? I had Shure and Sheffield Labs test records, that gave a whole gamut of test that can be seen on test gear and graphed out?

Cheers George

Yep ditto, "if" the reviewer gets it right, then it can be seen sometimes in the measurements good and or bad.
A hypothetical to me, if there was only room for one, "subjective reviews" or "test bench measurements", I would opt for the latter.

Cheers George

Was with a Stax CP-X electrostatic cartridge, on a Linn LP12 with Stax UA7 arm.
It took 10-15mins to tune in with it's POD-XE Oscillator/Demodulator and oscilloscope and got about 15-30mins of listening before drifting needing re-tuning.
But what a hyper detailed and dynamic sound, imagine a cantilever with no magnet or coil mass attached to it, and you get the idea of how it traced/tracked the groove, every tiny microscopic bump of recorded info was pickup and presented, without any magnet or coil mass to schlep around to slow things down.
https://www.vinylengine.com/turntable_forum/gallery/image/11682

Why doesn't someone bring back the ESL cartridge with solid state oscillator/demodulator

Cheers George

Forbes: "A 163.41-carat D-color flawless diamond sold for $33.7 million at Christie's Magnificent Jewels sale in Geneva Tuesday. Known as the “Art of de Grisogono, Creation 1,” the rectangular shaped gem is the largest flawless D-color diamond ever to come to auction."

The buyer has said he will be having it made into a flawless cartridge body.

I look forward to the review!

I'm sure that "If you can afford this sort of thing, you won't be disappointed by its sound."

I love the close up photography of the cartridges in this article. Very nicely done!

How many Plays ?

Can we expect to get 500? more?

Some time ago, I collected Koetsu Phono Cartridges, I owned over 10, I don't recall them to have a Useful Life Span compared to many lesser Phono PUs.

But, they're addictive making their $,$$$ Price justified. ( silly thought )

Who buys these things ? for 10 grand?

I can't imagine the 12,000+ Vinyl Collector owning Pricy Koetsu stuff if they intend on playing all their Albums. ( like Todd the Vinyl Junkie or Chad Kassem might )

That Picture of the Onyx is gorgeous, that's gotta be a Pro Studio Shot, Civilians can't do that kind of image. Can they?

Tony in Michigan

ps. My Koetsu warrantee experience is that there isn't one to speak of.

ps.2 Koetsu : Still have those shitty little boxes. Phew!!!

If somebody could come up with a DAC with a frequency response like the Koetsu Onyx Platinum and with a heavy dose of 2nd harmonic distortion, they could make lots and lots of money ........ Of course, they are not gonna send a review sample to Stereophile because in addition to listening, Stereophile also does measurements :-) ..........

...in fact I think Border Patrol, Lector, Cary, Aesthetix and Audio Note make some. Asking for enjoyable music to be played without a little euphonic coloration or enhancement is like asking for enjoyable writing to be dry and clinical, unimaginative and without a creative use of language. If you want that, read the instructions to a prescription drug. If I wanted razor flat measurements and 100% dedication to the source - which 99% of the times was recorded with euphonic colorations oh and by the way the acoustics of Carnegie Hall would be considered coloration to these numbskulls - I would work and live in a laboratory. Luckily I don't and will continue to enjoy music that is artificially enhanced and colored. Like the sound of a sustained tone on a Stradivarius and I can go on and on.

Hmm, a ROLEX Watch takes a year to make. They have tiny components, they seem to last a Life-time and come with a Factory Warrantee, are 100% Hand Made by Skilled Craftsmen and Craftswomen. Fit and Finnish is impeccable !!! Service on everything they ever made is available, including Full restorations. ( for a price, of course )

Yet they cost under $10,000

The $10k Koetsu Onyx has a Gold painted plate that doesn't properly fit the Body.

Isn't it rare for something with "ROLEX" quality to be less pricy ( cheaper ) than something so obviously inferior?

Seems like "The Vinyl" Manufacturers are "Playing-us" for suckers.

Are Audiophiles Suckers?

Tony in Michigan

...in the world." quoted Bogolu Haranath.

Hi

Yes, Apple Watch outsells its watch competition in quantity.

Yet, I recently read in the newspaper about its durability: its glass face tends to break even with normal wearing.

Apple standard warranty does NOT cover smashed glass watch face for whatever reason.

So wear with caution!

Jack L.
Canada