Tuberoller's Huge cartridge comparison

[Tuberoller]

I went to Music Direct looking for a few demo cartridges to try out .I left with three boxes full of cartridges and instructions to write down my thoughts.I actually only borrowed 11 cartridges from them but I auditioned a total of 19 cartridges,I had 22 on hand but two wouldn't mount properly and one had the stylus break off.I don't know if the Guys at MD liked some of my impressions but(edit) says he's gonna add them to the site when it is updated soon.I found some strong disagreements between my impressions and theirs, but that is to be expected.I am no longer a dealer for any of these cartridges though I was previously a dealer for Dynavector and Ortofon.I auditioned these cartridges over a period of two months,returning the borrowed ones as I was done with them.Prices ranged from $60.00 to $800.00.as I said some belonged to me and others were borrowed.I will make this distinction in the body of the impression of each cartridge.

For purposes of consistency I used the same table,arm and music to perform this audition.Equipment was as follows;

Table: VPI HW-19 MKIV with standard motor.

Arm:Clearaudio Unify with standard cable and Junction box.

Interconnect:Acoustic Zen WOW! w/homemade ground wires

Phono preamp:Monolithic PS1 w/ HC1 power supply

Preamp:Synthesis Harmony w/NOS tubes

Amp/s:ASL Tulip w/NOS tubes

Loudspeakers:PSB Image 7PT

Speaker cable:Acoustic Zen Hologram

At the time of the auditions I was very famailiar with all the gear except for the Tonearm and speaker wires both of which were borrowed.I did "baseline" my system with both components so that I was able to quantify the changes made by the cartridges.I chose the Monolithic phono amp over my reference Grado PH-1 because it is more versitile,allowing adjustments for gain,loading,and capacitance which made matching to all the cartridges easy.I still prefer the Grado in most other situations.The Clearaudio Tonearm is just amazing and is a true bargain.It is the only tonearm available at the below $1000.00 pricepoint that is fully adjustable.It sounds great and mounted all but the Rega cartridges.


The music chosen was stuff I know very well and could easily identify variables from my reference.

Muddy Waters "Folk Singer"-this is a true audiophile recording pressed on 200 gram stock.The sonics are great and the performances here are awesome.

Creedance Clearwater Revival "Cosmo's Factory"-this is the absolute best sounding reissue LP I have yet heard.It is as amazing as the Stones reissues on SACD.

Miles Davis "Kind Of Blue"-on 180 gram Classic vinyl.I don't really need to say anything about this recording,do I?

Phil Collins"No Jacket Required"-pressed on 180G stock.This is a killer demo disc and is used by lots of dealers.

"She's Gotta Have It" Original Soundtrack.This is a very well recorded LP with great performances.I have burned this to CDR for a few head-fiers and they can attest to the beauty of this music.


I tried a few scratched records to check tracking and stylus action.



Garrot Brothers Optim S -$700.00 This is a medium output Moving magnet and is equipped with an elliptical stylus.I own this cartridge.this is one of those modded Dynavector 10X4 that seem to be everywhere.i don't know the extent of the mods but I know they ruined a great cartridge.This has a very hollow,distant sound.Bass is good,lacking in depth but not too boomy.I didn't like the midrange at all.It lacked the warmth of standard Dynavector.I think the purpose of the mods was to attempt to balance the sound of the standard Dynavector rig,that does not work here.The nice treble extension has been converted to a rather edgy,harsh and somewhat dry sound.This rig had a slight backround noise and an audible hum at high volumes.It was easy to mount and adjust and tracked OK.

Sure V15 VXMR -$325.00 -a MM medium output with a ridge stylus.I own this cartridge.This is the latest incarnation of the classic audiophile rig.The sound remains the same,very laid back.This is not a bad thing but the vintage sound does not suit everyone.This rig has very good detail and a super sweet midrange that appeals to folks like my Dad.bass was a bit sloppy and lower frequency instrument seperation was fair at best.What this cartridge is best know for is the expansive soundstage and awesome vocals.It did not disappoint.This one gets the midrange right but does not do much else really well.This cartridge will track just about any record and was super easy to mount.It was dead-silent.

