We put a $17,500 Cartridge on a $1300 Technics. Have a Listen

[@trackingangle929]

Thanks for playing my record for people! it's selling well because both the music and sound are excellent! Bob Ludwig mastered this and Matthew Lutthans cut lacquers on the TML lathe and mastering system. 22 year old Caelan has a bright future (look him up) in concert and on record!

[@BobJohnson-xo7hr]

As an engineer with 40 years of live and recording experience, I can tell you ,your record has been done incredibly well, Your performance is stellar. But the record makes me feel like I am in the room with the bass and piano.

[@highfell1]

Do you really mean Bob Ludwig 😂 ? Maybe Bernie G.

[@trackingangle929]

@@highfell1Bob mastered. Duke Markos recorded and mixed it per our feedback

[@trackingangle929]

@@BobJohnson-xo7hrI agree about the in the room sound. We worked very hard to achieve that

[@SkyFiAudio]

Guys, link to purchase the record in the video description. Let's support this great work so that it keeps on coming...

[@TheHmm43]

My wife showed me a car she was interested in, and I was like "Sheesh, I could buy a diamond-studded gold turn table cartrige for that price!"

[@SkyFiAudio]

haha you found one! Not sure what the purpose of the diamond is, wish the manufacturer would comment on it.

[@gteaz]

@@SkyFiAudio This might help you understand the purpose of the diamond and gold cartridge . "@gteaz 0 seconds ago @stuarttacey I've got £500 and £300 Grado's, £300 and £100 Sennheiser's headphones etc I also have £20 Psyc that sound warmer and wider than the expensive headphones I have. The other day I thought about upgrading my NAD M10 V2 (used as a pre amp to my forty year old New class A A/B Technics SU-V's) to a NAD M33 (used as a pre amp) and then it clicked. I'm only showing everyone how much money I have. Sound quality never improves no matter how much £££ I put into it."

[@scottdavis0801]

😂😂😂

[@WayneSummey]

Bwahahaha. I used to make money. I'm older now and this jaw dropping price is the price for reasonable car purchase. But I love the sentiment and we weren't there to hear velvet on vinyl. I seriously think that the produced today vinyl is inferior.

[@TommyS3119]

I enjoyed this a lot. There are no set rules with audio, and experimenting with different components regardless of price, can sometimes give surprising results. For its price, that lower end Technics delivers beautiful performance. Of course listening on a set of headphones makes it a challenge to fully assess the sound quality, but to my ears, it sounded really good. Keep it real and keep it interesting. Great job!!

[@deangale4496]

Yes send me your $17500 cartridges so I can test them.and write a great review

[@TommyS3119]

@@deangale4496 Dean!!! I would love to send it out to you for as long as you need, but your current financial statement shows you are only worthy of an Ortofon red. Sorry pal.

[@bruceanderson5525]

I am thankful for the opportunity to listen to such a fine piece of kit that I would never, ever be able to afford. That is a stunning recording made even more so by the gear involved.

[@SkyFiAudio]

Glad you liked it, thanks for watching.

[@cv507]

primmiTiFF trä$h 4090 ti 5090 >:

[@gnd144]

It would be interesting to hear the Ortofon 2M Black Cartridge on this turntable, for under $1000. That or a Japan's Hana cartridges for under $800. $17,500 is a non-starter for many/almost everyone.

[@SkyFiAudio]

I gather the sweet spot for this price turntable is about $500 or so like a Sumiko Blue Point No. 3 or even the Songbird if you can swing a few more bucks. Yes the M black would be on that list.

[@jedi-mic]

I would say better than that black is the audio Technica at33sa that is a spectacular cart and not a lot of money

[@richardwashington9936]

I have that exact setup, Ortofon 2M Black works awesome, and I’ve tried a few at the 800-1000 range

[@johnnyg1700]

I think the Audio Technica range of carts offer better value for money and would be my choice.

[@craigprescott6045]

I’ve got the 2M Black LVB250 running on my Technics SL-1210 MK2. It sounds awesome.

[@IsaiahSellassie]

It is hard to evaluate without a point of comparison. I would have liked to hear the music first from the default cartridge that Technics fits this out with. And then the gold coil unit. Having said that, it does sound sumptuously detailed and musical. Thanks for sharing!

[@willielast]

It wouldn't matter if there was a comparison, you are still going to be listening to it thru KZbin compression, your DAC & amp, then your headphones or speakers. Demonstrations like these are utterly pointless. All we are hearing is our own equipment.

[@golds04]

@@willielasttrue and not. If you compare the cart, and nothing else: the comparison is valid, just not accurate.

[@pcallas66]

I think the bass sounds so smooth and the piano sounds natural. It's a great sounding record for sure and I think the Technics did a phenomenal job with the cartridge. The cartridge I could never afford. I have an older Technics SL-Q3 quartz lock turntable with an Ortofon 2M Black that sounds amazing to me. It's feeding through a Nakamichi TA-4A receiver and a pair of Urei 809A studio monitors. I just love the sound of it. Thank you for posting

[@ColocasiaCorm]

Thats a nice setup

[@pcallas66]

@@ColocasiaCorm thank you.

[@tomgilbertson2279]

Thanks, Fernando, love your channel. Record was awesome.

[@jeffbrooke4892]

Not silly. You made a good point and provided some valuable information for us consumers of audio and audio gear. Not many of us get a chance to run experiements like this. Thanks!

[@white.lodge.dale.cooper]

I love that you come right out and explain that how important the cartridge is compared to almost everything else. Sidenote: I remember when you demoed the Denon VL12 Prime DJ turntable and many of the comments complained about the tonearm. The VL12 is a fantastic deck; bargain of the century. I don't care if the tonearm looks like it came off a Gemini; it sounds amazing even with a relatively cheap shibata or micro linear cart slapped on it.

[@SkyFiAudio]

I remember that turntable, quite a mediocre arm indeed but with a good cartridge it was impressive what it could do. Thanks for writing sir.

[@sbwlearning1372]

Was it as good or even better than a technics 1200 ? It's on my radar

[@white.lodge.dale.cooper]

For DJing it's better than the 1200 MK7, but if you can get an earlier 1200 that's still king. Out of all the newer direct drive DJ decks including the MK7, Reloop, Audio Technical, etc., Denon is the best, even though it's discontinued. (Denon still sells parts and they're surprisingly not too expensive.) The platter is excellent, the motor/speed stability locks better than any of the above. (And I believe it still has the highest torque?) Functionally the tonearm is fine, it's just not quite as pretty or rock solid as a 1200. There are only a few things I would improve; I wish the loud DENON DJ graphics could be peeled off; there's little bit of play in the pitch control at zero; and I'd love to see an upgraded tonearm. But I love mine. I lucked out and grabbed two for less than $400 each. Total steal.@@sbwlearning1372

[@milesv5352]

It would be nice to hear a comparison with a lesser cartridge

[@tz6414]

That’s what I hoped for otherwise I have no idea if it sounds better than a 50£ cartridge

[@ronwatson98]

WTF...........no comparison!!

[@scottprice8994]

You cannot have a sound comparison here on KZbin. You have to be there to hear it.

[@aviramdj]

Bullshit anyway . Human ear can't hear a difference.

