I have sent in 2 of my Audio Technica OC9XML cartridges for analysis. He made the appropriate custom shims, and I purchased all of the other tools (except for the microscope). I couldn’t be happier. And, both carts were brand new and were able to track the 100μm test tone on the Ortofon Test Record without breaking a sweat. This is incredible performance since practically all carts aren’t even designed to pass this kind of test. It was also able to pass a difficult test track on an old Shure Obstacle Course LP - a concert bass drum that gets progressively louder. Most carts can’t pass the loudest hit. The AT just sailed through it with no breakup. This is even before the carts’ suspensions have broken in. There’s no sibilant distortion, and zero perceivable inner groove distortion. I’m convinced that when the stylus is aligned with this kind of precision, even the best tracking cartridges can have even more tracking performance squeezed out of them. I now factor in the cost of J.R.’s analysis as a part of the price of the cart. It’s that worth it.
Greg, I love your channel, but was unfortunately not getting informed of your videos, so I’m catching up now. I was there and part of the last Wally Tools / WAM webinar with JR about 5 months ago regarding SRA. It was really pretty informative, but these numbers of error in tolerance for these expensive carts you’re saying JR found is really quite surprising. That huge martini glass certainly added some levity to the situation. Haha! Great chat. Thank you, Greg and JR!
We are witnessing, hopefully post pandemic, another vinyl renaissance, with younger people getting into vinyl, and loving the music. Thanks to J.R Boisclair of WAM for his dedication to analog quality and getting the most out of vinyl, and the rest of the analog world for supporting this wonderful format. Analog rocks .....
Hello Jeff... YOU ARE SO CORRECT! Look, it may be easy to understand why someone who has only heard an inexpensive turntable (plug'n'play cartridge included) played against a similarly priced inexpensive CD player or streamer, using a fairly modest system doesn't get the true virtues of vinyl, or why, with well-cared for LPs, a properly set-up analog rig can CRUSH the performance of ANY digital playback system. But once you hear it, good luck going back to and settling on only digital playback And, to your point about the expanding number of younger vinyl purchasers, I was at my local vinyl emporium yesterday (Ignition Music Garage - ignitionmusic.net/) supporting Record Store Day 2 - 2021, and could not BELEIVE the number of people under 30-years-old I saw there... Such fun...
@@theaudioanalyst In addition to all the young, new analog converts, I see kids with Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and more , wearing TShirts of Floyd, Zep, and others. There is an embracing of music and format of a different generation,. I hear from photography friends , camera film is being used again as well. May the growth continue.
Hi Greg I haven't been an Analog (turn table) person for many years now, I have to say this was a very interesting decision. I didn't't realize setting up a cartage is so critical. I am a digital person, I currently waiting on a Audionet Planck & Ampere that I ordered in April from Bill Parish at GTT Audio.
Hello Russell. Congratulations on the Planck/Ampere combo choice... It is the most organic, natural, non-digital sounding Compact Disc system I have yet had the pleasure of hearing, And, I suspect you are not alone in your understanding and appreciation of how CRUCIAL the cartridge and its set up is to a high performance analog system. Yet in a hyper-audio system like mine, using the Kronos Sparta turntable ($24k), with the S-SCPS Power Supply ($9.5k), the Helena tone arm ($7.85k), with the Etsuro Urushi Gold MC Cartridge ($21k), connected to the Audionet PAM G2 ($10.1k), using the EXP precision power supply ($10.1k), using the STEALH Helios phono cable ($9.8k), miniscule changes and errors in set up exhibit a HUGE impact on the resultant sonic tapestry the system can create. And when it is just right, there isn't a digital system I've yet heard, at ANY PRICE, that can best it...
