Vinyl Asylum

Posted by KT88 (D) on February 11, 2005 at 16:24:39

In Reply to: Then Why "DarK"? posted by Ray-o-Stat on February 11, 2005 at 14:32:57:

A problematic resonance can be found with any cartridge/arm mis-match. The Grado "dance" got it's name as the resonance is visible due to the rather high compliance of the cartridge when mated to an arm that is susceptible and too high of mass. This was more of a problem with their older cartridges and has been brought more to a standard for the more popular low-to-medium mass arms today. It is a fairly bulky unit though and when fitted to a Rega arm, which is considered a medium mass arm but perhaps is a little on the light side, the Grado does not cause the arm to resonate. In fact, Rega arms are exceptionally immune to resonance due to their unique design which makes them a favorite (the favorite if you want to do the math) among audiophiles worldwide.
The Grado cartridges have a smoother sound due to their design and manufacturing. You can read about their "OTL" cantilever design and their "Flux-Bridger" magnetic generator systems on their website. This is not hype like what you might find at a cable makers site, but physical differences from other designs with the two basic concepts being dampening and low mass (not necessarily in that order), but for the "why the dark sound?", then that would be it.
-Bill