[@STRANGE_hour]

They’ll never do that - it risks totally upending their world

[@RothRothschild-xj3nx]

Classical and Jazz sounds great on everything! Thanks anyway for the memories 😀

[@damirhlobik6488]

the church organ will sound impressive on the portable radio in the phone booth

[@Kouros-t6d]

Simply because they use acoustic instruments rather than electric/electronic (read : innatural) instruments.

[@freepadz6241]

Exactly. Rock muaic can sound horrible on the wrong system. Far less forgiving

[@jazzkatt7083]

That was fun because where else can you see this done?! Thank you for confirming that the cartridge is the sweet spot in turntable setup.❤

[@mannye]

FINALLY! Someone thinks the way I think and does the experiment I have been waiting for. I have always thought it's ALL ABOUT THE CART and to a lesser extent the synergy between the cart and arm.

[@maynardewm]

The little diamond on the front got me cackling 😅😅😅 that is hilarious. Great piano playing!

[@stuarttacey]

Some people have more money than sense. I'm perfectly happy with my AT-VM95ML and Ortofon Super OM40 on my Technics 1210MK2.

[@SkyFiAudio]

To a super wealthy person, $17k is peanuts. To a poor person $400 on a cartridge is insane. It's all relative. :-).

[@stuarttacey]

@@SkyFiAudio Spending stupid money for tiny increases in perceived sound quality just doesn't make sense to me. Diminishing returns. I personally wouldn't spend that sort of money on a cart even if i had it.

[@puciohenzap891]

@@stuarttaceySee Stuart, sadly your comment is yet another bit of ignorance of the lower level music listeners - "I can't afford something so whoever does is an idiot" kind of attitude, completely negating that something might be better, but it cannot be since you cannot afford it. I've NEVER encountered people with expensive systems with such mindset, only the guys with Chi-Fi stuff and midrange gear who complain about expensive stuff. Not nice.

[@stuarttacey]

@@puciohenzap891 I've heard a high end setup costing thousands in a demo setting at a hifi store and it didn't blow me away as sounding much better than my own. There was a little more clarity but it didn't justify the ridiculous cost to me.

[@outmindbeats]

You don't have to be wealthy to know that spending $17,000 on a cartridge is dumb as hell@@SkyFiAudio

[@caelancardellojazz]

Thanks for showcasing the album!

[@jeffleigh3747]

Incredible, simply incredible. I've NEVER heard a record sound so good whilst playing KZbin in the shower. My jaw dropped. Album downloaded on Tidal, liked and subscribed 🤗 Thank you sir 👍

[@rodmay6651]

you proved your point, the turntables main job is not to influence the sound of the cartridge. good job.

[@puciohenzap891]

I mean this is exactly what it should be: a) Robust b) Accurate, low Wow&Flutter c) Good arm geometry and bearing

[@reubensylvester8818]

What a great experience, my father always told me your advice about the importance of the cartridge and phonostage while the turntable itself just needs to be accurate (he was a big fan of Edgar Villchur and his AR XA turntable). Nevertheless, I went on this big journey, spending a lot of money, and at the end of it all, learnt my lesson. Thanks for endorsing this philosophy which will guide others not to make the same mistake that I made.

[@SkyFiAudio]

Glad you got some value out of this Ruben.

[@wayoutofbounds]

Another great video...Thanks for doing this one, Fernando! I recently took delivery of a NIB Technics SL-1210GAE 55th Anniversary model...never thought I'd find one at a retail location, but lucked out and snatched it up right away. I was torn between the GAE and VPI's HW-40 direct drive, but I went with the Technics because of the swappable headshells...makes cartridge swapping fun and easy! I think that when we look at whether or not a cartridge is "overkill", rather than dwell on affordability (which is entirely objective as it depends on what the purchaser is comfortable with paying), one has to take into account the music we are playing through the cartridge. For example, I have several MM and MC cartridges...at various price points...and I find that some genres of music and the quality of recording or pressing dictates which cartridge I prefer. Obviously, critical listening on a great pressing matches great on a high-end MC, but I've found that the same MC makes a poorly pressed/recorded record sound worse...for those, a quality MM that still tracks and presents well is better, actually offering a sound that is more pleasing where the MC might come across as too "clinical". Just my $0.02 worth...

[@SkyFiAudio]

Glad you enjoy your SL12010GAE. It's a gorgous machine. I find interesting that you change your cartridge around based on the type of music, that the advantage of the SL-1200 that many overlook. Can you share which cartridge you like for which genre?

[@wayoutofbounds]

@@SkyFiAudio Right now, my favorite MC is my Koetsu Black Goldline. This is the finest cartridge I've ever owned in terms of accuracy, resolution, clarity and separation...and because of this, I tend to use it only on my best vinyl, think of the Analogue Productions pressings of Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue" or Steely Dan's "Aja". Because these albums are so well recorded, and the pressings are of such high-quality, the Koetsu's revealing nature is put to good use. However, with any material that's not recorded well or pressed poorly, the Koetsu comes off as sterile, too analytical and maybe even "harsh". Here, I prefer my MM cartridges, which don't so much "mask" imperfections, but rather make them far less noticeable. Also, a great vintage MM like a Shure M97xE (mine still has its original stylus), simply sounds better on most of my rock and pop records. It's hard to beat a really good MM for where the emphasis on the music's punch and drive are the main focus, think Led Zepplin, The Who, Daft Punk, etc. For me, it's almost as if my MC carts are too "polite" to rock out...if you know what I mean.

[@SubTroppo]

"...lucked out..." Don't you mean 'lucked-in' (unless you have buyer's remorse)? ps I am aware that in certain parts of the world meanings are reversed absolutely.

[@cirenosnor5768]

@wayoutofbounds - Thanks for the insight and would be great to know what other cartridges you’ve had when citing the Koetsu as the finest you’ve owned.

[@sbwlearning1372]

​​@@wayoutofbounds I've just listened to a new pressing of the black album by Metallica and my original copy of caress of steel by Rush Also fat of the land by the Prodigy . I used a gold ring elite MC through a Jim Hagerman trumpet MC phono stage which is all valves ( tubes to the Americans) I have all the punch and power and bass drive I'll ever need. Got around 10 cartridges. Since the Hagerman arrived I've sold all my mm except for a nagaoka mp150 which I essentially used to clean dirty records. The gold ring is only around 500 new The valves add magic

[@basspig]

The important thing about a turntable is that the mechanical noise is minimal. And that it maintains a accurate speed. For example of the Technics sl 1200 Mark II has a rumble figure well below negative 80 decibels. It's significantly quieter than many other turntables. From there you have a good platform to build upon.

[@PBlaik]

I have a 2M Black on my SL1210G - I'm very happy with it, sounds great to me, but I can't lie I'd love to try a cartridge like the one you are using on the SL1510!!!