@@theaudioanalyst "And when just right, there isn't a digital system I've yet heard at ANY PRICE that can best it"? Hmmmm. Greg, I'll bet dollars-to-donuts (💲💲 ➡️ 🍩🍩 ) you don't get out much these days or you're not looking in the right places. BTW, I've noticed a trend or theme in some of your videos and I'm guessing you're not doing the industry a service by focusing so much on the cost of a component or playback system. Any attempt to associate a direct correlation between cost and performance is misleading at best and simply incorrect at worst. Case-in-point. Didn't you and J.R. just substantiate in this very video that cost has perhaps zero to do with a stylus' inferior alignment? The implication being the more grotesque the misaligment, the worse the performance, right? I remember an old friend with a pretty good audio head (and ear) on his shoulders who was fond of saying regarding this hobby, "One must spend a lot of money to realize one need not spend a lot of money." Pretty profound but sadly, his buying habits and words of late no longer seem to reflect that philosophy. Ok, so he used to have a pretty good head on his shoulders. 😊 Regardless, don't you think a "hyper-audio" playback system should have zero to do with cost and everything to do with performance?
@@ToadStool942 First, it would seem that you haven't done any research on me or my background... If you had, you'd realize how nonsensical your statement, "...you don't get out much these days or you're not looking in the right places." While no one can hear EVERYTHING, I’ve been at this for an exceptionally long time - take a look at my history in this industry. Then, just go look at my show coverage (www.theaudioanalyst.com/show_coverage/) to see what kind of Digital Gear I’ve gotten to hear…recently. Everything from the dCS, Esoteric Grandioso, MSB, and Wadax flagship multi-box systems, to single box players and DACs from those same manufacturers, as well as other competitive devices from companies like T+A, MBL, and Mola Mola. Even Robert Harley has said in his book, The Complete Guide to High-End Audio, "A high-quality, properly set-up LP playback system...will sound better than any CD." What I would suggest to be much more likely here is that you have little or no experience with true hyper-audio systems, fronted by an exceptionally made, and competently set up turntable system. And sadly, yet another statement you’ve made, “…don't you think a "hyper-audio" playback system should have zero to do with cost and everything to do with performance?” again shows your naivety on these matters. If only that could be true. While it is very possible to find over-achieving products at any price point, and I both celebrate and inform my readers and viewers of such products whenever I find them (most recently, the iFi Pro iDSD - ruclips.net/video/V1JVjvGs7Gg/видео.html, and the SilverSmith Audio Fidelium cables - www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/1120/Silversmith_Audio_Fidelium_Loudspeaker_Cables_Review.htm), BY DEFINITION, hyper-audio means the bleeding edge, best performance available. Anyone who thinks that level of barrier breaking, bar-setting performance is experienced at reasonable prices is, well, they just aren’t familiar with the state-of-the-art today, and they are only fooling themselves. BELIEVE ME, I wish that weren’t true, but in this case, it is. NOW, don’t take that to mean that I’m saying EVERYTHING that is expensive offers state-of-the-art performance. It does not… Sadly, wishing and hoping that something may be true does not make it so. To that end, thinking that you can reach that pinnacle of performance at modest price levels is just as mistaken. Thanks for watching…and for taking the time to write.
@@theaudioanalyst Hi, Greg. I'm somewhat familiar with your extensive background / history and I've read a few of your reviews in time past and watched more than a handful of your recent videos here. Regrettably, from perhaps day 1 of watching your youtube channel here I got the distinct impression that you (along with so many others) are trying to hang high-end audio's shingle out on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. If there were ever any direct correlation to cost vs performance, then I wouldn't see anything wrong with that as it's just a fact. And yes, except for reading a few of your reviews, I did not know a whole lot about you prior to this new youtube channel. Whether my impressions are right or wrong, that was the impression I got from your earliest videos and there seemed to be enough in subsequent videos that my impression has not changed. I hope I'm wrong and if so I apologize but that is the image conveyed to me fairly routinely. Regarding the hyper-audio thing, after offering up a suffice-enough definition of the term (this is your term, isn't it?), you circle right back to cost having a direct correlation to performance. Even though you admit to encountering 1 or more exceptions to your apparent rule-of-thumb. Say for example a designer comes up with a phenomenally musical amplifier without a single serious flaw (though I venture impossible today) that retailed for say $10k. Say also this new amp exceeded the performance of every other known amp regardless of cost. Wouldn't that single instance alone negate anybody's attempt to directly correlate between cost and performance? IOW, how many times must one fly to the moon to prove