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Thread: what makes a good headshell?

  1. #1
    Join Date: Sep 2014

    Location: brighton uk.

    Posts: 4,737
    I'm jamie.

    Default what makes a good headshell?

    as above,its all rather new to me as ive always ended up with a fixed one on my tonearms.
    my pioneer uses detachable one,they say this about it,
    A magnesium alloy which is not only lightweight but also displays sufficient rigidity and internal loss is used for the headshell in order to eliminate resonance.

    so chaps do i need to look elsewhere or is this classed as good? i'll be buggered if i know lol.
    My System
    John Wood KT88 Amp.
    Paradise Phono Stage
    Sony TTS-8000 Turntable.
    PMAT-1010 MK6 Tonearm.
    Ortofon Cadenza Bronze
    Sony X555ES Cd Player
    Yamaha NS1000m Speakers

  2. #2
    Bigman80 Guest

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by jamie123 View Post
    as above,its all rather new to me as ive always ended up with a fixed one on my tonearms.
    my pioneer uses detachable one,they say this about it,
    A magnesium alloy which is not only lightweight but also displays sufficient rigidity and internal loss is used for the headshell in order to eliminate resonance.

    so chaps do i need to look elsewhere or is this classed as good? i'll be buggered if i know lol.
    There's gonna be huge opinion on this but my experience is Magnesium beats, Alu & Wood. I haven't tried any "High end" head shells but I probably won't either.

  3. #3
    Join Date: Oct 2017

    Location: Rugeley

    Posts: 300
    I'm Steve.

    Default

    Rigidity and low mass are the two main goals of a headshell in general. Most MC cartridges are less desirous of low mass, in which case the emphasis can be rigidity. Conversely, a MM cartridge such as a Shure V15 tracked at say one gram will be looking for low mass as it's prime need.

  4. #4
    Join Date: Apr 2011

    Location: London

    Posts: 4,419
    I'm Robert.

    Default

    What makes a good headshell - Depends on how much you want from it.........

    For me:

    Anti resonant
    Rigidity
    Weight (It should suit your application / requirement in terms of compliance / resonance
    Adjustment - some dont have any, little or plenty - I know which I choose to have and go for

    Magnesium is my prefered choice in terms of material coupled with the above
    My System:
    Amplification - Sansui AU-alpha 707 DR
    Turntable - Technics SP10 MK2-Technics EPA-250 Tonearm-Yannis Tome 423.5Plus tonearm cable-Eichmann KLEI Absolute Harmony plugs.
    Ortofon Cadenza Black moving coil cartridge-Fritz Gyger S re-tip. Panzerholz plinth.

    CDP - Pioneer PD-91
    Speakers - Spendor D7 on Soundcare SuperSpikes
    QED Silver Spiral speaker cable-airloc banana plugs
    Mains - Ultra Pure silver plated un-switched socket-Missing link EPS 500 silver plated plugs-Hi-Fi Tuning gold plated silver ceramic 13 amp fuses

  5. #5
    Join Date: Sep 2014

    Location: brighton uk.

    Posts: 4,737
    I'm jamie.

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Bigman80 View Post
    my experience is Magnesium beats, Alu & Wood. I haven't tried any "High end" head shells but I probably won't either.
    Quote Originally Posted by RobbieGong View Post

    Magnesium is my prefered choice in terms of material coupled with the above
    sweet as,so far. it would seem im in good company
    My System
    John Wood KT88 Amp.
    Paradise Phono Stage
    Sony TTS-8000 Turntable.
    PMAT-1010 MK6 Tonearm.
    Ortofon Cadenza Bronze
    Sony X555ES Cd Player
    Yamaha NS1000m Speakers

  6. #6
    Bigman80 Guest

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by jamie123 View Post
    sweet as,so far. it would seem im in good company

  7. #7
    Join Date: Apr 2016

    Location: Gravesend and France

    Posts: 1,498
    I'm paul.