[@DIYerGuy]

This is an interesting video. It's unfortunate though that there's what sounds like a 60-HZ hum as soon as the stylus hits the record surface. I thought I was hearing things so I replayed the video more than once. And sure enough, as soon as that stylus hits the record surface there's that hum. I have no problems on my end with audio, it's apparently coming from somewhere in the audio chain in the demo gear. Amazing no one else has commented. But the cartridge is probably the most important transducer component next to the speakers. So you're correct in that the cartridge is very important and one should not skimp on its quality. Additionally, and I don't want to seem negative (though likely that's the way it will sound [no pun intended]) although KZbin audio has improved significantly over the years, I don't see how any quality cartridge or audio gear can be properly assessed by playing audio via KZbin, but it's a good try. And it's interesting to hear such an uncommonly expensive cartridge sound so common. And did they embed a real diamond into it? And if they did, WHY... Seriously, WHY? Assuming I would want to spend that amount of cash on such a cartridge, why the hell would I want to pay for a diamond on my cartridge? Is there some sort of mystical properties of that diamond? Does it auto-correct tracking by some mysterious diamond rays? Of course not! I only want to see diamonds on my rings, and perhaps on my front teeth so that I have a glittering smile. So can I order one without the diamond? I mean that aught to knock off at least a couple thousand I would think, right? And since we're on the topic of gold, is that case on the cartridge gold also, and if it isn't why isn't it? I mean for $14K plus, I want gold on everything. Thanks none-the-less for this interesting video, I will likely consult with you for a decent turntable (but one without diamonds of course).

[@robertbosson5223]

Ouch!

[@trackingangle929]

When people understand little about cartridge construction and materials, they ask snarky questions thinking they are being funny and wise but ultimately they just appear foolish. Which you do, though at least you have the basic point correct: the transducer is key. This does not mean a cartridge this costly is a good value proposition. That's for the buyer to decide, but you could take a few minutes and discover what goes into hand building this particular cartridge and the materials used. However, if you think the piano and bass reproduction here sound "common" I wonder what you were doing instead listening carefully. And yes, KZbin is not high resolution audio but it's good enough to hear basics, and it will show up bad audio as well as good, and comparisons between components also work well though that wasn't done here.

[@DIYerGuy]

To @trackingangle929: Perhaps I sound foolish to you, but I think your own trackingangle is off based on the presumptions you have, so let me straighten out some of your misconceptions: First, I'm a professional electronics engineer (with a degree) with over 25 years of practical design experience that covers both tube and solid-state design. I'm quite familiar with what goes into a cartridge's design, a speaker driver design, an audio amp design, etc. I've designed custom audio amps and other gear, including speaker systems; a number of commercial electronic organs utilize my designs. In addition, I play oboe with instrumental groups and I'm a professional organist (church organ) and have given public recitals. Last but not least, I am an "audiophile" (a term I hate, which I will not go into here) as well. So not to blow my own horn, cumulatively, I have both a technical and musical background on these interrelated subject areas (music and electronics) and feel competent enough to comment on any areas related to these two subjects. In terms of my comments, yes, I was throwing in some snarky humor - apparently it touched a chord. As I did say, KZbin audio has come a long way over the years. I've listened to some excellent recorded performances via KZbin which had no objectionable compression (but all streamed audio has some), really low distortion, and that retained a significant percentage of dynamic range and timbre detail to render a high-quality, though not necessarily an "audiophile" quality, sound experience. These characteristics do make KZbin capable of rendering a high level of audio quality assuming it's in the source material to begin with and that nothing has interfered with it in the process of getting it to KZbin and that nothing additional alters it. But to be perfectly blunt, the kind of quality differences we're talking about with a cartridge are often very subtle in most cases so just playing back audio, as was done in this video, is really not going to reveal as much unless anyone listening plays their own audio through KZbin as well and can make an A vs B comparison that way. Unless you listen to your audio through KZbin the comparison is apples to oranges IMO. Such subtleties must be heard on the system you have and plan to use with such a cartridge, and that actually applies to any piece of audio gear. Also to keep in mind is the room (unless you use hi-quality headphones) your system is in because your room is an integral component of your audio system. Now, does this mean that what we hear on this video is not useful? No, not at all. It can be useful to a very limited extent. However, to throw another caveat into such a demonstration. Auditory memory is often flawed; Bell Labs has done lots of research into this area and of all the senses auditory memory is not as accurate as the sense of smell. However, my own personal experience with remembering how something sounds seems to hold up and I expect that's the case with many people and especially those that comment on this video. So I have to wonder a bit about the Bell Labs research. But putting sensory accuracy aside, if this video approached the demo of the cartridge in terms of comparing it to another hi-end, but considerably less expensive, cartridge, the demo could have been more valuable IMO. But simply playing back a track with a particular cartridge doesn't reveal all that much because it's compared to what? It's like seeing an advertisement for a product or service that says "Save 50% now". Ok, but 50% over what? 50% of nothing is still nothing. But if you're paying $500 for something and you can save 50%, that's $250 - so "Save 50% now" is a meaningful statement. But at face value I can't tell how good this $14k cartridge may really be just by listening to it over KZbin. Can you? I don't think so. Now if the goal was to simply demo the cartridge with an entry level turntable to see what the results are, well that's OK, and IMO it revealed something which I mention next. I can hear that as soon as the stylus hits the surface of the disk there's a hum. Now was the "entry level" Techniques turntable causing a mechanical missmatch between it and the incredible sensitivety of the cartridge, enough to pick up surface noise that exceeded the noise-floor of the cartridge (as well as the rest of the audio chain involved) and came through as the hum I heard? I don't know, but I do know it was there, and it was NOT an electrical ground quality (ground hum) issue because a ground hum would have been apparent before the stylus was set down on the record's surface. So something else was at play. Could this be the result of a mismatch between what was characterized as an "entry-level" turntable with a high-end cartridge? Perhaps. If it was a mismatch then the demo was revealing in that regard. For the hum issue it would again have been interesting to see if using the exact same cartridge in a higher-end turntable would have produced the same results. Since we only heard the audio using just the Techniques turntable and not compared with a more expensive (i.e. "better") turntable, I guess we'll never know. But I highly suspect that, as there are electrical mismatches in circuits, there might have been a mechanical specifications mismatch. Again, at this point it's speculation on my part. The only way to answer the hum question is to experiment with a different turntable. As for the use of gold in cartridges: From an electrical standpoint, gold has certain advantages, but they do not contribute or carry over to differences in percieved audio - that's a common fallacy and misconception. Copper, so far, is the best economical conductor of electricity because it has the least resistance per cross-sectional area to electrons (if you are familiar with so-called electron flow) compared to gold. The advantage gold has, at least in this area, is it is more malleable than copper, is not subjet to surface oxidation as copper is, and is more easily wound than copper, particularly at the very tiny diameters of coil windings found in cartridges and headphones. This makes gold a reliable conductor for critical areas of electronics. Gold conductors, even though they are less of an ideal conductor compared to copper, are widely used to interconnect IC (Integrated Circuit) housing (the case of an Integrated Circuit chip) to the actual chip-carriers which contain actual circuitry and in such cases the length of these gold conductors is quite small, less than 1/4 inch or less, so resistivity of the cross-section of such conductors as compared to an equivalent copper conductor of the same length is inconsequential. Feel free to ask or comment on any of the above. UPDATE 3/16/24: One recent comment was they didn't see the sylus come down on the record surface as I pointed out (and that many others also heard). I just reviewed the video and yes indeed, the video apparently has been edited; The section where the stylus hits the surface of the record has been removed; You will now simply see the stylus playing the track. I suspect SkyFi Audio found my comments (and those besides myself that also heard the hum) to be controversial and decided to eliminate the cause of the controversey. Personally, I think it would have been more proper for SkyFi Audio to leave the video as-is, acknowledge the hum, then repost a new video using the same cartridge with the hum issue resolved. Or if the hum issue could not be resolved provide an explanation for why it was there. But apparently they've removed the offending section of the original video and in so doing they've taken away the opportunity for everyone to hear when the hum occurs - and in effect removing the controversey. Whether they further edited the audio part of the section of video where the stylus is playing the track of music using audio editing tools (to mitigate the original hum) I don't know. Why they chose to edit the video rather than leave it as-is and whether they further edited the section where the track plays with audio editing tools are questions only SkyFi Audio can answer.