it can be done, right? This does happen in high-end audio enough and perhaps in every sector of the playback vineyard. As I'm sure you have too, I've known too many ehtusiasts who purchased dragon-slayer products and wax eloquently about their unbeatable performance only to replace the dragon-slayer product a short time later because theiy discovered another more superior product and sometimes at 1/4th the price. Probably happened to you more than once as well. Let me ask you this. When such a superior and inexpensive design comes forth, isn't the real message that those designers charging "hyper" prices have overlooked one or more serious flaws in their own designs? Indeed, you offered up a sufficient-enough definition for the term "hyper-audio" as relating to performance only. But as mentioned earlier, you then circle right back to such a hyper state being impossible to achieve inexpensively. For whcih I also circle back by saying, you probably don't get out much or perhaps you're looking in the wrong places. And I've no doubt this cost-to-performance correlation you (and others espouse) is a disservice when you mistakenly make such statements. Actually not much different than the measurement-only folks. That's fine if you want to maintain a philosophy of cost having a direct correlation to performance. I for one don't believe it for a second but wouldn''t maintaining such a philosophy be the rough equivalant to shooting oneself in the foot? For example. In an earlier video you mentioned that your playback system was approaching the $500k retail cost mark. There are plenty of professionals and enthusiasts with playback systems in the $1 million+ range. If as you seem to imply that ultimately there is a direct correlation between cost and performance, then your system's playback presentation or level of musicality is really only about half as musical as those in the $1M+ range, right? Worse yet, you made mention of your extensive background and history in high-end audio. Along the way and through your experiences, I'm sure you gained some very insightful knowledge to extract the most from your and perhaps others' playback systems. Yet, if one is convinced that when it comes to performance, there is no substition for expensive product, especially in the "hyper" audio category, the implication seems to be that anybody coming along with a bigger wallet would negate all supposed experience and knowledge. IOW, you can't have your cake and eat it too, right? Lastly, to associate cost with performance would seem to imply that all that is to be discovered in high-end audio has already been discovered and the only thing lacking is the contents of our wallets. I find this already discovered mentality all too common among some enginering types and science-minded types. At the very least, wouldn't it be safer/wiser (for everybody's sake) to keep the mention of costs to a minimum and just fccus on performance? In the end, isn't that what truly separates "high-end" audio from audio anyway? BTW, if anybody's naive about these matters I'd have to guess it's you. Just ask me. 😎
@@ToadStool942 Ok, so, all I can say is that your choosing not to understand what I'm saying doesn't offer any validity to your argument... You seem to have entirely missed the point. I'm sorry, but as I've said on more than one occasion, just because something is expensive does NOT mean it will unquestionably perform better than something that may cost less. But by that same token, the most accurate, authentic, and lifelike sounding products being produced today are still STOOPID EXPENSIVE. While price itself, independent of performance, cannot be used SINGULARLY as an indicator of quality of performance, typically, it is a factor in why the products that are the most authentic sounding prove to be so. Sadly, to suggest that there is no correlation between performance and price is, well, unsupportable. And not just in audio - but in many other manner of endeavor, including products like automobiles, boats, TVs, and computers. Has there been an exception or two? Sure. But calling it damn rare is still too frequent. By way of example, I'm saying that there are no $25,000 monoblocks that can compete with the $105,000 Audionet Heisenbergs... Conversely, while the $17,000 Parasound Halo JC 1+ monos kick freakin' ass at their proce, they cannot compete with the Heisenbergs. Do you see what I am getting at? Also, since I in fact coined the term, hyper-audio, I believe that I know what I intended it to mean! ;-) While the term has no direct relation to or basis on price, that does not mean that you might typically reach new milestones of achievement, from any product group, at budget prices... New breakthroughs and even incremental improvements often take enormous investments... My quest is for performance only; I've no interest in exploring the pretty good or good enough. I'm looking for the best possible performance available today... Believe me, If I could get a pair of speakers that perform like my VSA ULTRA 9s for $10,000, $25,000, or even $100,000, I'd JUMP at the chance. But such performance doesn't exist. Finally, I've NEVER focused on merely the cost of products. Yet again, price alone does NOT guarantee performance. This isn't about status, or genital measuring...it is about the MUSIC, pure and simple. But sadly, the most honest, authentic, musical gear being offered just isn't cheap. Thanks again.
