Phono cartridge/ stylus question

davidscott

davidscott

Audioholic Ninja
For any of you vinyl peeps out there I have a question. Does the cart body or the stylus itself have the most effect on the overall sound? I have a Rega Carbon cart which sounds great on my mostly used albums and a LP Gear elliptical stylus upgrade which is supposed to track a bit better. So the question is - is it the cart or the stylus that defines the sound? I don't think that I ever saw this question asked or answered. Haven't started a new thread in a while so I appreciate any thoughts.
BTW the turntable is a Rega Planar 3.
 
TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Seriously, I have no life.
For any of you vinyl peeps out there I have a question. Does the cart body or the stylus itself have the most effect on the overall sound? I have a Rega Carbon cart which sounds great on my mostly used albums and a LP Gear elliptical stylus upgrade which is supposed to track a bit better. So the question is - is it the cart or the stylus that defines the sound? I don't think that I ever saw this question asked or answered. Haven't started a new thread in a while so I appreciate any thoughts.
BTW the turntable is a Rega Planar 3.
The answer is everything, including the total cartridge design, the arm being of particular importance, the turntable itself, including the drive, mounting and plinth. In addition the matching of cartridge compliance and arm mass/resonance is of great importance. Lastly matching cartridge with the optimal lead and input capacitance is another variable.

Good LP reproduction from a system is a complicated issue. The end result is that many turntables get an OK passing grade, but few are superb. If you think getting good results from a turntable is the preserve of the knowledgeable obsessive compulsive individuals you would be correct.
 

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