Removable headshells 101

Dear Henry, a few really good headshell ? O.k. let me suggest a few:
- if weight really matters and has to be really low: Orsonic AV-1.
- if weight should be low, but not that low: Orsonic AV-101 or Stability Titan
- if weight not that much issue: AT Technihard AT-LH18 (ONLY the "18" !!)
These three do represent technically the best I have found in 30 years. If a cartridge/tonearm sounds bad with any of these 4 headshells, it is not the headshell's fault.
The AT-LH18 is absurdly cheap compared with the competition - it is the clear "best buy" in headshell design (even it's standard wires and clips are good!).
Litz wires for headshell ? Ikeda or Nagaoka silver litz wire w/rhodium plated clips.
There are other headshells out there - much more expensive ones and cheaper ones. None of these 4 equipped with the wires mentioned will let you down.
Each will easily stand it's own against any other headshell for any other price tag.
They stood the test of time (30 to 12 years on the market) and have all 4 superb rigidity, very good energy transfer and are technically smart designs with a no-nonsense approach.
They are the right stuff if you want to know whats really in the cartridge and in the groove.
Cheers,
D.

Dear Dertonarm: I own the Orsonics and the AT ( the three models. ) ones, I think I own over 35 different headshell designs that I use trying to make the best cartridge match.

++++++ " These three do represent technically the best I have found in 30 years. If a cartridge/tonearm sounds bad with any of these 4 headshells, it is not the headshell's fault. " +++++

as almost always with you a statement that you can't prove. In the other side I can prove it is not that way.

The ADC 25 and AT20SS are only two examples that even if one headshell design could seems the " best technically " not always is a good cartridge match and with some cartridges could sound bad.
IMHO there is no audio perfect items and headshells are not an exception.

Regards and enjoy the music,
Raul.

Dear Nandric: +++++ " I am not able to understand your
conviction that an forum is somehow more objective. Ie one
get usualy 15 different answers from 10 persons. " +++++

normally I don't trust on professional reviewers that are biased some way or the other to commercial compromises, I don't trust either in 30 years old reviews where the audio items ( audio systems. ) used are way different from today ones.

I don't trust on reviewers where things were that their reports are faulty ( by its review process. ) and where their findings are different from what we heard on different home systems or that are out of reality against live events taked as music reference.

Even that Halcro and I are not always in agreement ( we are in the main audio targets. ), fortunately, I trust with out doubt over say MF. There are many reasons why I trust in Halcro but one critical is that Halcro is not biased in any commercial way and in his honesty that he reports what he heard, it does not matters if I agree or not.

In this forum there are several persons whom I trust with out doubt over any single reviewer out there.

Do you think that I don't trust in Downunder only because he and I almost always are in disagrement?, no I trust in him that's not biased in anyway.

There are several other persons in this forum that are very well regarded, that own great audio systems and that I don't trust on them, mainly because are biased: biased or in a commercial way or biased to support some one.

In good shape: can I trust in Dertonarm or Syntax or Nandric ? could you?

Yes, I trust in non-biased people in this and other forums against/over reviewers even if we have " 15 different answers from 10 persons ", the subject here is which of those 15 answers are the " one " and only your skills/experience/know-how level along some type of research ( who is telling what, which audio system they own, music sound priorities of those persons, biased?: to what, etc, etc ) can tell you.

Regards and enjoy the music,
Raul.

Dear Raul, you know very well that there is no way on this earth that I could proof something so that you would agree wholeheartedly.
It is just plain not possible.
Just as I am unable to proof anything to you, - so are you vice versa.
So where is the problem ? It is always nothing else then a subjective statement. I in most cases I try to choose a point of view based on fairly neutral technical ground - you most of the time are rather on the side of subjective sonic reception.
I guess that both points of view have their merits.
I for one think, that if a cartridge needs a "good match", then the cartridge's body has problems.
I for one believe in audio components which do not require sonic matches.
If an audio component needs a certain sonic counterpart to produce neutral sound, then the designer of that specific component has not finished his design/job. In other words - I think it is a problem, if a certain given cartridge calls for a certain "sonic match" in a headshell to perform it's best.
The 4 headshells I have named above will rank in the top class of every survey which would analyze headshells regarding rigidity, lack of resonance and energy transfer ( can be measured...).
It is not just about MM/MI cartridges.
Give any of the later 3 headshells a try with serious LOMCs (MM and MI aren't the only cartridges out there ...;-) ...) and you'll see/hear what I mean. Here it is much more about energy transfer and much less about damping resonances of a cartridge's body.
However - I think the AV-1 may be very good even with the ADC and AT20ss.
Cheers,
D.

Dear Raul, The expression I used was 'objectivity' not 'trust'. I don't believe that you will choose any component because of your trust in somebody but because you
believe in your own capability to make a choice. The most of us need in the first place the information about 'what there is' or what is available. This information we can get from HI-FI magazines, forums, friends,etc. We then try
to compere technical info about preselected items,etc and
then make a choice. When we actualy own the item in casu we can be satisfied or disatisfied. I have subscription i.a. for Sterephile for more then 10 years but never bought anything recommanded by Fremer. But as you noticed
I have some headshells recommended 30 years ago by the German Magazine 'Das Ohr'. It may be an coincidence but I noticed that Dertonarm refered to the same headshells. We
know each other for about 2 years so no conspiracy was possible 30 years ago. There may be persons who buy their
gear because Fremer of Pearson recommended them but I am not among them. Not because I trust or distrast them but
because I learned to make my own choice.

Regards,