Ortofon OM-10 $90.00 -High output MM,elliptical Stylus.I own this cartridge.This cartridge is one of those that seems to sound the same no matter how far out of adjustment it is.Proper set-up seems to offer no really audible improvements.great bass is the calling card of this rig.It has nice, tight,thunderous bass.The midrange is good,not great and soundstaging is OK.What I mean by that is,you can easily tell where the speakers are in the room.Treble extension is good but ultimate detail is lacking.this was a bit tricky to set-up and I finally gave up when I heard no improvements.It tracks OK but will play most records.It was also very silent.

Ortofon OM-20 -$195.00 High output MM,nude stylus.This rig is basically the OM-10 with a differnt stylus.In fact,the OM-10 can be upgraded with the stylus change to the OM-20.The difference is large.The soundstage is much wider and deeper.Voices and instruments are placed on the stage right where they belong.treble is detailed and extension is good.the bass is huge.This cartridge has big bass and it's the right kind of bass.It is focused,tight and accurate.Drums sound like drums.This one was a little tricky to set up as well and did not track good at all.It wouldn't even play lightly scratched records.It was quiet but had a slight hiss at very high volumes.

Ortofon Kontrapunkt A $600.00 very low output(0.45mv) MC,fine line stylus.What a P.I.T.A to mount.I almost threw my own cartridge against the wall during setup.This was a very balanced rig,with no real emphasis on any particular part of the frequency spectrum.It was as neutral as any rig I have heard.The soundstage was deep and super expansive.Vocal and instrument placement was superb and filled my room to the walls with great sounds.there is nothing missing from the music with this cartridge.It was difficult to mount and set-up and did not track well.It had a slight hum at all volumes,most likely due to a variable laoding spec.

Clearaudio Aurum Beta MKII -$350.00 Medium output MM,Elliptical stylus.This cartridge has a very balanced sound.The detail is unreal.The bass is right there with the best and the stage is in the room.All I can say is WOW!.Treble is just right,not too harsh and not relaxed at all.I could easily pick out each instrument and place each one on the stage.Every voice sounded real and right.this was super easy to mount and tracked all the scratched records well.there is a slight hum when this cartridge is cold.I borrowed this rig and sold it here on head-fi.

Clearaudio Aurum Beta S $450.00 -medium output MM,elliptical stylus.I think this rig sounds very similar to the Aurum Beta.That's a great thing.The one area it differed was that it has a slight harshness to some female vocals,causing a slight siblilance.It also did not hum at all,instead it popped loudly on every scratched record.it was very easy to set-up.This cartridge was borrowed.

Clearaudio Virtuoso Wood - $750.00 medium output MM,Elliptical stylus.This cartridge was a real suprise.It did everything right.the soundstage was great,imaging was amazing and the entire frequency range of each and every song was rendered true.There was just music coming from the stylus.My speakers vanished in the room.I can't remember detail this realistic and accurate.This was my early favorite.This cartridge mounted easily,was dead silent and tracked very well.the stylus is a bit fragile and sheared off in the box even though it was carefully repacked.

Benz Micro Gold - $350.00 low output MC,elliptical stylus.I have never been a fan of Benz rigs but tried to be open minded here.I must be biased,because I really don't like this cartridge.This rig is just too laid back.There is just too much music lost in the translation from vinyl to music with this cartridge.Details are missing and bass is thin and almost transparent.Soundstage is shallow and music is trapped in the land of speaker grills.It skipped on every record and hummed non-stop at all volumes.It was easy to mount and set-up.this was also borrowed.


Benz Ace High Output - $549.00 Medium output MC,elliptical/ Van Den Hul stylus.This rig was a bit better than the Gold but not by much.There was actually some bass here.It was flabby,sloppy and uncontrolled,but it was there.I won't go on.It was easy to mount but hummed and skipped on every record.I borrowed this rig.

BENZ GLIDER L2 - $795.00 Low output MC,Stylus unknown.guess what?I like this cartridge.It has great bass and a super nice midrange.treble is very limited which gives it little chance of screwing it up.It has limited extension but gets that right.soundstage and imaging are kinda strange,it seems to have a dimensional sound that almost sounds like the polarity is inverted(it's not).I guess some people like this rig for this very reason.it was easy to mount but skipped on most of the scratched records.It was quiet but had loose wiring connections.I borrowed this as well.

Part 2 tomorrow.Dynavector,Sumiko,Grado and Rega to come.


Edit:I was asked ( very nicely) to remove a name reference.I did so as discreetly as possible.