Why is HFW so biased against vintage cartridges?

[pure sound]

To the Io-1, yes. To the gold, no: There are 4 Ios:

Io-1: Normal compliance, Type 2 stylus, Alu body (light), AlNiCo Magnet, Iron pole-pieces.
Io-2: Low compliance, Type 1 stylus, Gunmetal body (heavy), AlNiCo Magnet, Iron pole-pieces.
Io-Gold: Low compliance, Type 1 stylus, Gunmetal body (heavy), AlNiCo Magnet, permendur pole-pieces.
Io-Gold: Low compliance, Type 1 stylus, Gunmetal body (heavy), Electromagnet, Permendur pole-pieces.

Ah, I see Guy has already posted this info....

I've a feeling they may use the same tip on all of them now though I'd need to check this.

[i_should_coco]

The website's not really to be trusted - it says the Ltd. has Alnico magnets!

I finally finished the battery/charger supply.

[i_should_coco]

Absolutely in agreement Anthony, a very acquired taste

Like Focal?

[Marco]

[Marco]

Many guitarists still seek out alnico magnets for their speaker cabs to get a particular richness of tone.

Guy, it's *precisely* because of this "richness of tone" that I like cartridges such as the DL-103. To my ears, this simply isn't on offer from most modern designs, which sound thin and tonally 'bleached' in comparison.

And before the Lyra, Ortofon or AT boys start, by "richness of tone" I don't mean warm, soft or woolly - just a sumptuous sense of depth and convincing harmonic structure which one relates to the sound of real voices and instruments.

Alnicos (and electro-magnets) rule!!

Marco.

[NRG]

Guy, it's *precisely* because of this "richness of tone" that I like cartridges such as the DL-103. To my ears, this simply isn't on offer from most modern designs, which sound thin and tonally 'bleached' in comparison.

And before the Lyra, Ortofon or AT boys start, by "richness of tone" I don't mean warm, soft or woolly - just a sumptuous sense of depth and convincing harmonic structure which one relates to the sound of real voices and instruments.

Alnicos (and electro-magnets) rule!!

Marco.

But I get that from my Ortofon KB and Rondo plus more!

[Marco]

We'll have to do a comparison then, Neal. Bring your PL-71 or Lenco round, fitted with your KB or Rondo and we'll have a play

Marco.

[NRG]

You got it Marco! Should be fun. I've been getting on with the PL-71 this eve with the 103R and its good...very good especially since I've sorted out the PSU and phono cable...I plan to go to Owston later in the year so would be a good time to get together then...North Wales would be a bit too much of a stretch for me...

[i_should_coco]

It is about tone, yeah. The only compression driver I've heard that come close to the Vitavox S2 (which is astonishing) in terms of sheer tone is the TAD TD-2002. Now these drivers are 50 years apart and differ substantially in materials and construction, the only common characteristic they share is an AlNiCo magnet. Yet theyhave a similarity of tone. Coincidence? Probably.

The big brother of the 2002, the TD-4003 does not appear to share the same tonality - it's close, but doesn't quite reach the same depth. That uses a neodymium magnet.

[The Grand Wazoo]

Hi Folks,

I've been meaning to offer a few thoughts on this since the moment Alnico magnets were mentioned but thing have conspired against me!

Now I find I've been pipped by someone's post:

Many guitarists still seek out alnico magnets for their speaker cabs to get a particular richness of tone.

It's not just speakers that guitarists like to use alnico in, but also pickups.
I just wondered if this preference between old & new might lie somewhere in musical taste. For example, if you like a certain type of rock music from a certain age, you'll be addicted to the sound of alnico because it was used in all the classic guitars & speakers that your favoured musicians preferred.

For example:
Celestion alnico speakers were used in Vox & Marshall gear.
Fane alnico speakers were a fixture in Hiwatt and Orange cabs in the late '60s and early '70s.
Jensen alnicos went into vintage Fender amps.

The guitars all had pickups made with alnico too, so the effect that it had on the sound is completely and deeply ingrained, both in the music & in our brains.

Think of the bands who used this gear!

Nowadays some people are going to extraordinary lengths to recreate the tone (that word again) of this classic gear. Read this taken from the Seymour Duncan website:

http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/antiquity/

Antiquity™: The '50s Series
The '50s marked the birth of rock 'n' roll and Antiquity pickups capture the tone of the era. Each Antiquity pickup is hand-crafted in Santa Barbara from the same materials and the same production techniques as the originals. I hand wind each single coil pickup using a "scatter wind" process that captures the original winding patterns in a way no machine can duplicate. The bobbins are carefully aged and impregnated with fine dust particles, the Alnico II magnets are ever-so-slightly demagnetized, and the wire and insulation are treated to duplicate the tempering of years of use. Of course, all of this is done in order to accurately replicate that unmistakable vintage tone of the early pickups in a way that could never be done with a mass production process.

Not only are they trying to replicate old models, but they want them to sound like the old ones did when they were about 10 years old - hence the dusty wire and the demagnetising process!!