[@MichaelKuhl1965]

@@DIYerGuyindeed, there was a hum, I noticed it immediately. I guess I'll join the snark club with you. lol

[@randomcontent7964]

@@DIYerGuy BAM. That sir, is a high quality comment, and the rare one that makes scrolling through comment sections totally worth the time.

[@scofab]

The beauty is in the ear of the listener... in which case nothing is silly. Fine experiment, thanks for sharing. Regards,

[@richardelliott8352]

stupidity in the face of knowledge is always silly.

[@knockshinnoch1950]

I have this turntable and love it. I recently retired and decided to recommission my vinyl collection that's been stored in the attic for the past 35 years. I don't intend to buy any new vinyl but just wanted to access my large vinyl collection every know and again. It's a great value turntable and does a terrific job although I must admit I just cannot be bothered with all the faffing around and hassle associated with vinyl- it's just to labour intensive compared to digital. I am using it on very rare occasions!

[@tomkershaw4384]

It did sound magical. Thank you!

[@dwahnaslowdown8887]

Even through KZbin and my small office system, it sounds great. A large part of that is the quality of the recording. I may pick up that album.

[@Mike-ic9eh]

Ok, never in my lifetime would I be able to afford a cart that expensive but I’m definitely off to buy that record 👌🏽

[@garyproctor1032]

This was really a good demo idea and the recommendations at the end of the video makes absolute sense. I have been playing turntables, tonearms and cartridges for the last 50 years, and have concluded there is no universal combination. The cartridge-turntable-tonearm combination is an endless abyss of experimentation and changes with maturity. I mainly listen to Rock, Jazz and Classical and my preference for a singular c-t-t is nowhere near an end. The thing to remember here is to set up any cartridge the best that you can and if you can't, PAY SOMEBODY to do it for you. The turntable makes the least difference but the cartridge and tonearm combination is most important as that's where the real adjustments become critical, and can make an inexpensive cartridge sound better than one costing ten times it's price. As an aside, spend the money on the best record cleaning system you can afford, because that's where it all begins and provides the ultimate satisfaction. Anyway that was an excellent record and just note how CLEAN it was. Bob Ludwig has retired ... I already miss him.

[@carlosoruna7174]

proud owner off a 1973 sl1200 ran it with shure v15 and stanton 681eee back then dealer net was around 300 canadian dollars. cartridges were around 50 northern pesos..

[@stephenstevens6573]

I still run Stanton 681eee can't find better for less!

[@puciohenzap891]

I've had a 681 and a V15-III but couldn't stand them, the IGD was killing when running on a hi end headphone system. The more fancy-schmancy tips like microline or Shibata were a godsend.

[@carlosoruna7174]

@@puciohenzap891 no problems with my Sennheiser 424

[@CrochetNewsNetwork]

You are correct. When the needle drops there is INDEED a 60 cycle hum. You are correct. You Tube although a great way for basic visual content is very lacking in audio fidelity.

[@dceldeen]

I have the Technics SL-100C (the SL-1500C w/o the phono preamp) with the HANA ML and it is the best combination for me for clean albums. I can quickly change out the cart with a MM cart for more scratchy records, but still sounds great. Thanks for addressing the issue about how important the cartridge is.

[@mariorainy]

Sl100C here as well with At33PTG/II MC, iphono 2 with xpower powersupply, sounds great on HD600 with topping a30 headphone amp

[@cguzelli1]

I'm a musician (1967), music producer (1975) and owner of labels since 1977 (moved to CD's in 1985) but I never stopped pressing vinyl. First, this is a great record and appreciate SkyFiAudio for showcasing it. Being involved in all phases of audio from recording to mastering to plating, pressing, etc., every step is critical including mic placement for a great recording. The recording is wonderful and the mastering is exquisite. Just listening on my earbuds and computer speakers is wonderful and if I can hear the soundstage and nuances on this, I can only imagine what it would sound like on my system. By the way I think speakers are another critical aspect of great sound reproduction. Mine are 3 way (2 - paper cone speakers for low and mids) and 1 small folded horn for the highs. They have active crossovers with knobs, not microswitches so I can fully tune to room and to my liking. Would never spend this much on a cartridge, but will be dropping coin for the LP. Thanks.

[@TravelandAudio]

I have a question for you sir. I have bought and experienced early CD players from Sony and Phillip and to me they sound like crap, not even close to the newer CD players. **How people, especially Audiophiles accepted this CD players that sound flat and bland, insteady of the great sounding Analog equipment of those days like Turntables, Reel to reels and highend cassette decks?!!

[@cguzelli1]

@@TravelandAudio- First, all audio playback mediums have their own advantages, disadvantages and limitations. When CD's first came out there were challenges. The Engineers needed to learn how to record digital sound properly. The sound scape and dynamic range is totally different with digital. Some learned a little faster and people like me had a longer time to adjust. EX: I finished up mixing a project and months later, I return to the studio and go... "what happened to the mixing board?" Engineer pointed to a computer screen and say there. My first intro to Pro-Tools. NOTE: Another thing is when major labels pulled Master tapes of previously recorded material that were mixed for analog's limits, they didn't remix them and just issued out on binary code. The low end was almost non-existant and the highs were so shrill and offense for me when they did this. It was more the fault of the CD mastering than the players but players had their own issues when sampling rates were not uniform. They sounded like crap for a reason. The lack of mid-range is what bothers me the most in modern recordings. As to why it was so acceptable? I have no idea.

[@TravelandAudio]

@@cguzelli1Thank You Sir for your very knowledgeable answer. I’m not an audiophile, but an audio freak! 😅 I love to experience vintage and modern equipment, my house these days looks like a museum or audio store. I admire how fantastic vintage audio equipment sounds, as my first impression was that it would sound primitive, but I was amazed at how great it sounds. My only and biggest disappointment has only been Early CD players!

[@4vinylsound]

I don't hear $17,500.00 I hear $400.00

[@SkyFiAudio]

Does that mean you're not interested in buying it? :-). Thanks for writing sir! Stay in touch.

[@johnolson4977]

😂

[@jimrockford3662]

Hey 4vinyl sound, I think you hear 💩.

[@4vinylsound]

@@jimrockford3662 Are you saying this $17500 cartridge sounds like poop I'm listening to. I don't think it's that bad maybe worth $400 worth of sound quality.

[@4vinylsound]

@@jimrockford3662 If you think that sound is worth more than $17000 then you are really a complete imbecile. And a sucker with a big sign on your forehead.

[@TheDesertRoseRanch]

Remarkable. Turntables amaze me with their primitive mode of operation, yet have stellar tonality and air.

[@Mrch33ky]

Must be the pattern buffers.