    Default

    Detachable headshell = a stable of carts at your disposal
    Bakoon 13r Denon DP80 Stax UA-70 Shure Ultra 500 in a Martin Bastin body with jico stylus, project ds2 digital Rullit aero 8 field coils in tqwt speakers

    Office system, DIY CSS fullrange speakers with aurum cantus G2 ribbons yulong dac Sony STR6055 receiver Jvc QL-A51 direct drive turntable, Leema sub. JVC Z4S cart is in the house

    Garage system another Sony receiver, cassette deck


    System components are subject to change without warning and at the discretion of the owner.

  8. #8
    Join Date: Sep 2014

    Location: brighton uk.

    Posts: 4,737
    I'm jamie.

    Default

    tell me about it,ive already got 2 on their way to me lol
    My System
    John Wood KT88 Amp.
    Paradise Phono Stage
    Sony TTS-8000 Turntable.
    PMAT-1010 MK6 Tonearm.
    Ortofon Cadenza Bronze
    Sony X555ES Cd Player
    Yamaha NS1000m Speakers

  9. #9
    Join Date: Nov 2010

    Location: Yorkshire

    Posts: 9,302
    I'm Andrew.

    Default

    Tonearm mass is very important. But like the other guys I prefer Magnesium. It ticks all the boxes.
    SS
    CD Teac VRDS25X(Audiotuned) DECK 1210 Mat Crystal Audio Mods MN Base/Bearing/Platter+Ebony armboard Feet Isonoe PSU Paul Hynes SR7EHD-27XL/DCSXL Ag DC lead/3 Stage Regs/Recap PCB+No Pitch/Strobe/Light ARM SME V(Kondo Ag Rewire&Tags) MC Cadenza Black FGS CABLES Arm Yannis SPD-4 IC Yannis 222 Litz+Ag bullets Power WAR PRE ATC SCA2 SPEAKERS ATC 50ASL STANDS Atacama PHONO Sugden Masterclass PA4 SUT Ortofon ST80SE POWER PSAudio P10

    VALVE
    PRE
    Croft Epoch(Modded) AMP Sondex S100 (Modded) SPEAKERS Tannoy 15"MG+RFC Warwick cabs+ Ref XO + Batpure supertweeters DECK Garrard 301 Mat Teunto Bearings 401(Bastin) Plinth Bamboo Arms 3009/3012 PSU Eagle+Tachometer MC Ag Meister II/FGS + Ortofon SPU MONO CABLES Arm Yannis 420.5 Litz+ SpeakerPC Tripple C+WBT-0681 Ag IC Oyaide FTVS-510 AgWBT 0110Ag Phonostages Paradise(4 Box Mega-Modded) / Croft Musicmaker



  10. #10
    montesquieu Guest

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by REXTON View Post
    Tonearm mass is very important. But like the other guys I prefer Magnesium. It ticks all the boxes.
    It's all about cartridge compliance and overall mass. All but the cheapest most rubbishy headshells are sufficiently rigid. As stated above if you want to run a Shure V15 on a low mass arm then you might as well keep the theme going with a featherweight headshell. I perfer low compliance cartridges and heavy arms and my favourite headshells are the Fidelity Research FR-S3, and the Ikeda IS-2 - the main reason being is that both are around 20g, very rigid, adjustable (in the S3 the cartridge bolts into a sled, in the Ikeda, cartridge position, headshell length and azumuth are all adjustable) and it's then easy to get to a SPU-standard 32g with your typical 10g cartridge (and we weight or two if needed).

    I don't think material matters very much, if at all, except in its contribution to overall mass.

    Funnily enough for all my love of SPUs I've never been convinced that the SPU headshell is necessarily an ideal tool for getting the best out of the cartridges - they can can have resonance issues and my Royal N usually sounds best in a standard headshell (the F3 in particular does a great job with it). There are different in different eras so they aren't all the same .. they do look cool though which has got to be part of the equation however much we deny it.




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