[aceinc]

I am mainly a digital person. However I do have albums. My audio journey has taken me to reach a moderate system which is a mix of vintage & modern pieces which seem to be synergistically compatible. While my focus is on digital, when I play analog, I want it to sound reasonably good.

Some of what appears below may make it sound like I know what I am talking about, but don't let it fool you.

Recently I traded some extra gear I had for an Oracle Delphi TT with a Infinity Black Widow 1st gen (aluminum tube) tone arm. It is a rather low mass tonearm. From what I have read and discussed with some folks knowledgeable about vinyl, most things (but not all) point to needing a low mass cartridge for this environment.

I have a number of cartridges in hand;

• A VPI Shirley.
• An Audio Technica AT441Sa.
• An Audio Technica AT-VM95ML
• An Ortofon VMS20E Mk II

I believe the Ortofon has the lowest mass.

The question becomes are any of these cartridges adequate for decent sound quality or should I purchase something like the Ortofon OM Super 5e, remove the weight and upgrade the stylus to the 20, 30 or 40? I prefer not to spend the money if one of my existing cartridges will perform as well.

I'm sure the first question asked will be, "What does the rest of the system consist of?"

Preamp - Macintosh C32 (using the built in phono preamp).
Amp - Macintosh MC 2205
Speakers - I switch between Eminent Technology LFT 8c and Totem Wind.
Room - Dedicated for 2 channel and moderately well treated.

[GentleBender]

This video may help you determine the cartridge for your setup. https://youtu.be/5VTke_JlS8M?si=7P0awAgs0daKiq0c

[toocool4]

I believe that tone arm has a removable headshell? Why not get 1 or 2 more headshells and  since you already have all those cartridges at hand. Install and compare them, then choose the one that sounds best to your ears. That is the way I would go about it.

[aceinc]

I believe that tone arm has a removable headshell? Why not get 1 or 2 more headshells and  since you already have all those cartridges at hand. Install and compare them, then choose the one that sounds best to your ears. That is the way I would go about it.

Not so much... This isn't my TT, but similar.

[nlitworld]

Cartridge/arm matching is a bit less to do with low mass cartridges and instead matching compliance from the cantilever suspension. If you know the effective mass of tonearm, the cartridge and hardware mass, and compliance value, there are easy calculators that give usable range for cartridge matching. Usually lower to medium mass tonearm could use a value of 15-20 compliance rating for an average weight cartridge.

https://korfaudio.com/calculator is one of the best calculators I've found.

The big thing is stiff suspension on a cartridge plus light weight tonearm would make a very bumpy ride, and opposite true for a cartridge to bottom out the suspension at the first bump.

My Schiit Sol table is also a lower mass arm (13g) but my Benz Micro cart tracks wonderfully with its 15um compliance.

[aceinc]

Cartridge/arm matching is a bit less to do with low mass cartridges and instead matching compliance from the cantilever suspension. If you know the effective mass of tonearm, the cartridge and hardware mass, and compliance value, there are easy calculators that give usable range for cartridge matching. Usually lower to medium mass tonearm could use a value of 15-20 compliance rating for an average weight cartridge.

https://korfaudio.com/calculator is one of the best calculators I've found.

The big thing is stiff suspension on a cartridge plus light weight tonearm would make a very bumpy ride, and opposite true for a cartridge to bottom out the suspension at the first bump.

My Schiit Sol table is also a lower mass arm (13g) but my Benz Micro cart tracks wonderfully with its 15um compliance.

It would appear the effective mass of the tonearm is ~3 grams, which is quite low.

[toocool4]

aceinc, I would still install what you have compare and see which one works best you.

[I.Greyhound Fan]

Hi, I have a brand new, never used Sumiko moonstone cartridge that is high compliance and would be a great match for a low mass tone arm.  It cost $350 new and I am selling it for $225 plus $15 shipping.  It is smooth yet detailed with a hint of warmth.  The top end is non fatiguing and it is a very good tracker. It has good musicality and it is forgiving of clicks and pops a bit.  I know this because I had another Moonstone that I listened too for only 6 hours until my new Shelter 501 MKIII MC cartridge arrived.  So it was not even broken in and it sounded very good.

Both came on new Pro-Ject Classic Evo TT's that I bought for myself and my son.  We are using much higher end cartridges.

Let me know if you are interested.

Larry

[aceinc]

Cartridge/arm matching is a bit less to do with low mass cartridges and instead matching compliance from the cantilever suspension. If you know the effective mass of tonearm, the cartridge and hardware mass, and compliance value, there are easy calculators that give usable range for cartridge matching. Usually lower to medium mass tonearm could use a value of 15-20 compliance rating for an average weight cartridge.

https://korfaudio.com/calculator is one of the best calculators I've found.

The big thing is stiff suspension on a cartridge plus light weight tonearm would make a very bumpy ride, and opposite true for a cartridge to bottom out the suspension at the first bump.

My Schiit Sol table is also a lower mass arm (13g) but my Benz Micro cart tracks wonderfully with its 15um compliance.

Using the calculator you provided here are some images;

ATVM95sml;



Shirley;



AT441SLA;



Ortofon VMS20E;

[mick wolfe]

As far as new cartridges go, maybe look a high compliance version of one of the Soundsmith cartridges.

[js1955]

My Schiit Sol table is also a lower mass arm (13g) but my Benz Micro cart tracks wonderfully with its 15um compliance.

Just for the sake of accuracy, 13g is not considered a low mass arm:

low mass:      10g and below
med mass:     11g to 25g
high mass:     over 25g

 

[nlitworld]

Just for the sake of accuracy, 13g is not considered a low mass arm:

low mass:      10g and below
med mass:     11g to 25g
high mass:     over 25g

 

Oh yeah, I realize it's not actual low mass category. It's just the funky territory where a lot of carts are theoretically too stiff or too soft and we need the Goldilocks one. Lol.

As for which cart is best for your application, the VPI Shirley looks to be a very solid fit.