View Full Version : tested Doms hand made MC new cartridge
Johnnie7
17-01-2014, 00:02
what a result ...was a fantastic experience !!!
tested NWA new MC cartridge on a linn ekos mk2 on a lp12 ...against my pu7 arm and dynavector XV-T1 cartridge...
i think Doms gony make a stunning unit as a final example
1136111362
KC Jones
17-01-2014, 07:11
Shall look forward to hearing more.....
Ali Tait
17-01-2014, 08:12
Yes, heard it at the last Owston. Not a place to make very critical judgements, but it sounded great.
machtman
17-01-2014, 08:19
I bought one and have been listening to it on my SME series II arm and Verdier Nouvelle for about three weeks. Except for some sibilance, it has been an absolute revelation of what music is in vinyl. Dom now has a solution for the sibilance, consisting of heavier dampers, and I sent it back to him for refitting yesterday. My Ortofon 90th anniversary is back in service. Unfortunately it pales badly in comparison, sounding muddy and with limited treble.
Highly recommended!
Mark
Here is the Dominic Harper Cartridge as I think it is now known as, its fitted to my Clearaudio Innovation
with 12" carbon fibre arm sounding quite exquisite, I wonder why I bother with PC audio!................
http://i622.photobucket.com/albums/tt309/themainsman/ADS/IMAG01361_zpsf6701ed1.jpg
http://i622.photobucket.com/albums/tt309/themainsman/ADS/IMAG01341_zps070f250a.jpg
http://i622.photobucket.com/albums/tt309/themainsman/ADS/IMAG01371_zps425243f2.jpg
I wonder why I bother with PC audio!................
As do I ;)
Oh, and whatever happened to the idea of that Delrin platter mat you were going to have made - is that still happening?
Very interesting, chap-ettes! Would love to hear this baby sometime... Bottom line is, how much spondooliks? :)
Marco.
Johnnie7
17-01-2014, 09:28
yes well worth a listen!!!
was really nice to meet Dom and Nat
bw
j7
As do I ;)
Oh, and whatever happened to the idea of that Delrin platter mat you were going to have made - is that still happening?
I had 3 made but they were not up to my usual impeccably high standards so have shelved it till later. :)
yes well worth a listen!!!
was really nice to meet Dom and Nat
bw
j7
really? :lol:
Very interesting, chap-ettes! Would love to hear this baby sometime... Bottom line is, how much spondooliks? :)
Marco.
Myself and Mr Achtman have both purchased our cartridges and this is not a sales thread chief so I expect Dom to pop along shortly to announce the details. :)
It should be in strokes of genius, not only because it is a special product (IMO) but also praise has to go to any person brave enough to build a cartridge in the UK
for commercial sale, hats off to Mr Harper I say and no I will not be selling Doms cartridge so have no commercial interest in it. :)
Myself and Mr Achtman have both purchased our cartridges and this is not a sales thread chief so I expect Dom to pop along shortly to announce the details. :)
It should be in strokes of genius, not only because it is a special product (IMO) but also praise has to go to any person brave enough to build a cartridge in the UK
for commercial sale, hats off to Mr Harper I say and no I will not be selling Doms cartridge so have no commercial interest in it.
I totally agree with your above sentiments, in reference to Dom! :)
However, every thread is potentially a sales thread, if someone expresses an interest in buying a product being discussed. So how much did you pay for your Dom Harper cartridge (and the same question is directed at Mark)?
I need to know that information before I can gauge whether or not I would have any interest in buying one, and I expect others reading would feel the same way. At the end of the day, it matters not one jot how 'wonderful' something is if you can't afford to own it! ;)
So stop fannying about, daftee, and spit out the price......
Marco.
I guess they were bought at some kind of pre-production price and Dom has yet to set the final cost...?
Then I would ask that that fact is made clear to all potential buyers.
One thing I find extremely annoying/frustrating is products being recommended on forums, and when someone asks the price, one is met with a wall of silence and/or a vague or cagey response from the user, which succeeds only in leaving one none the wiser :rolleyes:
As far as I'm concerned, if you're going to report on how good a cartridge (or anything else is), then have an answer ready to give when someone asks the price, or don't mention the product until you do know.
