Vinyl Asylum: REVIEW: Cartridge Man Isolator Accessory by EdAInWestOC

Model:	Isolator
Category:	Accessory
Suggested Retail Price:	$160.00 (approx)
Description:	Hi Fi Widget
Manufacturer URL:	Cartridge Man
Manufacturer URL:	Cartridge Man

Review by EdAInWestOC ( A ) on July 04, 2006 at 06:02:04
IP Address: 71.200.140.62

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Overview:
First of all I'd like to state that I won't engage in this product's cost/performance debate. Whether any audiophile product is worth its asking price is a personal opinion and the cost of many items in this insane hobby make most people shy away. Also the maker of this product is a long time provider of quality services and products and I personally believe, despite the asking price, that the Cartridge Man is not trying to "cash in" on our collective stupidity, but is trying to provide a solution in a limitied production product.
Equipment:
The Isolator was used with a Denon DL-103D cartridge mounted on a Brit Audio OEM Arm2SE (an OEM Rega RB300 w/Michell Technoweight and incognito wiring). The DL-103D was retipped by VDH with a VDH type 1 stylus and boron cantilever 1 year ago. The arm is mounted via a Pete Riggle VTAF with teflon upgrade on an acrylic arm board that is attached to a modified Denon DP-62L turntable. Not exactly a common setup, so keep this in mind when reading my results.
The Product:
The Cartridge Man Isolator is a cartridge mounting accessory that isolates the cartridge from the tonearm by way of a foam isolation pad sanwiched between two metal mounting plates. The top plate has two threaded mounting studs with nuts for mounting to your tonearm and the lower of the two metal plates has two locating studs and an adhesive coating to mount your cartridge to. The Isolator is available in two versions for cartridges with threaded mounting and without. It is very easy to mount and I encountered no problems adding it to my tonearm/cartridge. The Denon DL-103D uses the non-threaded version.
NOTE: I do have some concerns about the long term viability of the adhesive used to secure the cartridge to the lower mounting plate. I would hate to find my cartridge dangling from the delicate leads or, worse yet, stylus down on the plinth.
Installation:
Installation is as easy as peeling some protective film away from the adhesive and affixing the isolator to your cartridge. I then mounted the cartridge/isolator to my tonearm and aligned/balanced using a Jennings CC-100 digital scale and db Systems protractor.
Performance:
After mounting the isolator it took quite some time to correctly dial in the optimum VTA. After finding the sweet spot I settled in for an extended evaluation period. I focused on classical rock, jazz and acoustical music. Familiar LPs were used to make the evaluation.
The first thing that was immediately noticable was a lack of treble performance/transparency. Using the Riggle VTAF, no amount of adjusting restored the original treble performance. There is a noticable midrange smoothness in the cartridges performance with the isolator but I could not find any adjustment to maintain the aforementioned smoothness and restore the treble response. The midrange smoothness may just be the lack of apparent treble.
The musical performance was not unenjoyable with the isolator and had I not known the performance of my cartridge/arm combo prior to the isolator's installation I may have been satisfied with its presence. Such was not the case and my cartridge's strengths did not benefit from the isolator.
After removing the isolator I again played many of the same selections that I used to evaluate the isolator and verified my impressions.
Summary:
The isolator was not a good match for my arm cartridge combo and I imagine it would be much more appropriate for a more bright sounding cartridge. If you own a bright sounding combo that you are trying to tame this may be the solution to your problems.
I imagine the isolator greatly effects the resonance of the arm/cartridge combo so any recommendations need to be viewed carefully. Your results may be very different.

Product Weakness: Bad match for my arm/cartridge
Product Strengths: Easy to mount

Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	Acom GFA-555 Mk 2
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	Audible Illusions L1
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Denon DP-62L (see text)
Speakers:	Magnepan MGMC1 w/Polk 350 subwoofer
Cables/Interconnects:	Kimber Hero ICs, Monster Cable Speaker Cables
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Classic Rock, Jazz, Acoustical
Time Period/Length of Audition:	1 Week
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner

Product Weakness:	Bad match for my arm/cartridge
Product Strengths:	Easy to mount