What should be my next cart and tonearm?

[abeidrov]

Hi Aziz - I"m more aware than worried. I try not to get to that point.

I have several cartridges (listed under my system link) and rotate through them ... maybe make a change every 4-6 months. I will buy a new cartridge maybe every 2 years, but the hard part is finding the right cartridge for me -- I found my last one through review. Now that my tonearm universe has expanded with the 3012R there should be more opportunities. I have never re-tipped a cartridge.

It’s a good thing and fun to have several carts and rotate them But still, you can’t be sure how badly your stylus is worn out unless you track each cart’s usage and check it under a microscope.

 

[mtemur]

Don’t worry it will not reach to a point to damage your records if you wear it out listening clean records. Because while it’s wearing out it will be polished or rasped by vinyl becoming a blunt knife on the edges. But if a crack or chip develops due to a drop then it will damage records badly. In the end it’s inevitable wearing out of your records. There will be some damage even if you use a new stylus but I don’t think damage on the records reaches to a concerning degree as it happens to stylus. Unfortunately wear out/damage on stylus after 500 hours is very noticeable. There is a saying; new records eat itself while old ones eating stylus. Clean records and stylus really helps.

 

[abeidrov]

Don’t worry it will not reach to a point to damage your records if you wear it out listening clean records. Because while it’s wearing out it will be polished or rasped by vinyl becoming a blunt knife on the edges. But if a crack or chip develops due to a drop then it will damage records badly. In the end it’s inevitable wearing out of your records. There will be some damage even if you use a new stylus but I don’t think damage on the records reaches to a concerning degree as it happens to stylus. Unfortunately wear out/damage on stylus after 500 hours is very noticeable. There is a saying; new records eat itself while old ones eating stylus. Clean records and stylus really helps.

Thanks, this is good to know. Do you think the Opus stylus will last at least 1000 hours before I really start to hear its damage? It’s mostly in the HF area and I probably won’t hear it anyway. Maybe other people with Opus 1 cart can share their experience.

 

[mtemur]

Thanks, this is good to know. Do you think the Opus stylus will last at least 1000 hours before I really start to hear its damage? It’s mostly in the HF area and I probably won’t hear it anyway. Maybe other people with Opus 1 cart can share their experience.

All I can say that a micro ridge or super fine line or equivalent stylus starts to show deterioration on SQ because of wearing out after 100-150 hours. After 500 hours it becomes more apparent by HF getting sharper. Actually it starts to lose top end (above 20K or 30K depending on the cartridge) and mistrack just below it which is heard as increased sibilance and harsh top end. I exaggerated it for a better explanation. This also applies to Opus 1 besides all cartridges.

 

[abeidrov]

I’ve been strongly advised to move my Opus to a Graham Phantom III SE arm and use 4Point for a second cart, maybe a mono one. Do you think it is a sound advice? What other arms are an ideal match to Opus 1 cart?

Thanks in advance,
Aziz

 

[Ron Resnick]

I’ve been strongly advised to move my Opus to a Graham Phantom III SE arm and use 4Point for a second cart, maybe a mono one. Do you think it is a sound advice? What other arms are an ideal match to Opus 1 cart?

Thanks in advance,
Aziz

I have an Opus1. I think the Opus 1 on a Graham Phantom Elite is a fantastic combination.

 

[ssfas]

It’s a good thing and fun to have several carts and rotate them But still, you can’t be sure how badly your stylus is worn out unless you track each cart’s usage and check it under a microscope.

The little 1000x usb microscopes won't tell you much. Personally I send them for professional inspection when I think necessary. I send them to Expert Stylus and if fully worn I get them retipped. I have one of ES's Denon 103R rebuilds, it's a really good cartridge.

 

[sbo6]

All I can say that a micro ridge or super fine line or equivalent stylus starts to show deterioration on SQ because of wearing out after 100-150 hours. After 500 hours it becomes more apparent by HF getting sharper. Actually it starts to lose top end (above 20K or 30K depending on the cartridge) and mistrack just below it which is heard as increased sibilance and harsh top end. I exaggerated it for a better explanation. This also applies to Opus 1 besides all cartridges.

Might you have any evidence to support the claim that after ~150 LPs there is degradation of sound?

 

[mtemur]

Might you have any evidence to support the claim that after ~150 LPs there is degradation of sound?

I don’t know if it counts but on AM software VTA and Zenith alignments the distortion levels increase significantly after 150 hours. It was lower than %2 when new and %2.6 after 150 hours.