Holly crap Greg, I nearly hurled coffee all over my keyboard when J.R. pulled that martini stunt, didn't see that coming. As I have been at this now for about 45 years now, I can tell you first hand that J.R. has forgotten more than most people know about analog. to those of you that really care about analog, your search is over when it comes to the best in analog tools that you can rely on.
Excellent question, Mikael. That's one I'd would be asking too! While no third party has evaluated my findings I have nothing to hide and would be open to it though I'd prefer I have a statistically significant dataset before doing so. As matter of routine, I do provide a thumb drive with every analyzed cartridge loaded with the photos of the stylus and cantilever, complete with measurements so the client can see for him/herself. I NEVER take only one photograph and measurement. I take many photographs and vary parameters between photos (illumination directivity/intensity/color, gamma, polarization, focal length, magnification and background color) in order to arrive at the most accurate measurement. I take the average of all measurements with the expectation that I can get a standard deviation of no more than about 0.33 degrees.
And the reason for not outing these offenders is.....? It stands to reason that any company who charges premium prices for their products but delivers something that can't be adjusted into compliance should be known to the buying public. I think it's the smugness of charging such high prices for a defective product that really bothers me the most.
Hello... I'm guessing that you somehow missed the general point of the matter, that, in fact, the three major manufacturers of stylus/cantilever assemblies, Switzerland’s Gyger AG, and Japan’s Adamant Namiki and Ogura, are indeed the "offenders." And, they were named, several times... Thanks for watching.
@@theaudioanalyst But consumers are not buying their playback equipment from the three named companies.....and "yes", I did see them named and "no" I did not miss the point. So, am I to believe that cartridge makers who buy these defectively made styluses should be held blameless because they failed to QC the components they are buying? If they are buying misaligned stylus assemblies and placing them into their own cartridges, don't you think they should be named? I have no quarrel with you, but if these unnamed stylus companies are sponsors or contributors to your videos, that should be spelled out as well.
@@morrisonAV While some manufacturers DO have better QA than others (Lyra is an example of better than average QA), they ALL could stand for better QA (with the limited exception of the two manufacturers that were named based on my statistically INsignificant, but nevertheless very promising, early data suggests). What makes those two different from the others besides their in-house stylus mounts? I have yet to see any one parameter more than about 2 degrees off. If I were to name one cartridge manufacturer for what I believe was lacking QA, I'd have to name all that I've seen. Of course, that would leave out the manufacturers that I haven't seen on my test bench which would leave the impression that since they aren't on the list, they have great QA - which may not be the case at all. I must emphasize, however, that in most cases a poor stylus mount does NOT mean the cartridge can't sound wonderful. It only means that the entirety of the groove content cannot be read by the stylus and/or stereo separation will not be maximized.
@@morrisonAV No styli companies whatsoever are sponsors of the channel, or the website for that matter, as of this writing... The tone of your question seems to imply that there may have been some kind of conspiratorial cover up in play, that there was some attempt at protecting offending cartridge manufacturers... No such motivation exists. Please see WAM Engineering LLCs reasoned response above. Thank you.
@@WAM-Engineering Agreed. Also, I forgot to thank you for a very detailed and well researched video especially with the supporting info supplied by the gentleman from WAM. Very informative video. Kudos to you both for giving Ortofon a "thumbs up".
I have sent in 2 of my Audio Technica OC9XML cartridges for analysis. He made the appropriate custom shims, and I purchased all of the other tools (except for the microscope). I couldn’t be happier. And, both carts were brand new and were able to track the 100μm test tone on the Ortofon Test Record without breaking a sweat. This is incredible performance since practically all carts aren’t even designed to pass this kind of test. It was also able to pass a difficult test track on an old Shure Obstacle Course LP - a concert bass drum that gets progressively louder. Most carts can’t pass the loudest hit. The AT just sailed through it with no breakup. This is even before the carts’ suspensions have broken in. There’s no sibilant distortion, and zero perceivable inner groove distortion. I’m convinced that when the stylus is aligned with this kind of precision, even the best tracking cartridges can have even more tracking performance squeezed out of them. I now factor in the cost of J.R.’s analysis as a part of the price of the cart. It’s that worth it.