[@illuwatar70]

What was that hum at start of the music? Something with the capture setup? For that price, at least it should be noise and hum free (except for the usual noise from the record itself). And trying to get an idea of that setup over KZbin compressed audio...

[@SkyFiAudio]

The hum is my fault, so hard to get an analogue signal into a computer without picking up hum. Spent a bunch of time sorting it out, thats the best I could do. It was picking up all sorts of digital iterfearance so the only option was to have a bit of hum

[@moorestreetfootscraytrucks2909]

Yeah, I noticed the hum too. Are you sure it wasn't a grounding issue with the turntable/phono pre? Ground loops are a pernicious problem when connecting chains of gear. There are products that claim to help but I haven't tried anything yet.

[@SkyFiAudio]

I tried every possible combination of grounding. This was the best I could get without inducing a bunch of digital noise. It's quite a tricky setup. Besides this is KZbin, let's not get too crazy :-).

[@biketech60]

The sound was great ! I did hear a low-level 60Hz hum before the stylus hit the music's beginning . I agree with your price ratio , but wouldn't rule out a One to one turntable / cartridge cost .

[@jimbennett2795]

WRONG TRY AGAIN!

[@ThomasSteves]

There was hum before the needle dropped, and the bass sounds bloated. What mics and and audio interface did you use for the recording?

[@thomosburn8740]

Did you fail to also notice that the video is MONO?

[@jimbennett2795]

NO HUM UNTIL THE NEEDLE HITS THE RECORD WHAT IS EVERYBODY DEAF?

[@marklloyd4153]

@@jimbennett2795yes I’m over 60

[@yorkemar]

The 1500c has a great arm and motor plus metal plinth top. Extremely solid.

[@krwd]

love Technics, the new coreless motors are fantastic

[@mmakshak]

I didn't like the earlier direct-drives, but, to me, with the 1200G, it actually plays music.

[@kevinatkab5219]

Not really core-less, slot-less is more accurate for these motors. Behind the coils is a steel focus plate. Only the G and higher motors are truly core-less and to get decent torque they need two rows of magnets. For these motors to get decent torque, you need the steel focus plate. You can test for the presence of this plate by doing a power off rundown test. 2 minutes for a G, 15 seconds for this motor.

[@michaellambert5223]

I don’t think I can really appreciate the sound without being in the room. Looks like some herseys so that’s a plus. Lots of comments mad about crackle… hey it’s VINYL not a cd! There’s always a sweet warm sound that cds can never match. Like tubes over transistors. Different worlds, I’ve been into audio since I was a paper boy at 12!!

[@summersky77]

$17,500 and you get a nice low level 60hz hum in the audio. This would be a MASSIVE fail for an $80 setup. Completely unacceptable and I don't know why the OP would just let that slide and not say anything about it. Did they honestly think no one would notice?

[@SkyFiAudio]

Feeding a low voltage analogue source into a computer with no noise is not an easy task. I spent quite a bit of time and effort minimizing the hum. Sorry it didn't meet your standards but as we all know, critically auditioning anything over KZbin leaves a lot to be desired and I would not take it too seriously. This is more for entertainment than science.

[@summersky77]

@@SkyFiAudio So, how do you explain the vast number of other people that do this everyday without issue? You either have a grounding problem or a bad cartridge. Let me reiterate the point here; you're showcasing a twenty thousand dollar cartridge and you can't even get clean audio out of it? One would think you'd want nothing but perfection in the video. If I wasn't able to get the audio perfect, I wouldn't even have uploaded this because, at this point, what are you even proving other than justification for people to laugh at expensive products like this? No, honestly, what did you just prove, besides that fact you have no clue of what you're doing or saying?

[@acura4utoo]

I wish you did a comparison to something like an Ortofon black. It would help to highlight how special this cartridge is.

[@Venus_Isle]

Pimp my Technics...🙂 Joking apart...right up there with the very best bass I've ever heard on KZbin

[@SkyFiAudio]

Hey mate, thanks for the feedback, glad you liked it.

[@andywilson9355]

Yes, fun video but if you don’t play a comparison cartridge how are we supposed to evaluate?

[@hwccheng]

Thanks for posting this video. Obviously, that cartridge is way out of my league. I was surprised that you characterized the TT as entry but robust since it’s something much more than I would paid ever. I won’t comment on the sound quality but I’ll say there are still a little snap crackle and pop about two third into the track and make me feel awfully good on what I already have - Fluence RT-85 with DL-110 and tube phono pre. My day to day work horse is the old beater SL-J11D (my budget Technics) with Grado Black and a ChiFi tube pre. Just did a speed calibration yesterday. I am sure streaming from uTube doesn’t justify the caliber but again it’s so fun to listen to it and listen and admire from afar like checking out a Ferrari when I am driving a Subi. Thanks again!😂. I do like to see the cartridges mounted on a Marantz TT 15S1 ‘cause that is one of the most aesthetically pleasing gear to me. Cheers!

[@SkyFiAudio]

I'm glad you recognize this video is intended for entertainment more than critical listening. You've assembled a really nice rig as described above I bet it sounds stellar. Agreed the 15s1 is a good looking table and well made.

[@robertthurston6858]

What was the humming noise from when put the cartridge down in the record groove ? Inquiring minding would like to know ?

[@analoglooney]

@@robertthurston6858I wondered that too.

[@chrissimmonds4383]

Fascinating and a very good demonstration. I also own a Technics SP-25 broadcast turntable, which is basically a beefed up 1200 and partnered this with an Origin Live silver mark iv arm, but I'm now realising my cartridge selection (Ortofon 2M blue, Goldring E4 and Nagaoka MP110) are way below the quality that could be achieved. The sound of the Clearaudio Goldfinger was so good, especially in the bass, amazing it could perform so well on the Technics deck. I can't imagine spending that sort of money though, thanks for recommending the sweet spot of cartridge selection for each deck, very useful info. Enjoyed the video, now subscribed.

[@michaelmitchell8218]

I tell you now from someone who does electronics hifi is the biggest rip off going and believe me it is. 17,000 for a needle with the pops and crack to go with it. Play the cd version for less and get more detail. I repaired amps,cd players, etc and believe me these high ends use most of the same components to standard hifi. I seen cd players at £500 beat cd players at £5000 range. Put the stuff on an oscilloscope and your see it’s all a rip off. I’m not saying cheap is just as good, but you spend a reasonable amount of money then you got a good system. I repair lots of stuff and seen it all and it’s a joke what people pay for something that is no better than something less the half the price.

[@tomprowda9581]

Actually, this pickup will produce LESS surface noise due to the extreme fine line contact stylus assembly. The line contact stylus scans a much longer area of the groove wall, so little bits of dust and gunk in the grooves scan at much lower volume. I owned the predecessor to this pickup, the Clearaudio Insider Wood Reference, which is absolutely the best pickup in my experience. A pickup like this demands to be used with the best turntable/arm combination. I was using an SME 20/SME V combination and it was ideal, the mass of the arm matched the compliance of the pickup perfectly. The turntable itself had the best isolation in my experience. The tracking force was higher than typical, which was compensated by the stylus shape, so record wear was not a problem. I'm completely out of analog at this point, but as I understand it the Goldfinger is a further refinement from the Insider. You also need an audio system that's capable of resolving the performance from a pickup like this.

