Cartridge improvements

[SoundMods]

It appears I am not the only "nut job" that modifies cartridges. Here is a quote from a US Audiomart ad:

"Shindo takes the Ortofon SPU and does some proprietary modifications to the damper, coil, suspension and cantilever. This makes the classic SPU sound more refined, extended and resolute."

[David McGown]

I wonder what "gunk" is used. I remember Grado used some damping compound (lacquer?) on the cantilever of their Signature series at one point in time. Seems to me that applying anything to the coils and suspension would complicate any future rebuild.

David

[TubeDriver]

I used to superglue sections of the cartridge body together to make it more rigid. Don't buy any used cartridges from me. LOL!

[SoundMods]

Some of what I do can be done in a production environment just as Grado demonstrated. Then other things that I do could be done, but at what cost? It is labor intensive and tedious. Because of the dimensions involved, modifying cartridges is not for the faint of heart.

Yet -- the payback in much-improved playback is very much worth the effort. The game plan is to eliminate or at least control resonances from the body and the cantilever that presents as ringing. Kind of the analog version of digital jitter.

[cport]

Rhetorical question: How does it “improve” the performance of a cartridge to attempt to decouple it from its (tonearm/headshell) platform?

When the “Cartridge Man” made his elastomer-based decoupler, which he touted as making a huge improvement to the performance of any cartridge, I worked with Wally Malewicz [WAM Engineering/Wally-Tools] to examine this premise. From a physical standpoint, you are introducing yet another mass-loaded spring-damper system into an already complex system. From both mine and Wally’s point of view, after subjective listening, this reduced transient response, and deadened the system. Ergo: more like ‘oatmeal’ than music….

Maybe someone can explain why it would ‘improve’ a transducer to add a flexible layer [blu-tack, etc] to its base, given that its job is to accurately deflect and trace groove modulations, and generate a voltage. Rigidity (and sufficient effective mass to deflect and drive the motor) would seem to be the key attributes for accuracy in such a system.

Last edited by cport on March 27th, 2023, 11:09 am, edited 1 time in total.

[SoundMods]

Rhetorical question: How does it “improve” the performance of a cartridge to attempt to decouple it from its (tonearm/headshell) platform?

When the “Cartridge Man” made his elastomer-based decoupler, which he touted as making a huge improvement to the performance of any cartridge, I worked with Wally Malewicz [WAM Engineering/Wally-Tools] to examine this premise. From a physical standpoint, you are introducing yet another mass-loaded spring-damper system into an already complex system. From both mine and Wally’s point of view, after subjective listening, this reduced transient response, and deadened the system. Ergo: more like ‘oatmeal’ than music….

Maybe someone can explain why it would ‘improve’ a transducer to add a flexible layer to its base, given that its job is to accurately deflect and trace groove modulations, and generate a voltage. Rigidity (and sufficient effective mass to deflect and drive the motor) would seem to be the key attributes for accuracy in such a system.

That's correct. I use 16-gauge lead sheet between the cartridge and tone arm. Additionally tone arms can be "calmed down" by encapsulation with thick shrink tubing.

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