Hello there. You'll get no argument from me. The work J.R. is doing, and the services - and products - WAM Engineering offers, are exceptional...
Great video. Thank you Greg. Thank you J.R. Very much appreciated that you have both made this invaluable video for analogue lovers.
Hello Mark. It was our pleasure... Thanks for taking the time to watch, and write!
Greg, I love your channel, but was unfortunately not getting informed of your videos, so I’m catching up now. I was there and part of the last Wally Tools / WAM webinar with JR about 5 months ago regarding SRA. It was really pretty informative, but these numbers of error in tolerance for these expensive carts you’re saying JR found is really quite surprising. That huge martini glass certainly added some levity to the situation. Haha! Great chat. Thank you, Greg and JR!
We are witnessing, hopefully post pandemic, another vinyl renaissance, with younger people getting into vinyl, and loving the music. Thanks to J.R Boisclair of WAM for his dedication to analog quality and getting the most out of vinyl, and the rest of the analog world for supporting this wonderful format. Analog rocks .....
Hello Jeff... YOU ARE SO CORRECT!
Look, it may be easy to understand why someone who has only heard an inexpensive turntable (plug'n'play cartridge included) played against a similarly priced inexpensive CD player or streamer, using a fairly modest system doesn't get the true virtues of vinyl, or why, with well-cared for LPs, a properly set-up analog rig can CRUSH the performance of ANY digital playback system. But once you hear it, good luck going back to and settling on only digital playback
And, to your point about the expanding number of younger vinyl purchasers, I was at my local vinyl emporium yesterday (Ignition Music Garage - ignitionmusic.net/) supporting Record Store Day 2 - 2021, and could not BELEIVE the number of people under 30-years-old I saw there... Such fun...
@@theaudioanalyst
In addition to all the young, new analog converts, I see kids with Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and more , wearing TShirts of Floyd, Zep, and others. There is an embracing of music and format of a different generation,. I hear from photography friends , camera film is being used again as well. May the growth continue.
Great video Greg. Really appreciate the information. Was not expecting it to be this bad. Thanks for helping surface this issue.
Hello Chris. Thanks for watching, and taking the time to write!
Hi Greg I haven't been an Analog (turn table) person for many years now, I have to say this was a very interesting decision. I didn't't realize setting up a cartage is so critical. I am a digital person, I currently waiting on a Audionet Planck & Ampere that I ordered in April from Bill Parish at GTT Audio.
Hello Russell. Congratulations on the Planck/Ampere combo choice... It is the most organic, natural, non-digital sounding Compact Disc system I have yet had the pleasure of hearing,
And, I suspect you are not alone in your understanding and appreciation of how CRUCIAL the cartridge and its set up is to a high performance analog system.
Yet in a hyper-audio system like mine, using the Kronos Sparta turntable ($24k), with the S-SCPS Power Supply ($9.5k), the Helena tone arm ($7.85k), with the Etsuro Urushi Gold MC Cartridge ($21k), connected to the Audionet PAM G2 ($10.1k), using the EXP precision power supply ($10.1k), using the STEALH Helios phono cable ($9.8k), miniscule changes and errors in set up exhibit a HUGE impact on the resultant sonic tapestry the system can create. And when it is just right, there isn't a digital system I've yet heard, at ANY PRICE, that can best it...
@@theaudioanalyst "And when just right, there isn't a digital system I've yet heard at ANY PRICE that can best it"? Hmmmm. Greg, I'll bet dollars-to-donuts (💲💲 ➡️ 🍩🍩 ) you don't get out much these days or you're not looking in the right places.