[@elgustoesmiochupaki6119]

My vinyl b a r e l y has any surface noise. Are you happy with listening CD’s. Does that make you happy? Well I am honestly happy with you. Then why the Effemm do you feel the urge to spend time coming here to put down how other people choose to enjoy their music. So you must not be that happy with your CD’s. I mean to feel the need to be here putting down other people ‘s choices. Or,,,,, or you simply are a bully . A bully is a coward, a fascist , an intolerant coward psychopath with a small dick. Thank you. Have a nice day.

[@lucarambaldi2731]

You are absolutely right and I confirm everything you wrote... Just the other day I was at a Hi-fi repairer in my city here in Italy and he was repairing a McIntosh CD player of which I don't remember the model precisely but certainly of high range high...He showed me the reading mechanism...It was a very simple cheap Philips mechanism and the repairman himself told me that those devices have a great name but they are not eternal and as you rightly said they are built with standard components... THEY ARE LUXURY OBJECTS AND PRICES LIKE LUXURY OBJECTS.!!!

[@alanl2550]

Amen!

[@lucarambaldi2731]

@@alanl2550 👏🎼🎼🎼🏆🏆🏆👽😅😱😱🏆👏👏🎼🏆🍓🍓🍓🎼👏🎼🏆👏👏🎼🏆🤣🤣🤣🤣👏🎼🤣🤣🤣

[@johnalexander4946]

Sounds fantastic. I have an SL1500C with a VM750SH, very nice combo!

[@4vinylsound]

I can't believe there's so many people that have enough time in the day to actually go through and read all the comments and comment on the comments LOL.

[@johnparks6172]

You make an excellent point about the cartridge that many assume is the TT itself. TTs don't make sound, cartridges do.

[@ringo1138]

I came here for the hum comments. While I appreciate the video, no one is going to take a sound clip video seriously, if you aren’t knowledgeable or serious enough to take care of that 60 cycle hum. Also, in the future, if you want to highlight the sound of a cartridge, give us another cartridge to compare it to so we can hear the difference. Best of luck.

[@SkyFiAudio]

Agreed, I should have played another cartridge. Next time.

[@TravelandAudio]

The main sound difference I have found on where the magic happens is a moving coil Phono cartridge and the Phono preamp. You don't have to spend thousands of dollars to have high quality sound, because the returs will be minimal to none. It also depends on the synergy of your equipment. I heard my cousin's friend system, consisting of an old Sherwood S-8000 tube receiver, a pair of Quads 57, a REL T/7x Subwoofer, a Fluance turntable with a Signet Moving coil cartridge and a Parasound Zphono preamp and it sounded to me like what perfection suppose to sound for my ears. The thing is that I don't know how good it would sound on my living room, as it all comes to synergy.

[@jcw1569]

I hate all those little clicks, thank you for reminding me how much better a CD player I pulled out of the trash sounds.

[@thomosburn8740]

you shouldn't watch turntable demonstration videos if they are going to trigger you like this.

[@intothevoid9831]

Pure copium. Enjoy your flat, lifeless, unalive'd sound.

[@sneskid78]

@@thomosburn8740 There shouldn't be all these clicks on a brand new pressing...

[@puciohenzap891]

Ignorance is bliss.

[@virtualpilgrim8645]

You probably eat hot dogs, too...

[@astolatpere11]

This caught my eye because I have a 25 year old Project Perspective tt with a SoundSmith Otello cart. Into am EAR 834P phono prep. Nice but I think I could spend a lot more on a new cartridge and hear a noticeable improvement over the SoundSmith. But I don't have much $$ so I bought a Nagaoka MP500 mm cart. For me a whole lot of money for a phono cartridge. Hopefully it will have synergy with my phono preamp and provide quality to my listening experience. Liked your experiment!

[@4vinylsound]

Overkill. Waist of money. Sound can only be so good then becomes a financial addict.

[@sneskid78]

Someone else already pointed out the 60hz hum. I just wanted to add though, this record is supposed to be stereo. Your sound sample however, sounds like a mono fold-down. There is zero separation.

[@livy4life]

exactly my thoughts when I heard it. Mono all the way.

[@varmahander]

Thank you for sharing this very fine music! I got lost in a wonderful dreamy trance of wellbeing..

[@quadspeak]

Fernando I find you to be one of the nicest most knowledgeable people in the current audio scene. That being said been doing audio since the 60s and saw the entire start of the stupid mega pricing begin in1978 with the first Koetsu cartridge at $1000. This began the march towards the $17000.00 affair you have mounted in the outstanding and fairly priced Technics line of turntables. There has to be a semblance of getting what you pay for in products, no matter how rich you are. The work done in say the Technics 1200G for example, can justify the price, but there is nothing in it his world that can make 17 k be inside of these units. When Audio Technica and Hana can achieve great results for under 2k. Just my opinion I am wrong more than I’m right😊

[@SkyFiAudio]

I agree sir. Im not endorsing the purchase of a $17k cartridge, I just happened to have one in hand and wondered how it would do on the Technics while illustrating the importance on the cartridge over the turntable. To give you a sense of where I landed, for the SL1500C I recommend the $500 Sumiko Blue Point No. 3 and for the SL1200G I recommend the $1800 Sumiko Starling. Those are in my opinion the right price/performance matches.

[@Woofy-tm8si]

It's important to remember a solid gold cartridge with a diamond in it is a LUXURY PRODUCT and like most luxury products, a significant portion of its cost is dedicated to its appearance and packaging. You can very likely get 99% of the Statement's performance for less than half its cost. The less expensive cartridge's body might be 3D printed titanium and it still may use copper, silver or gold wire, but it's cost will be related to the cost of labor and materials and less about the bling required for placement in high-end audio's ridiculously priced luxury goods segment. As for me, I don't care how the rich spend their money outside of politics. But while my hifi budget definitely exceeds the dregs of cheap and screechy moving magnet cartridges from Audio-Technica, it's still important for me to wring every penny of value I can squeeze out of my purchases and I refuse to buy any gear that won't last me for decades. My turntable is a Bang & Olufsen Beogram 4002 turntable I purchased new for $750 in 1976. Back then, the Beogram cost about 25% of what it cost to buy a new car. It's 48 years old. It's had every one of it's micro-incandescent light bulbs replaced with tiny LEDs, cleaned and re-infused the bronze sleeves in both motor and platter bearings and replaced the worn teflon thrust plate that the spindle and platter spin upon along with a drop or two of a special silicone lubricant I also use to lubricate all it's hundreds of tiny moving parts. I had Sound-smith rebuild the original MMC20CL cartridge. Besides belts and a few custom parts (3D printed or CNC machined) to make sure it keeps running without mishap, the Beogram will likely outlive me. I don't mind spending money on high quality gear that is built to last for decades and is a pleasure to use. I refuse to mindlessly upgrade my gear unless the improvement in sound quality is truly significant.

[@themotownboy1]

I felt the choice of music lacked. This was a mono recording and it would have been more interesting to get some sense of stereo image and depth using a well recorded album even as this is being heard via KZbin.

[@sashacolic2427]

Hola Fernando, thanx for the experience. Sure we are not able to fully hear the potential of your set up. But I can tell its a helluva sound already on YT! However, this Clearaudio cart on a modified 1200G (tonearm, feet…) must be elevation to heaven.