Does Dom's cartridge cost £500 or £5000, or somewhere in between? Until potential buyers know the answer to that, it's pretty much immaterial to them how good it is to someone else who owns it.
Marco.
Oldpinkman
17-01-2014, 12:57
I realise he is a cartridge guy, I remember posts about him mending cartridges, and I am sure I posted asking whether he could retip an MM like the U205, but I'm blessed if I can remember what his proper forum name is
The key to his username is in the name of his new cartridge, dude! :)
However, the name of his company is NorthWest Analogue (NWA) - you were even the last one to post on this thread: http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?11829-Cartridge-repairs-by-Northwest-Analogue&highlight=northwest+analogue
;)
Marco.
Oldpinkman
17-01-2014, 17:25
The key to his username is in the name of his new cartridge, dude! :)
However, the name of his company is NorthWest Analogue (NWA) - you were even the last one to post on this thread: http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?11829-Cartridge-repairs-by-Northwest-Analogue&highlight=northwest+analogue
;)
Marco.
Ta Muchly. It's the tax return season and everything is addled! :cool:
Dominic Harper
17-01-2014, 17:54
Just reading with interest. Thank you for the kind words about the cartridge from those that have either purchased or had a chance to hear in full flight.
Price is £5000 for the version being built at present.
Clive197
17-01-2014, 23:52
Why not!
walpurgis
18-01-2014, 00:01
Damn, I've got five TTs. This is going to work out a bit pricey! :)
I have had a listen to this cart a few months back now so it was not in its finished form. And Dom's system was being held back by the valve amp he was in the process of modifying. As we listened to a variety of carts that was what I thought , anyway. My understanding is that it is intended to be a cost no object ultimate MC and is priced accordingly. I regret that I simply don't have the experience of high end MC carts to really give an opinion and it is way out of my price range anyway. All I will say is that if it is in your price range you owe it to yourself to give it a listen.
Wakefield Turntables
18-01-2014, 17:19
Price is £5000 for the version being built at present.
Gulp! :wowzer: Mind you it takes some balls to make your own cart. Hats off to Dom.
I know that Dom wanted to outdo his Koetsu, now that he's brought his cartridge to market I assume he's achieved his objective. I'd love to hear it.
Big Vern
18-01-2014, 22:08
Typing this on my Kindle, so apologies for typos. Spent a good 5 hours with Dom and Natalie yesterday. A lovely couple who made me feel very welcome and even provided lunch.I was visiting for some very minor work to be done on my Lyra, but Dom's diligence highlighted a very painful fault, which left me feeling a tad deflated. So, to pick me up, he and Nat fed and watered me and allowed me to impose myself on them for several hours, listening to his cartridge on a lovely Garrard 401 with a Dom modified SME...but that's for another thread.
Dom is so passionate...Indeed obsessive about his cartridge...every detail...and all of it made by Dom or at least commissioned by Dom...it is completely original and staggering to behold the components and to hear the story behind each bit. My staple has been my Lyra, so this was a real change for me. Key music during the session was Nat King Cole courtesy of Analogue Productions and Muddy waters with some 4 Seasons as well. I was staggered to hear detailing I'd never noticed before, especially the decay on a set of bongo drums on a Nat K.C. track. Indeed, this happened on several occasions, the natural decay of the instruments pointed at staggering levels of detail I have never heard before. In addition, hearing and feeling the action of bow across strings as I did with the Vivaldi and at one point I could even hear one of the musicians breathing. Such detail and natural presentation, allied to staggering dynamic range...it NEVER became muddled, offering increasing dynamics in the same way a Bugatti offers horse power. Never was this better presented than when listening to Muddy Waters...the power and dynamics in his voice, stopping me I my tracks...so musical and so dynamic with detail that had me checking to confirm what I had just heard.
Dom has access to some of the finest cartridges ever made...heck, a Koetsu Urushi had arrived that morning for a service. I honestly believe that Dom has something truly special on his hands...if I could consider lavishing 5k on a cartridge, then I would be looking very seriously indeed at this cartridge. JAPAN had its Sugano San...we have our Dom San...he is a very talented, passionate guy, who deserves his success with this cartridge. Good luck, I say...
