Removable headshells 101

Thanks guys,

I have been eyeing off some of the wooden HS's but have held off as they are a bit pricey....
I have some experiments to do with damping the headshell join.... -replacing the washer with a bit of plasticine - which will mold itself into the join and form a CLD layer.

The other thing I need to try is wrapping the tonearm.

I just cannot imagine that this particular anomaly would be affected by a wooden HS. - My gut feeling being that the Wood would be good for damping some of the higher frequency grunge.... (and I will stick with that until I can justify the expense of a wooden HS or two to myself...)

Also good to get some trusted feedback on the Orsonic headshells...

bye for now

David

Hi all, I am also informed that those Orsonics are made in
China. There is however ,say, 'similar' German version:
Clearaudio Aluminum and Titanium. I own Titanium but never
used the thing. Anyway very nice wire are included in the price:
200 Euro. Anyone try those?

Regards,

Regards, Halcro: On the Orsonic, prices seem to have leveled out, perhaps becoming even more affordable. Hmmm. As to the Yamamoto ebony HS, it is a wonderful match for the Signet TK7lca, as you suggested. I also find the Orto. LS-8000 Japaneese oak HS does an excellent job on cleaning up the somewhat enthusiastic bass evidenced by my TK7SU. This model has a sturdy/nonresoant brass fingerlift and is of good quality construction.

Dlaoulm: Hi, David. I'm working on a NOS Acutex LPM 415 at this time, have gone through an ADC mag. 6.5 gm headshell, Jeweltone 9.5gm, Sumiko 12gm & Yamamoto 8.5gm boxwood. This cart is extremly detailed, almost excessively so. The boxwood HS encourages a neutrality in playback that MAY have a foundation in the elimination of headshell ringing. Boundary resonance is perhaps another factor. The debate is ongoing as to wether the TA should be enabled to serve as a "sink" for draining resonance away from the cart or if these should be isolated or controled before leaving the pickup. No empirical data to support either camp here, would this be something you'd be interested in exploring? One (or several) of the wooded HS's might be a welcome addition to anyone's resources. Henry, thanks again for your encouragement.

Peace,

I'm looking to upgrade my headshell leads to silver wire. Anyone have recommendations? Are the Van den Hul leads that use MCS 150m good? What about MCS 300?

Nandric, what is your source that the Orsonics now being sold are made in China? I recently purchased a "NOS" AV-101 and if it is a gray market copy, someone did a pretty good job. The fit and finish are high quality. Also, the standard box is marked MADE IN JAPAN. If I can find a friend locally who owns one old enough to be confident it is an original, it would be interesting to compare mine to see if we can find any differences.

I bought the Orsonic because I needed a headshell with a little more mass and I thought it had a long-standing reputation for quality. Henry's observations seem to be contrary to other users over the years. Unfortunately the arm I will use is not mounted yet so I've not had the chance to try my Orsonic.