[@tracyyy99]

I once put a set of MISSION 700 Loud Speakers on a cheap Silver branded basic HI-FI home stereo system...the results were outstanding.

[@4vinylsound]

A $500.00 cartridge with a $17,000.00 diamond attatched to it must sound amazing.

[@deanfisher1656]

Very unique demo……waaaay over the top cartridge, but probably elevated the tables ability to the max. Have a Rega P9 running Clearaudio Maestro MM cartridge and really enjoy it. My vintage Luxman PD 272 has a Shure V15 cartridge Awesome fun. Love this hobby

[@GeneSavage]

I really appreciate you doing this. It was the type of thing I fantasized about, but figured I'd never get to try. (Thanks for trying it for me!) Unsurprisingly, the cartridge does sound very good. It may the best reproduction of vinyl I've ever heard. Having said that, while the frequency response seems balanced and the groove distortion seems non-existent, event 24k gold can't get rid of the analog noise floor, vinyl surface noise, and various pops and clicks inevitably heard in this and every other record ever manufactured. As good as this was, it made me want to hear this recording on CD, more than anything. Get rid of the extraneous noise, and put me right in the middle of the band, that's what I want. Still, this was a fascinating listen. I was unaware of turntable rumble if there was any (I assume it has a number, just likely low). The bass was tight and detailed all the way down while the highs were clean and not once ever strident. As I mentioned earlier, there was no indication of distortion from the needle trying to track the groove. I suppose if you have $17.5 k burning a hole in your pocket, this would be the ultimate record experience! I do continue to be amazed at the audio we can pull out of the grooves, and there are some recordings that are simply never going to make it into the digital era. My dad's favorite album, "Fields In Clover" by Herbie Fields, the master tapes have apparently been lost and all we have left is what we can extract from vinyl pressed in the 1950s. (Now I'm wondering if I'd hear any improvements on ultra-expensive turntables. They might be able to improve the rumble, but I'm already unaware of rumble. They might improve the wow and flutter, but this already seems rock-sold. What would be the benefits, to the ear, of stepping up to a comparable table for this cartridge?)

[@davidster1704]

I paired a Sumiko bluepoint 3 low output ($700) with a VPI cliftwood turntable. ($1000). I love the combination.

[@TM-fx2pi]

Thanks for the video. Honestly, this whole turntable thing is something I struggle with currently while considering an upgrade. I am not a critical listener. While I do listen to albums, I don’t do it as often as many others. Subtle differences do not interest me. I want to hear MAJOR differences in order for me to even consider changing gear. I do , however, enjoy interacting with good quality gear. Finding a good balance of price and performance is important and honestly a bit difficult considering the endless options on the market. I like the quality of that 1200g but after adding a good cart, makes it a bit rich for my use case at this time. I’m feeling more in the 1500 series table league for now I think. Sorry for the ramble

[@thomosburn8740]

The real reason to own a turntable is to widen the variety of music you can play thru your system. And some releases, even modern ones, are mastered FAR BETTER on vinyl than they are on streaming or CD. Does vinyl sound better? Sometimes, not always.

[@budsmoker4201120]

It is not silly it does what a turntable should. The cartridge will do what it's supposed too. Great video!🎉🎉🎉🎉 The thing is most people who can throw that kind of money at cartridge in this hobby have a very expensive table as will. Cheers again for another great video.

[@tomhill4003]

That cartridge sounds amazing (at least through a pair of Shure SRH 840 headphones). It is substantially out of my price range though. Rufus Reid is awesome, and I will be checking his work out more after hearing this!

[@TD402dd]

I agree with your decision for a premier cartridge to an entry audiophile turntable. I've always tried to buy the best cartridge I can afford for my Rega and Thorens turntables.

[@georgeanastasopoulos5865]

The "Technics SL-1500C Premium Class Direct Drive Turntable w/ Ortofon 2M Red Cartridge - White" or Black, or Silver version is $1,599.00 in Canada. Me too! At 58:00 and onward I believe, and have listened with proof the same thing; the phono cartridge is no less than 40% of the resultant sound, and higher quality of the music that is played back from the entire components of a turntable!🔉🎵🎶

[@flex-cx9bi]

What do you mean with this video? At the end you ask for comments about if we hear any difference? Any difference compared to what? Where is the alternative soundclip we should compare with? What I hear in the soundclip provided is a quite boomy sound lacking transparency and resolution. The performance I hear is not even close to what I expect and demand from any system that claims to provide good sound.

[@crazyprayingmantis5596]

I agree, it's sounds very average to me, heard much better from much less

[@LoveElectricStuff]

My opinion it sound like crap. My $49 Sony DVD player blows thus out of the water. Overpriced 🐍 🛢.

[@russpeck1320]

I appreciate your thoughtful, hype-less videos, Fernando. I'm wondering what differences make the 1200 worthy of a better cartridge than the 1500. I would think that the motor/platter are very close in performance, but not sure about the tonearm (they "look" identical, except for the color). I know VTA is fussier to set on the 1500, though. Lastly, I know that the 1200 is heavier, so this might make a difference. I currently own an SL-100c, virtually identical to your 1500 without preamp and USB features, so I would welcome your insights. I have run a repair shop for decades, and have had many turntables pass over my bench, so feel free to get technical!

[@dalewilliams8001]

Hey Fernando. That was an interesting experiment. My only suggestion would be to play a trio: piano bass and drums. The drums, with cymbals, would further reveal the performance of the Goldfinger cartridge on the Technics.

[@jcermeno1368]

Amazing quality. Sounds like a Live show in front of me

[@gabriellegiovanni7899]

I’ve heard this cartridge. Get a Grado Reference($1,500) and enjoy the music. Besides that, the better the cartridge the more it will pick up the sound of the turntable. I have demoed how just changing the platter material will make three times the difference in sound than most cartridge upgrades.

[@cireasa85]

Today's market offers plenty of such exorbitant priced pieces of audio gear. Does it sound good? Of course it does, and it better be for 17k. Can you get 70-80% (maybe even a bit more) of that in a humanly available priced of let's say 500-1500$ cartridge? I'm pretty convinced that you can. As long as there are buyers out there, they will keep comming out with such very expensive pieces. In the end, us the consumers are the direct beneficiary of this evolution, even though most of the times at overpriced points :) . love your videos, such a nice vibe and always useful information. Cheers from Romania

[@icomment-tq6xh]

sounds amazing on my Gateway 2000 PC. Worth every penny.

[@jsg1469]

I have this turntable paired with the Audio Technica AT-OC9X special line cartridge. At $700 will be the most I spend on this table and it sounds wonderful.

[@nicktucker4916]

I think it is always good to experiment with different combinations. It may surprise you one way or another, so yes, I think this was a good experiment. Of course we are at a disadvantage listening to it over KZbin. I like the music though and listened a few times. As a side note I recently "rebuilt" a vintage (1978) Technics integrated amp, SU-7300, not the best in the world by any means, but it has great sentimental value to me. This was one of the first things I listened to.. Sounds great :)

[@SkyFiAudio]

In my opinion folks dont mention enough the sentimental value of the audio gear. I bet most of us remember the first good sounding system we heard or a piece we inherited from a lost family member. Glad you got an SU-7300, great piece.