Dom San :lol:
Maybe you have named the cartridge for Dom without knowing Paul!
Its worth every penny as far as I am concerned. Only issue I have with it is the rest of my gear needs up-grading now to get the best out of it!
Commissioned Nick to make me some 300b monoblocks and have a Music First pre ready and waiting, exciting times indeed.
Dominic Harper
18-01-2014, 23:10
I feel somewhat humbled by the very kind words. The cartridge is a labour of love. I have lost count of the late nights and various revisions to the design.
Nothing is perfect. I have to be critical of the work and once I have made a cartridge that pleases me, I often start tampering with it again much to the annoyance of Natalie :eyebrows:
There will be other versions in time, dependant on the success of this cartridge. A pure silver coil version, and a non magnetic coil bobbin version, plus a combination of these two are all festering away in the grey matter. If they do not sound good you will never see them.
machtman
19-01-2014, 19:06
Update:
I sent Dom my cartridge on Thursday because it was the Mk1 version with slight sibilance. He drove down from Preston to my house (equidistant from Stratford, Leamington and Banbury), a 2 1/2 h drive to install the MkII version properly on my turntable and has just left after spending the day listening to what it can do on various records.
When I originally bought the cartridge, I brought my turntable up to his house to mount the cartridge, and spent the afternoon listening to it on a variety of records with Greg and Nick Gorham. All of us were flabbergasted then, and all of us (Dom, Natalie, my wife and me) were flabbergasted today after testing about 20 records (see below).
AoS members who want to audition the cartridge in my system are welcome to bring their own vinyl and listen to it in my home. This is in the Midlands, and a lot closer to the south or centre of England than Preston or Huddersfield where the others are currently located.
We listened for sibilance with Alison Kraus, New Favourite, which had sibilance and was slightly edgy with the Mk1. No sibilance and not edgy any more. We also listened to sibilance on fossils by aiofe ódonovan, formerly of Crooked Still, and it is still there. We didn't hear any sibilance on any of the other records, and suspect that this might be a bad pressing for a cartridge this revealing, or I might have a bad pressing in particular.
We listened to two Sheffield Labs records, the Drum Record and Thelma Newton I've got the music in me. Drums sounded like drums on the former. Thelma Newton sounded like a really exciting big band recording. Neither of them ever really impressed me before but now you can hear what direct to vinyl can do. And they were exciting.
We tried a torture record, the Telarc digital Tschaikovsky's 1812 Overture, with real cannons. The individual instruments in the orchestra were distinguisheable and the cartridge tracked through the cannonshots without problems (much to Dom's relief)
We tried several of the Divinity in Salvatore Rubio's list, including Gregorio Paniagua's La Folia (ATR pressing) and Musique de la Grece and Presencer's the Singing Bowls of Tibet. These have always been among the best vinyl I have ever heard. But today they were magnificent. Dom kept going on about the attack and fadeout of individual sounds, and how difficult that is to reproduce. My reaction is much more banal. They were simply magical to listen to, and absolutely engrossing. These records have very low sound stages, with black silence between notes, and this was even more dramatic today than I have heard previously.
Dom was upset about the apparent lack of bass in my system, so I played him Seasick Steve, Started out with Nothing ... and Dory Previn, Mystical Kings and Iguanas, after which he stopped complaining. For those who don't know, he prefers a Garrard 401 in a plinth guaranteed to cause inguinal hernias if a man lifts it. Natalie told him he was crazy and was very enthused about the general sound, including the bass.
I complained about my lack of excitement about DGG recordings, so we tried a Brahms Viola Sonatas Op. 120 by Zukerman and Barenboim. Voila, lots of excitement. The instruments were totally engrossing again.
I then went overboard and played John Cage Live on a prepared piano and Stockhausen electronic music. To my great surprise, not only was I totally amazed at how musical and clear they sounded but Dom and Natalie were equally enthusiastic.
So what is this cartridge doing? It is revealing music hidden in the tracks that is not there with a lesser cartridge, and making it exciting as music and as sounds. It doesn't seem to care about the genre or style, but just plays whatever you throw at it in an engrossing fashion.
