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In the Forum: Analog Playback
In the Thread: Buying a last cartridge.
Post Subject: Reference cartridgePosted by starboy on: 9/7/2008
Romy

Your first question was "Does it do bass"... Yes, and it does it full frequency with great tonality. I am a ribbon panel owner as you may remember and also have modified Tannoys as monitors so I know easily when I am lacking in the bass department.

Take Isao Suzuki's Three Blind Mice album Blow Up, the track with the same name is bass led and the 901 cannot compete with the Mantis in my system. I mention this record as I know you may have it.

Your take on various cart' manufacturers are similar to my own, I like yourself have a SPU with a Weinz Garrott tip as well as a lush early Onyx. My other cart is a EMT XSD-15 with VDH tip which is not too different than the 901 just a little more direct and not as harmonious. Why am holding on to them now....? I will address that soon...

As regards Decca's, I have owned two in the past. A Decca Gold modified by Nottingham Analogue and a Decca Blue with so I'm informed sought after parmeko coils and original Garrott Brother tip. The former was supposedly the benchmark by Decca cartridge fans. I enjoyed them but they were not for me... To direct and lacking subtleness for my liking, maybe modern Decca's are better now. What is strange is that the current owner plays it on an early SME arm with stacked Quads which need lighting up so the Decca has its purpose for him. I played the Decca Blue in an EMT arm and a Series One SME!!?

In the thread I wrote there is another Mantis owner Bauzace50 (a noted gentleman to myself in terms of transducers) who had a Jubilee as his reference and that with no second thought hit the Bay.

The leanings towards the Mantis were borne from what I heard at the show originally, taking in what Mr Hanekom's customer said over the years along with their system types and private conversations with the man himself. Plus I know he lives by the cantilever/sword as if a cartridge fails to please the negative effect I'm sure won't help. Also, the term cartridge and South Africa were a bit of a frown at first but I put that aside due to what I heard.

I personally had no intention of moving up the Shelter food chain as it did all I wanted especially at its price point other than now being bettered in terms of tone of instruments, (I play Tenor Sax which is all about your own inner tonality so I'm probably more obsessed than most in this regard) and better conveyed frequency extension with no Clearaudio hi-fi attack. How this cartridge manufacturer became a reference for some reviewers still baffles me.

Hope this is of some help as I try not to get too technical about audio as I'd rather practice scales LOL. 

Good luck and judgement...

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