[@kenshilcock7198]

Your thoughts, as someone who deals with this kit, are valuable. You obviously realise that the listening through KZbin's sounds compression renders our listening pointless.... apart from the music recommendation which is also of value. Am looking into album availability

[@SkyFiAudio]

Yes it's a great album and highly recommended. Glad you got something out of it.

[@keithposter5543]

Not sure if I missed something but the best upgrade for the SL's is a proper arm

[@JoergPelzer]

Great video. Amazing work. Hi I live in Prague and I could get a 1200GR or a 1500 for same price, which one is best sounding?

[@olaniyi570]

This was a very fun video! Most expensive cartridge ive ever heard was about 1K so i would love to hear a 17K cartridge one day. I used to be a cartridge first guy until i directly compared a Rega P1 and P2, which come with the same Rega cartridge. The difference definitely isn't subtle. I was also fortunate enough to own 2 technics turntables, the SP-15 and the SP-25. These are seperate drive units like the SP-10 and it was easy to take one out of the plith and put this other one in and vice versa, making a comparison very easy with all other variables staying equal. I was amazed how much better the SP-15 sounds compared to the SP-25. These two experiences convinced me that the turntable itself, especially the motors, etc, are highly significant when it comes to the sound of a turntable.

[@SkyFiAudio]

Rega P1 was my first serious turntable while I was in college. Skipped eating for a few weeks so I could pay for it. Sure miss those days where I would scour Boston looking for the next hifi fix. Sounds like you've had your range of good tables also. Not sure I agree that the motors make such a difference but I appreciate your input never the less. Stay in touch.

[@DrOz-007]

It would seem that the deck is the most important item, followed by the arm, then the cartridge.

[@brunohebert1351]

What would have been interesting is to have a comparison with the cartridge that comes with the turntable. I know YT audio processing and all that but still as a silly experiment it would have been interesting. (the best being to have direct audio clip for download, I know some KZbinrs do that but I understand it's time consuming, you need to find a hosting platform etc) But I get your conclusion: get a cartridge that is on par or slightly above the performance of the turntable which is a great advice.

[@siddiqahmad5193]

Great recording! Reminiscent of a live duo performance I attended featuring Roy Hargrove and Cedar Walton. I'm not 100% certain he was there, but I believe I caught Rufus backing Nancy Wilson at the same NYC venue (JALC.)

[@David-b6y4m]

Very nice! The sound is very natural, and palpable. Maybe I missed your mention of it…if you don’t mind, what is the rest of the system?

[@brianhechinger6726]

Nice detail and clear highs. How do the inner tracks sound, I wonder. $17,500 wow. I’d be scared to breathe near it.

[@fermartinezrios7251]

Sounds great! Though I disagree about the cartridge being the most important part of the whole. To me the biggest impact in performance derives from the tonearm. A 17k cartridge with a poor arm means throwing away 16k at least. Also a cartridge must be matched with a tonearm, not just mounted since mass and compliance are things to assess when choosing both.

[@poogy3]

I'll listen to that.....forever!!! I would be forever happy playing with that on my $350 turntable!!!

[@robertyoung1777]

Great test. I’m into moving coil cartridges. Buy a cartridge because you like it’s sound with your system. Price shouldn’t be the starting point. Try a range prices, brands and typologies until you find something you love. Lately I’ve been enjoying a Nagaoka MP110.

[@thorvladgunnarsson3390]

I've got that same turntable, I suggest the audiotechnica vm540 at around 250$. It sounds way better than the ortofon red and blue that I had previously tried. Can't imagine the Sl1500c play any better (Yamaha AS2100 and Klipsch Rf-7III complete the set)

[@guywalker29]

Empire 208 I found in a garage on 18th St. between 7th and 6th Ave. on Manhattan Island sitting there with the original XV 15 Pickering cartridge. What an opportunity. I bought a Zenith Stereophonic model 347 radio and hooked up the Empire using a Harman Kardon Citation IV and began the incredible journey beginning with Dvorak Symphony op 70 in D minor @ 78 rpm using a compatible stylus. This here sounds good, but listening to Pee Wee Crayton Red Callender Sextette Pappy’s Blues jazz Hollywood Records on period equipment has something to say for itself.

[@Clint_the_Audio-Photo_Guy]

FYI, The Goldfinger weighing in at 16g total and being made of 14 Karat gold is going to have less than $580 worth of Gold on it. The diamond isn't flawless or anything either. It's safe to assume that there's less than $1K in luxury materials cost. What you're paying for is the added value of the design of the piece, they stylus etc, more than the materials themselves.

[@thekarmafarmer608]

Case closed! Spend more on a cartridge and don`t worry quite so much on the player. This album sounds absolutely fantastic. I played it through my Kali Audio 6" monitors. A grand sound. Thanks for this video.

[@NoEgg4u]

I got to hear the Clearaudio Goldfinger Statement cartridge, on a Vandersteen System Nine stereo, with an Aesthetix Metis pre-amp, and an Aesthetix IO Eclipse phono amp, with an AMG turntable and a Graham tone-arm, in a treated room. I own a RL / SS white hot stamper of Led Zep II. I brought it with me to a local high-end store's event, where Garth Leerer, President of Musical Surroundings, was a guest (and he was the one that brought over the Goldfinger cartridge -- the store normally has the Stradivari cartridge which, although is very good, it is a far cry from the Goldfinger). I had heard that stereo several times. But with that Goldfinger cartridge, my Zep II pressing sounding like no other reproduction I have ever heard. My ears and eyes were fighting over whether or not the band was in front of me. I could see (in a manner of speaking) each band member's exact location. it was scary real. I also had a white hot stamper of Abbey Road. We played side 2. At its conclusion, Garth exclaimed "Outstanding!" Hearing such great sound quality, with such great music, was a special treat. I felt very lucky and fortunate to have had that experience. I recently heard the same Led Zep pressing with Hana's flagship cartridge. It was very good. But it was not in the same league as the Goldfinger. As good as the Hana cartridge was (and it was really good), the Goldfinger was simply better. If I could afford the Goldfinger Statement cartridge, I would order one. It took sound reproduction to a place you have to hear to believe. Of course, the rest of that stereo played a major role, as did the room treatments. And finally, the store's turntable guru knows how to expertly set up a cartridge; everything from the effective length of the tone-arm to the azimuth (and that cartridge alignment is critical).

[@DS-bi3fz]

When we were selling audio in the mid '80s, it was commonly viewed that phono cartridges and speakers had the most impact on sound (read as colored the sound most) much, much more than any other choice made. Still.... I have to believe, that the perceived quality and accuracy of this cartridge FAR exceeds the cost and quality of the cutting lathe. So what does it mean to have something "way more accurate" than the thing that created the given LP in the first place?

[@koozmusic]

This isn't a *mono* cartridge is it? Why didn't you capture it in stereo? Despite compression losses through KZbin I feel like this could've sounded a LOT better. 🤔

[@marcvador4713]

Got my focus fixed on wow/flutter on the sustained piano notes - normally this TT should do great, so wondering if the TT is perfectly leveled. Agree with the lack of comparison with a "normal" cart. Just to mention : I felt uncomfortable when you used the other TT as a shelf 🙀 ...