For those who haven't realised it, this cartridge is a revolution in design, because it has done away with the yoke and metal surrounding cantilevers in all other MCs. You have a slender, slightly flexible naked cantilever sticking out of dampers at the back of the aluminium body, with the moving coil wires wrapped around the base of the cantilever. That's it, there isn't anything else visible.
What are the cons?
1. Price. It cost me more than my turntable or any other component in my system, most of which were bought second hand. Dom claims that it equals or betters all other cartridges he has heard. including top end AN IOs or Koetsu's costing three times as much. I leave that comparison to others because I haven't heard them.
2. Dom doesn't (yet) supply a stylus shield so you need to screw it into the wooden box it comes with for shipping in the post :-) But then again he has travelled to both David and myself to install the MkII, which is an amazing service.
Neutral evaluations: My wife is like Natalie. She knows what she likes and what she doesn't like. She likes this cartridge and what it sounds like. I didn't try to influence her opinion and she knew what it cost before she listened to it.
As mentioned above, visitors interested in auditioning are welcome. There is also top quality green tea and espresso for visitors. (but only Natalie and other special visitors get Barry's teabags).
Mark
Nice one Mark, if an old fart like you enjoys the cartridge so much I hope some younger folk get a listen to it soon. :lol
Big Vern
19-01-2014, 21:48
Mark,
A great and fully comprehensive write up...our experiences of the Dom San mkii (there I go!) chime very nicely with one another.
Enjoy what is the finest cartridge I've ever heard
Best wishes,
Paul
PaulStewart
19-01-2014, 22:17
Thanks for that really great review Mark, as a confimed Koetsu man, I look forward to hearing this cartridge. My one critisism of the review is it's not Thelma Newton but Thelma Houston who recorded "I've Got The Music In Me" for Sheffield Labs. :lol:
Cheers
Paul S
Here is the Dominic Harper Cartridge as I think it is now known as, its fitted to my Clearaudio Innovation
with 12" carbon fibre arm sounding quite exquisite, I wonder why I bother with PC audio!................
cos your server sounds shit hot? :)
machtman
20-01-2014, 07:30
Thanks for that really great review Mark, as a confimed Koetsu man, I look forward to hearing this cartridge. My one critisism of the review is it's not Thelma Newton but Thelma Houston who recorded "I've Got The Music In Me" for Sheffield Labs. :lol:
Cheers
Paul S
I wa looking at my third Sheffield Lab record I have with Newton on it, and for some reason didn't play it. But the name stuck in my mind. My bad.
Mark
cos your server sounds shit hot? :)
only when used with the londog dac but quite correct chief!
when your lenco is finished you will be the same, scouring Glasgow on a weekend looking for vinyl :lol:
If you think the Thelma Houston & Pressure Cooker Shefield Lab direct cut sounds good, try an original copy of James Newton Howard and Friends. The drums are simply stunning.
I'm leaning more and more towards getting Dom to re-tip my Shelter 5000 and possibly go for the ruby cantilever. Perhaps it would warrant a trip up to his to hear 'that' cartridge! :eyebrows:
machtman
20-01-2014, 09:08
MartinT
The James Newton record was the third one we didn't listen to yesterday but is on the list for today.
I definitely recommend having a listen at Dom's.
sq225917
20-01-2014, 20:39
I congratulate Dom on achieving more in a few short years than all of cartridge history has achieved to date.
Spectral Morn
20-01-2014, 22:09
If you think the Thelma Houston & Pressure Cooker Shefield Lab direct cut sounds good, try an original copy of James Newton Howard and Friends. The drums are simply stunning.
Agreed and the Shefield Track Album too with more from JNH and Friends. Shame he only does soundtrack music these days. Love jazz rock like that album. Anyone who likes it will probably also like Pump It by Jeff Berlin, RMS - Centennial Park, Bel Assis by Mo Foster. The first UK album UK, Bill Bruford - Feels Good to Me, One of A Kind all have a similar vibe to a degree. While I am thinking, Brand X also has a flavour of this type of Jazz Rock
Regards Neil
Dominic Harper
20-01-2014, 22:10
Thank you Simon for the compliment :eyebrows:
Dominic Harper
09-03-2014, 21:44
http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?30300-Gathering-at-NWA
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