BTW, I've noticed a trend or theme in some of your videos and I'm guessing you're not doing the industry a service by focusing so much on the cost of a component or playback system. Any attempt to associate a direct correlation between cost and performance is misleading at best and simply incorrect at worst. Case-in-point. Didn't you and J.R. just substantiate in this very video that cost has perhaps zero to do with a stylus' inferior alignment? The implication being the more grotesque the misaligment, the worse the performance, right?
I remember an old friend with a pretty good audio head (and ear) on his shoulders who was fond of saying regarding this hobby, "One must spend a lot of money to realize one need not spend a lot of money." Pretty profound but sadly, his buying habits and words of late no longer seem to reflect that philosophy. Ok, so he used to have a pretty good head on his shoulders. 😊 Regardless, don't you think a "hyper-audio" playback system should have zero to do with cost and everything to do with performance?
@@ToadStool942 First, it would seem that you haven't done any research on me or my background... If you had, you'd realize how nonsensical your statement, "...you don't get out much these days or you're not looking in the right places." While no one can hear EVERYTHING, I’ve been at this for an exceptionally long time - take a look at my history in this industry. Then, just go look at my show coverage (www.theaudioanalyst.com/show_coverage/) to see what kind of Digital Gear I’ve gotten to hear…recently. Everything from the dCS, Esoteric Grandioso, MSB, and Wadax flagship multi-box systems, to single box players and DACs from those same manufacturers, as well as other competitive devices from companies like T+A, MBL, and Mola Mola. Even Robert Harley has said in his book, The Complete Guide to High-End Audio, "A high-quality, properly set-up LP playback system...will sound better than any CD." What I would suggest to be much more likely here is that you have little or no experience with true hyper-audio systems, fronted by an exceptionally made, and competently set up turntable system.
And sadly, yet another statement you’ve made, “…don't you think a "hyper-audio" playback system should have zero to do with cost and everything to do with performance?” again shows your naivety on these matters. If only that could be true. While it is very possible to find over-achieving products at any price point, and I both celebrate and inform my readers and viewers of such products whenever I find them (most recently, the iFi Pro iDSD - ruclips.net/video/V1JVjvGs7Gg/видео.html, and the SilverSmith Audio Fidelium cables - www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/1120/Silversmith_Audio_Fidelium_Loudspeaker_Cables_Review.htm), BY DEFINITION, hyper-audio means the bleeding edge, best performance available. Anyone who thinks that level of barrier breaking, bar-setting performance is experienced at reasonable prices is, well, they just aren’t familiar with the state-of-the-art today, and they are only fooling themselves. BELIEVE ME, I wish that weren’t true, but in this case, it is. NOW, don’t take that to mean that I’m saying EVERYTHING that is expensive offers state-of-the-art performance. It does not… Sadly, wishing and hoping that something may be true does not make it so. To that end, thinking that you can reach that pinnacle of performance at modest price levels is just as mistaken.
Thanks for watching…and for taking the time to write.
@@theaudioanalyst Hi, Greg. I'm somewhat familiar with your extensive background / history and I've read a few of your reviews in time past and watched more than a handful of your recent videos here. Regrettably, from perhaps day 1 of watching your youtube channel here I got the distinct impression that you (along with so many others) are trying to hang high-end audio's shingle out on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. If there were ever any direct correlation to cost vs performance, then I wouldn't see anything wrong with that as it's just a fact. And yes, except for reading a few of your reviews, I did not know a whole lot about you prior to this new youtube channel. Whether my impressions are right or wrong, that was the impression I got from your earliest videos and there seemed to be enough in subsequent videos that my impression has not changed. I hope I'm wrong and if so I apologize but that is the image conveyed to me fairly routinely.
