Understanding Frequency Responce w/ Cartridge

[1tumbleweed]

The most important 'spec'??

Your ears.

You only have to please you. Plug 'em both in, and whatever sounds better - that's the one to use!

This. Just like speakers, the frequency response of a cartridge is useless in determining its sound. Transducers - cartridges and speakers - have colorations in their response curves that can make two of an item sound different even though the specs are identical. Listening and comparing is the only thing that makes sense.

Happy trails,
Larry B.

 

[tubemusic]

Shure M92E phono cartridge - A
Grado Black 1 P-mount T4P phono cartridge - B

 

[dlaloum]

This. Just like speakers, the frequency response of a cartridge is useless in determining its sound. Transducers - cartridges and speakers - have colorations in their response curves that can make two of an item sound different even though the specs are identical. Listening and comparing is the only thing that makes sense.

Happy trails,
Larry B.

Or measure, adjust and then listen....

Surprising how similar most cartridges sound to each other when you properly adjust them for neutral frequency response...

Once that is done the real winners start to show up... the ones that reproduce better detail WITHOUT it being a colouration due to a boost in the lower midrange....

Psycho Acoustics is such, that the ear is relatively easily "tricked" by amplitude variances at differing frequencies - and the quality of a cartridge cannot be determined until the colouration is compensated for...

bye for now

David

 

[dlaloum]

I'm sorry, I should have stated..."Thank you guys...this is what I'm looking for."
I guess I had already thanked the comments before Fred's info in my mind, sorry I didn't post my gratitude. Because I'm gratiful for all the information you guys are teaching me. I didn't mean to offend you iLUVanalog or anybody else.



Yes, both are T4P. Compliance is what I'm hoping to find when buying an upgrade. I don't want to screw up my albums nor effect the sound quality by purchasing the wrong cart.

The Grado's track too heavy for T4P, also to make things worse the cartridges are a touch on the light side (5.5g) - but both can be fixed easily by putting an appropriately weighed little blob of bluetack or plasticine on them.... add 0.5g to raise the cartridge mass to the required 6g, and then add a further 0.4g to raise VTF to 1.65 from the standard 1.25g.... then you should be good to go!

Grado styli of the mid 80's were tracking lighter and standard T4P was well within their abilities - current range of styli are however heavier trackers.

bye for now

David