Is There An "Absolute" Best Cartridge?

Raul,

Not sure if this is already covered but what capacitance loading are you using for the EPC-P100CMk4? I assume that resisitance loading is at 100Kohm?

Rgds

Dear Dertonarm: I remember now that you " touch " it from the school but no I was not thinking on that.

I start this thread with the Technics cartridge at " hand " because this was the audio item that IMHO deserve that " the best " status.

That the audio item in the thread is a cartridge is important ( like any other audio item. ) but not important to the " the best " subject.

This is the real thread subject: try to talk around " the best " figure like something that some of us can find and share with us.

IMHO the subjective/system-ears dependent argument is no consistent when you or any one else ( I already posted: there are some audio Sommeliers out there, including you. ) has the " training " for be an audio " Sommelier ".

Why is so difficult to accept " the best "? maybe because some of you are shy to say: " I'm an audio Sommelier? or because maybe you are an audio Sommelier but the other people does not believe in you? or maybe because you think you are when in reality you are not yet?

I see " the best " subject like a very important part in any human activity and always is difficult to find " the best " and define who has the capacity to discern what is " the best ".

Maybe the problem is that some of you are shy to by your self come here and say: I'm ( even if you don't have yet a " the best " audio item. ).

Gentlemans, does not exist yet in the audio high end or in this forum a " chiefs board " and a Chairman of the board that could be the persons that can give the audio Sommelier status to any one.
So, we have to start by our self and not because any one think we " are " but because in reality/honesty some of you has that kind of " training ".
This is the very first step to in a second step accept " the best ".

I'm not sure if this is the time to do it, if the audio high end and this and other forums already has the " audio mature " need it to give those " steps ".

Last but not least is that maybe because " Raul " is the proponent many of you not only can't accept it but even not want to discuss it.

Again, Gentlemans: the subject has nothing to do with who is the proponent or who start the thread. The importance of the whole subject is wide and deep and beyond any single person and what that person think. The subject is not about " Raul ", period.

Regards and enjoy the music,
Raul.

Dear Driveman: 150pf. I think was in the cartridge review:
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?ranlg&1268864860

Regards and enjoy the music,
Raul.

Regards, Raul, Dertonarm: Rousseau was sometimes thought of as being more emotional than intellectual. An audiophiles' appreciation for music might be considered in similar terms.

Aristotles' "There is no accounting for taste" gives recognition to the integration of the sensitive and sensible in the individual. As there is no justification for mediocrity other than overwhelming force of circumstance, when tempered with economic, enviornmental and aesthetic concerns, these can be useful measures when examining the range between what an audiophile wants and what that audiophile needs. Arbitors can expect to sometimes find differing opinions from informed and knowledgable others. This was eliminated five centurys ago by appointed authority adopting the policy of "volonte' absolue", a factor in the reformation, the refutation of the flat earth/center of the universe beliefs, numerous revolutions and ultimately, authority by selection.

Raul, I regard you as intelligent, informed and progressive through what you have previously written, but insistence in absolutes places evaluation in (re. Nandric) the position of being either totally true or totally false. Again, I have no foundation for disagreement with your selection of the EPC-100m4 as the absolute best you have yet experienced but even my minimally enlightened perception still respects the validity of informed opinion and well examined personal choice by others. The only absolute I'm aware of I'd prefer to avoid.

As semantics make my head hurt almost as much as Nandric's metamathmatics, I'll say no more in this matter, except thanks for your generous sharing of information and energy. Peace, and of course, enjoy the music.

Dear Timeltel, My point was only that, sorry, 'unrestricted
use' of the quantifier 'all' causes many problems. In fundation of mathematics we all know, I assume, the set-theoretic paradoxes. So the mathematicians are very careful with,eh,quantification. But you already mentioned the paradoxes.I don't realy understand why Raul is so persistent with this 'absolute'. We get in this way some Kantian 'a priory truths' and I don't belive in any a priori truth. But I am sure that Raul will announce at once to his friends in his thread about the MM carts if he
discover some cart that is even better then EPC 100.
So he obviously have some other understanding of 'the best'
then some other have. One can pursuit the complete understanding with the other but why should we think that
this is possible?
Regards,