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What about diamond cantilever/stylus combo

In the so called 'MM thread' J. Carr explained the differences between cantilever materials.The advantage of aluminum cantilever being that the stylus can be pressure
fitted while by the so called 'exotic cantilevers' the stylus need to be glued in the cantilevers. There are different conditions which the cantilever need to satisfy
in order to ,uh, satisfy the preferences of an designer. J. Carr also explained why he prefers boron cantilevers. Now I own the Sony XL 88 as well as the Sony XL 88 D.
'D' referring to the cantilever and stylus made from one piece of diamond. But here is my confusion. Both carts have the same 'generator' and also the same technical specs. But 'soundwise' they are as different as an Lada and an Ferrari (by way of speaking or by exaggeration). The comparisson between French wines as well between the French chief cooks come to mind.BTW the pudding will also do. Without any technical pretenitons I would think that the only explantion for the mentioned difference should be the diamond cantilever/stylus combo. If it was possible I would gladly retip my chosen MC carts with such cantilever/ stylus combo and pay, say, $1500 for the jewel. Now if there is demand then there should be supply? The question is if there is 'interesting demand' for the possible producer(s)?

Regards,
nandric
dover
1,165 posts
 
@nandric 
I'm not bothered by cantilever material, the final arbiter is the overall performance in your TT/arm/system. FWIW the previous owner of my Final Audio Parthenon had both the Sony XL88D ( one piece diamond cantilever ) and Dynavector Nova 13D ( 2 piece diamond cantilever ). He kept the Dynavector, returned the Sony XL88D. Final Audio also offered 1 piece diamond cantilevered MC's designed by Yoshihisa Mori based on the Sony design - 1 with full 1 piece diamond cantilever/stylus, another with 1 piece diamond cantilever/stylus but the cantilever in the latter sample was half length with aluminium sleeve.
Over the years diamond cantilevers have been used by several lesser known ( in the west ) boutique cartridge manufacturers, but it is only one component in many that produce the final result.
As regards value, the incremental cost of the diamond cantilever on the Koetsu is $5k - even a cheap car would lose that value in 1 year, but you should get 3-4 years use out of the Koetsu, so it's all relative.    
nandric's avatar
nandric OP
3,263 posts
 

Dear chakster, you seem to suggest that ''little bit glue'' is no

glue at all. This remind me of this young man who by way of

comforting the parents stated: ''your daughter is little bit pregnant''.

nandric's avatar
nandric OP
3,263 posts
 

Dear dover, I somehow always expect scientific arguments from

you. The (single) case of the previous owner of your TT is

not very convincing argument for whatever. I already mentioned

that according to ''some'' the Sony XL 88 D is regarded as the best

MC ever made. ''Some'' may mean more than one person. But

neither argument is convincing.

dover
1,165 posts
 
@nandric 
You are right to question providence, as there are many "unsubstantiated claims" in these forums, but unlike "some" the previous owner of my TT wrote for "The Absolute Sound", "Australian Hifi" and other audio magazines in the 80's. Resident in Japan for 8 years during that time, a proficient Harpsichord & Piano player, you can actually read his review of the Sony XL88D in "The Absolute Sound" magazine volume 8, #30, June 1983, along with may other arms/cartridges that represented the high end in Japan at that time. The writer had personal access to both Mori ( Sony Soundtech ), Tominari ( Dynavector ) & Kitamura ( Final Audio ) and their respective reference systems in addition to his own substantive collection of high end of the day.
However you seem to have missed the point of my post which is "the proof of the pudding is in the eating" - but the "best pudding" is ultimately a matter of personal taste.
nandric's avatar
nandric OP
3,263 posts
 

Dear Dover, We obviously agree in the sense of your first sentence.

But we have some problem with  the quantifier ''some''. This is

not an referring expression (aka ''name'') as can be grasped by:

''someone has stolen my car''. But when '''some'' is substituted

with an name like a number for a variable then at least one can

know what is stated. There was a time when many confused

''veritas'' (truth) with ''auctoritas'' (authority). In our Western

civilisation Aristoteles ''ruled'' for 2000 years with his authority.

Till Galileo refuted his physics and Frege his logic. I used to

have about 5 different HIFI Magazine  till I become A'gon

member in 2007 . I preferred our discussions above all

the praising in the magazine and terminated all my  subscriptions.

While we all (?) like our own pudding the most we like to see

that others have the same opinion. A kind of confirmation of

our own (good) taste (grin).

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