Regarding the hyper-audio thing, after offering up a suffice-enough definition of the term (this is your term, isn't it?), you circle right back to cost having a direct correlation to performance. Even though you admit to encountering 1 or more exceptions to your apparent rule-of-thumb. Say for example a designer comes up with a phenomenally musical amplifier without a single serious flaw (though I venture impossible today) that retailed for say $10k. Say also this new amp exceeded the performance of every other known amp regardless of cost. Wouldn't that single instance alone negate anybody's attempt to directly correlate between cost and performance? IOW, how many times must one fly to the moon to prove it can be done, right? This does happen in high-end audio enough and perhaps in every sector of the playback vineyard. As I'm sure you have too, I've known too many ehtusiasts who purchased dragon-slayer products and wax eloquently about their unbeatable performance only to replace the dragon-slayer product a short time later because theiy discovered another more superior product and sometimes at 1/4th the price. Probably happened to you more than once as well. Let me ask you this. When such a superior and inexpensive design comes forth, isn't the real message that those designers charging "hyper" prices have overlooked one or more serious flaws in their own designs?
Indeed, you offered up a sufficient-enough definition for the term "hyper-audio" as relating to performance only. But as mentioned earlier, you then circle right back to such a hyper state being impossible to achieve inexpensively. For whcih I also circle back by saying, you probably don't get out much or perhaps you're looking in the wrong places. And I've no doubt this cost-to-performance correlation you (and others espouse) is a disservice when you mistakenly make such statements. Actually not much different than the measurement-only folks.
That's fine if you want to maintain a philosophy of cost having a direct correlation to performance. I for one don't believe it for a second but wouldn''t maintaining such a philosophy be the rough equivalant to shooting oneself in the foot? For example. In an earlier video you mentioned that your playback system was approaching the $500k retail cost mark. There are plenty of professionals and enthusiasts with playback systems in the $1 million+ range. If as you seem to imply that ultimately there is a direct correlation between cost and performance, then your system's playback presentation or level of musicality is really only about half as musical as those in the $1M+ range, right?
Worse yet, you made mention of your extensive background and history in high-end audio. Along the way and through your experiences, I'm sure you gained some very insightful knowledge to extract the most from your and perhaps others' playback systems. Yet, if one is convinced that when it comes to performance, there is no substition for expensive product, especially in the "hyper" audio category, the implication seems to be that anybody coming along with a bigger wallet would negate all supposed experience and knowledge. IOW, you can't have your cake and eat it too, right?
Lastly, to associate cost with performance would seem to imply that all that is to be discovered in high-end audio has already been discovered and the only thing lacking is the contents of our wallets. I find this already discovered mentality all too common among some enginering types and science-minded types.
At the very least, wouldn't it be safer/wiser (for everybody's sake) to keep the mention of costs to a minimum and just fccus on performance? In the end, isn't that what truly separates "high-end" audio from audio anyway?
BTW, if anybody's naive about these matters I'd have to guess it's you. Just ask me. 😎
@@ToadStool942 Ok, so, all I can say is that your choosing not to understand what I'm saying doesn't offer any validity to your argument... You seem to have entirely missed the point. I'm sorry, but as I've said on more than one occasion, just because something is expensive does NOT mean it will unquestionably perform better than something that may cost less. But by that same token, the most accurate, authentic, and lifelike sounding products being produced today are still STOOPID EXPENSIVE. While price itself, independent of performance, cannot be used SINGULARLY as an indicator of quality of performance, typically, it is a factor in why the products that are the most authentic sounding prove to be so. Sadly, to suggest that there is no correlation between performance and price is, well, unsupportable. And not just in audio - but in many other manner of endeavor, including products like automobiles, boats, TVs, and computers. Has there been an exception or two? Sure. But calling it damn rare is still too frequent.
By way of example, I'm saying that there are no $25,000 monoblocks that can compete with the $105,000 Audionet Heisenbergs... Conversely, while the $17,000 Parasound Halo JC 1+ monos kick freakin' ass at their proce, they cannot compete with the Heisenbergs. Do you see what I am getting at?
Also, since I in fact coined the term, hyper-audio, I believe that I know what I intended it to mean! ;-) While the term has no direct relation to or basis on price, that does not mean that you might typically reach new milestones of achievement, from any product group, at budget prices... New breakthroughs and even incremental improvements often take enormous investments...
My quest is for performance only; I've no interest in exploring the pretty good or good enough. I'm looking for the best possible performance available today... Believe me, If I could get a pair of speakers that perform like my VSA ULTRA 9s for $10,000, $25,000, or even $100,000, I'd JUMP at the chance. But such performance doesn't exist.