 

[JackD201]

While I'm adding an AF 10 arm to replace my B-44 Elite and keeping my OG SAT in my main system (AF ONE), I've been intrigued by the current Ikeda high mass arms as well as their latest generation cartridge. I think it would be fun to mount one on an AF3 P. The traditional headshell mount would allow me to easily swap in my currently underused carts like old stone bodies, my SPU, even some MM carts.

I'm saving my EMT Banana for a future EMT project. The table is TBD and my JP-66 just needs it's volume potentiometer cleaned.

 

[Erik-Alexander]

While I'm adding an AF 10 arm to replace my B-44 Elite and keeping my OG SAT in my main system (AF ONE), I've been intrigued by the current Ikeda high mass arms as well as their latest generation cartridge. I think it would be fun to mount one on an AF3 P. The traditional headshell mount would allow me to easily swap in my currently underused carts like old stone bodies, my SPU, even some MM carts.

I'm saving my EMT Banana for a future EMT project. The table is TBD and my JP-66 just needs it's volume potentiometer cleaned.

Why would you not add the EMT arm with maybe one of the top EMT cartridges to an AF3 TT? I use the Elite arm now but are considering the longer 12” EMT plus matching cartridges. Or even the Thales arm. However, I do think the EMT arm is a lot ‘of arm for the money.

 

[JackD201]

Why would you not add the EMT arm with maybe one of the top EMT cartridges to an AF3 TT? I use the Elite arm now but are considering the longer 12” EMT plus matching cartridges. Or even the Thales arm. However, I do think the EMT arm is a lot ‘of arm for the money.

I definitely could. I do have a question and I hope you can help me. My Banana came with bare wire, any recommendations as to how to extend and terminate would be greatly appreciated

 

[Erik-Alexander]

I definitely could. I do have a question and I hope you can help me. My Banana came with bare wire, any recommendations as to how to extend and terminate would be greatly appreciated

I asked the company and will get back to you if I have their answer. I would thick connecting to XLR’s would be the best option.

 

[JackD201]

Thanks!

 

[bonzo75]

I’ve been strongly advised to move my Opus to a Graham Phantom III SE arm and use 4Point for a second cart, maybe a mono one. Do you think it is a sound advice? What other arms are an ideal match to Opus 1 cart?

Thanks in advance,
Aziz

Opus is quite flexible on tonearms. Pivots, LTs, your Graham will work as well as heavier arms.

Audioquattr has the Opus, Graham, Reed 5T, SME 3012r, Ikeda and many other arms have come and gone through. He also has the Vyger.

By far the best is Ikeda with Dava Reference (on AF3p), and the Vyger Red Sparrow.

Darius (Dava designer's) mentor, btw, was Eugene from Russia.

 

[DasguteOhr]

I have an Opus1. I think the Opus 1 on a Graham Phantom Elite is a fantastic combination.

Unfortunately, uni pivot tonearms, even if they are magnetically stabilized, always lack stability and cleanliness at the frequency ends (bass & treble). But there are people who like the sound, I am not one of them

 

[mtemur]

Unfortunately, uni pivot tonearms, even if they are magnetically stabilized, always lack stability and cleanliness at the frequency ends (bass & treble). But there are people who like the sound, I am not one of them

Excellent remarks!

 

[PeterA]

Unfortunately, uni pivot tonearms, even if they are magnetically stabilized, always lack stability and cleanliness at the frequency ends (bass & treble). But there are people who like the sound, I am not one of them

I’m trying to visualize the physics of the arm not being stabilized maybe like the SME knife edge not being properly balanced. In the latter case, it produces chatter at the bearing in addition to just not being stable so the arm can rotate around its axis, causing havoc for the sides of the stylus in the groove. What do you think?

 

[DasguteOhr]

I’m trying to visualize the physics of the arm not being stabilized maybe like the SME knife edge not being properly balanced. In the latter case, it produces chatter at the bearing in addition to just not being stable so the arm can rotate around its axis, causing havoc for the sides of the stylus in the groove. What do you think?

The lateral balance of the 3012 is a completely different issue. If it is not done correctly, it can cause damage to the knife bearing or lead to incorrect azimuth settings.
I think the main problem with Graham is that resonances that occur during LP playback are not completely dissipated from the arm tube via the center pin of the bearing and thus lead to distorsion at frequency ends. that's my explanation for it but I can't prove it with measurements; I'm relying on what my friends and I noticed during a shootout.

P.S
This had nothing to do with a special cartridge, with three different ones it always came to the conclusion (dynavector xv1s, lyra titan i, zyx universe )

 

[Marcus]

Darius (Dava designer's) mentor, btw, was Eugene from Russia.

Eugene Komissarov, designer of Harmony tonearm. Leif is using it with DaVa if I remember correctly.