What's inside your cartridge ?

[hifi_dave]

https://www.pinkfishmedia.net/forum/proxy.php?image=https%3A%2F%2Fic.tweakimg.net%2Fca mo%2Fadf61e50a6fed1d1895856109d1ff6a33e3a8d3c%2F%3 Furl%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.uptownaudio.com%252F images%252F2m_Blue.JPG&hash=a0f748cae9d1a339dd3489abedb9cd0a



Food for thought.

[Frazeur1]

Kind of like what's inside my wallet? Not much these days! That pic makes it all seem so simple! :)

[losepete]

Never having opened my Kiseki Blue Gold Spot I could take some guesses - and probably be wrong.

Whatever is in there seems to work rather well though :D

[mac72]

Yet 2M Black is best measuring cartridge I tested , kicking arse Cadenza range , Benz, Zyx and few others .
Sometimes simple is better ,

[Barry]

I can't open up the image, so have no idea how to respond. However I have 'nuded' a few MCs in my time, so can confirm that there is some copper wire, some plastic and a magnet in there.

[CageyH]

27537

Image is attached for those who cannot open it.

[cjm123]

..never been a fan of Ortofon MM carts. Too clinical and academic sounding for me. However to be fair although the generator looks from the outside like an OM series (which version I am not sure) there are examples of carts where the generator looks similar but are enclosed/mounted in a new/different body and from some reports the sound seems to benefit. The Goldring E series comes to mind and also the Linn K series which appear to be based on the venerable AT MM generator.

It is also hard to see whether the stylus/cantilever assembly and suspension are different.

[hifi_dave]

The 2M range does appear to be the OM in a Rega shaped plastic case. Similarly, the new Goldring carts are the AT VM95 range inserted into a Goldring outer. There is a pic of this on the www somewhere.

[Barry]

Ah, I see what you are talking about - OEM generators fitted into a custom body.

Well apart from some fixed-coil cartridges (Shure M55E, ADCs, B&Os, Deccas and an AKG), which I think all have generators made by the named manufacturer, the rest are moving-coil designs. These are EMTs, Ortofon (SPUs and other models), Denons an Ikeda and a Van den Hul. I'm sure all the EMTs and Ortofons use manufacture-made generators, but I'm not sure about the Denons, Ikeda or the Van den Hul.

Ikeda san designed the Fidelity Research range as well as his own 'cantileverless' models, but they may have been made by someone else. Likewise some of the early VdH cartridges were based on Benz generators, but fitted with VdH's stylus profile. There were also some other 'tweeks' made to the Benz generator.

[Gazjam]

Some good views online of my Rega, don't pretend to know how its all put together though!
https://hifiheaven.net/shop/image/cache/catalog/Rega/Apheta33-500x500.jpghttps://hifiheaven.net/shop/image/cache/catalog/Rega/Apheta31-750x750.jpghttps://hifiheaven.net/shop/image/cache/catalog/Rega/Apheta35-750x750.jpg

[hifi_dave]

From those pics, you can see exactly how simple it is and how it is put together. All very straightforward but tiny and very fiddly.

[Gazjam]

Yeah,
just how thin is the wire connecting the cantilever?!

[hifi_dave]

Pretty thin. I think there might be a video on Rega's website which shows someone winding the coil.

www.rega.co.uk

[Jac Hawk]

And that's exactly why they can be so expensive, the sheer level of workmanship at such fine tolerances with parts that can barely be seen by the naked eye.

[Matt_J]

And that's exactly why they can be so expensive, the sheer level of workmanship at such fine tolerances with parts that can barely be seen by the naked eye.

Could also explain why some of the big makers just use the same innards in a refreshed shell when releasing "new" carts, I'm pretty sure some or most of the current popular carts can be traced back to the 70s with barely much in the way of change apart from a pretty new frock!