Finally, I've NEVER focused on merely the cost of products. Yet again, price alone does NOT guarantee performance. This isn't about status, or genital measuring...it is about the MUSIC, pure and simple. But sadly, the most honest, authentic, musical gear being offered just isn't cheap.
Thanks again.
So damn important episode!!
Very informative video !
Thank you Hector. That was why I urged J.R. to do this episode!
7:36 killed me 🍸😂😂😂
Marcus, you saw MY reaction! GAWD was that clever and funny! 🤣
Holly crap Greg, I nearly hurled coffee all over my keyboard when J.R. pulled that martini stunt, didn't see that coming. As I have been at this now for about 45 years now, I can tell you first hand that J.R. has forgotten more than most people know about analog. to those of you that really care about analog, your search is over when it comes to the best in analog tools that you can rely on.
Hi! Do you know if he has had a third party to verify his findings? Or maybe some other source that confirms what he has measured?
Excellent question, Mikael. That's one I'd would be asking too! While no third party has evaluated my findings I have nothing to hide and would be open to it though I'd prefer I have a statistically significant dataset before doing so.
As matter of routine, I do provide a thumb drive with every analyzed cartridge loaded with the photos of the stylus and cantilever, complete with measurements so the client can see for him/herself.
I NEVER take only one photograph and measurement. I take many photographs and vary parameters between photos (illumination directivity/intensity/color, gamma, polarization, focal length, magnification and background color) in order to arrive at the most accurate measurement. I take the average of all measurements with the expectation that I can get a standard deviation of no more than about 0.33 degrees.
Mikael, that would be a question for J.R.
Glad I use ortofon I guess.
And the reason for not outing these offenders is.....?
It stands to reason that any company who charges premium prices for their products but delivers something that can't be adjusted into compliance should be known to the buying public. I think it's the smugness of charging such high prices for a defective product that really bothers me the most.
Hello... I'm guessing that you somehow missed the general point of the matter, that, in fact, the three major manufacturers of stylus/cantilever assemblies, Switzerland’s Gyger AG, and Japan’s Adamant Namiki and Ogura, are indeed the "offenders." And, they were named, several times... Thanks for watching.
@@theaudioanalyst But consumers are not buying their playback equipment from the three named companies.....and "yes", I did see them named and "no" I did not miss the point. So, am I to believe that cartridge makers who buy these defectively made styluses should be held blameless because they failed to QC the components they are buying? If they are buying misaligned stylus assemblies and placing them into their own cartridges, don't you think they should be named? I have no quarrel with you, but if these unnamed stylus companies are sponsors or contributors to your videos, that should be spelled out as well.
@@morrisonAV While some manufacturers DO have better QA than others (Lyra is an example of better than average QA), they ALL could stand for better QA (with the limited exception of the two manufacturers that were named based on my statistically INsignificant, but nevertheless very promising, early data suggests). What makes those two different from the others besides their in-house stylus mounts? I have yet to see any one parameter more than about 2 degrees off.
If I were to name one cartridge manufacturer for what I believe was lacking QA, I'd have to name all that I've seen. Of course, that would leave out the manufacturers that I haven't seen on my test bench which would leave the impression that since they aren't on the list, they have great QA - which may not be the case at all.
I must emphasize, however, that in most cases a poor stylus mount does NOT mean the cartridge can't sound wonderful. It only means that the entirety of the groove content cannot be read by the stylus and/or stereo separation will not be maximized.
@@morrisonAV No styli companies whatsoever are sponsors of the channel, or the website for that matter, as of this writing... The tone of your question seems to imply that there may have been some kind of conspiratorial cover up in play, that there was some attempt at protecting offending cartridge manufacturers... No such motivation exists. Please see WAM Engineering LLCs reasoned response above. Thank you.
@@WAM-Engineering Agreed. Also, I forgot to thank you for a very detailed and well researched video especially with the supporting info supplied by the gentleman from WAM. Very informative video. Kudos to you both for giving Ortofon a "thumbs up".