Dave, very nice post. I appreciate your experience and it is something that enriches all of us.
Orpheus, I believe that you are misinterpreting my posts. I did not say that synergy was the "gospel truth", in fact, I said "I think". It's just an opinion; feel free to make of it what you will. Your experience may take you down a different path and others would certainly find value in your journey, as do I. That's pretty clear, isn't it?
Glad that you believe that auditioning cartridges, presumably in your tonearm, is the way to go. Unfortunately, for many of us, there is no practical way to do this. Though it would be nice if it could happen. But that's really true of any component. If you can try it in your own system, you will have the best sense of if it works with your components and suits your own preferences for distortion spectra.
You said that cartridges are too expensive to take anyone's opinion as guidance on. Tell me please, are amplifiers, or speakers less expensive in your system? I always subscribed to the hierarchy that the turntable was much more important than the cartridge, based on personal experience, and allocated funds in that way. Now I do have a Kiseki Purple Heart Sapphire, and a few other nice cartridges, but there was a time when I ran a Shure M91 on the Linn and SOTA turntables with no regrets. I don't think that I would reverse that and run a Lyra on a Music Hall MMF-5, but as with all things, there will be those that differ.
And Tommy, I learned almost nothing from my time listening to appliances in our major metropolitan centers. I learned what works well together on forums that featured components similar to mine. There has been no need to reinvent the wheel. Others were giving in their time and experience and we're happy to relate what components worked well together.
Orpheus, I believe that you are misinterpreting my posts. I did not say that synergy was the "gospel truth", in fact, I said "I think". It's just an opinion; feel free to make of it what you will. Your experience may take you down a different path and others would certainly find value in your journey, as do I. That's pretty clear, isn't it?
Glad that you believe that auditioning cartridges, presumably in your tonearm, is the way to go. Unfortunately, for many of us, there is no practical way to do this. Though it would be nice if it could happen. But that's really true of any component. If you can try it in your own system, you will have the best sense of if it works with your components and suits your own preferences for distortion spectra.
You said that cartridges are too expensive to take anyone's opinion as guidance on. Tell me please, are amplifiers, or speakers less expensive in your system? I always subscribed to the hierarchy that the turntable was much more important than the cartridge, based on personal experience, and allocated funds in that way. Now I do have a Kiseki Purple Heart Sapphire, and a few other nice cartridges, but there was a time when I ran a Shure M91 on the Linn and SOTA turntables with no regrets. I don't think that I would reverse that and run a Lyra on a Music Hall MMF-5, but as with all things, there will be those that differ.
And Tommy, I learned almost nothing from my time listening to appliances in our major metropolitan centers. I learned what works well together on forums that featured components similar to mine. There has been no need to reinvent the wheel. Others were giving in their time and experience and we're happy to relate what components worked well together.
