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In Reply to: Re: Has anyone else seen the new Shelter 201 moving magnet? posted by Waynefi on April 17, 2007 at 14:15:13:
...the Clearaudio Aurum Beta S is a rebadged Audio-Technica AT-95E, but with a better stylus. It is essentially the same as a Linn K9.
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Maybe in the old days, right after Benz bought Empire, some Benz components found their way into a few Empire cartridges, and maybe, just maybe, some Empire technology made its way into a few Benz cartridges along the way. The only example that I have found was an Empire "P" mount that was really too good to have been an Empire creation. Its construction was more on the par of a Benz. I suppose that is reverse re-badging, though. :)
Thanks. I'm interested in an H2 and was hoping to find a cheaper variant.
I guess there is and always has been a lot of parts and design sharing. It's not a crime. It happens in every industry.
Surely some of the smaller companies do not have the resources, tooling or trained personnel to begin building cartridges. No surprise there. Can't blame a company like Accuphase or Air Tight wanting to be able to offer their customers a "system matched" cartridge.
There is the potential for being burned. Paying $199 for a "Shelter" 201 is an example I suppose. Clearaudios may be another. Luckily I dislike Clearaudio products in general and consider their prices to be horific for what you get.
I'm an A-T/Denon/Ortofon fan. I feel they offer models that can compete with the most expensive, at a fraction of the prices. I guess it's safe buying from older, established manufacturers. Ortofon might be the oldest. They certainly have the widest selection.
I think Ortofon and B&O had some kind of relationship before B&O stopped doing phono. Their cartridges sure did look like each other's.
Even in the higher segment of the market there are components that many competitors share. Some cartridges in the thousands of dollars use inexpensive inner workings from Japanese OEM suppliers. Cantilevers and tips are from very few sources these days. Most, if not all, of those handmade cartridges for megabucks use cantilever/stylus assemblies from a scant few suppliers. The difference is in the choice and implementation of the materials, and in some cases it justifies the price of admission. The end really does justify the means when it comes to cartridges, doesn't it?
Let's look into some snazzy little anodized cubes that we can stuff AT440mla guts into...And charge.... hmm how about that 'Glider' niche at circa $799.oo ... ?
We can say they're made by ... uhm .... how about "Fr. Edj" ...
...a secretive, disgruntled Jesuit friar who went native in Honshu and created cartridges underground for the Emperor's use.Yeah !!
... course we'd have to figure out how to fuse those removeable styli back on so they can't be replaced. Just a small detail.
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Just cut the stylus assembly holder in such a way that it doesn't look replaceable. That's what Clearaudio does. ;)
I am all over your idea, but let's call them the FeRdj in honor of the persecuted Romanian physicist who worked as a ticket taker in a XXX movie house while hiding from the evil Nicolae Ceauşescu's secret police.
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Dr. FeRdj knew a man who discovered the remnants of Noah's Ark partially buried in a Romanian hillside. What you may not know is that he smuggled a small quantity of the planks into the United States, and I now have possession of them. The Cryptikon Ark would be an extremely valuable item simply for its historical value, not to mention its sonic superiority due to the sanctified nature of the outer material. I might add that the crystallized pitch embedded in the wood has excellent resonance compatibility with any system, and the fact that I have submitted it to cryogenic treatment further enhances it beyond the scope of modern engineering. Nothing, and I mean nothing, is capable of approaching the holistic presentation of this material. The mere fact that the inside components are from the more pedestrian beginnings of an Audio-Technica are really neither here, nor there, because the overall cartridge represents a true synergy in a world of mediocrity and despair. The Ark will obviously cost more than $795, but how could anyone question the price of such innovation when it is combined with a relic of such humonsterous proportions as Noah's Ark?
Not just cartridges but watches from the Ark too!
Let me add I tried to find spmething out on the Aurum Beta MKII originally when I was looking at the cartidge, and never could find any comparisons with it to anything including the AT-93E. Different though if what you say is true, is tha fact that it does have a better stylus, and an totally different body, made out of some type of alloy with the drilled and tapped body, so would seem quite a bit different.While the Pearl Shelter thing is the same body with a different colr, and a stylus that is identical.
The body of the Aurum Beta S is the same alloy as the AT-95E, although it does differ from the Linn K9. There isn't anything particularly special about AT's body on its lower lineup, and I don't see anything drilled and tapped there. The Aurum Beta S is an Audio-Technica with a jazzed up look about it. The primary components of both the Aurum Beta S and the Linn K9 are sourced from Audio-Technica, and both are very easily re-tipped, although Clearaudio charges its customers who have their cartridge a fortune for that service.The photo is of the Aurum Beta S beside the Linn K9. There is a strong similarity between that pair and Audio-Techinca's Signet 5.0 Series, as well as the less expensive AT-95E.
So...
What makes the Beta S different from the Beta MKII? I don't know, but when I get my hands on one, I'll find out. Someone could post a closeup photo, and more than likely, we would be able to tell something about its origin. My bet is that we would be able to figure it out without a great deal of difficulty.
Aurum Beta S, trashed cantilever and all. S'posed to be a II but it isn't marked.
Please excuse my taking my brand new Canon A630 out of the box half an hour ago:-)
Same thing, different body color.
What I meant is the body of my Beta MKII is an alloy body drilled and tapped for the screws. It is not wood. Beyond that it is all I know. What I have read that there are a lot of similarity in many cartridges, but that they have difference in stylus, body, etc,,, which I suppose justifies some price differences??
Bear in mind that the bulk of the profit is made by the dealer, however. That said, not every brand has the same profit structure, performance level, or manufacturing cost. The trick is in finding the best bang for the buck, and that isn't always an easy task. (I know this all too well.)
Well, since we are talking about it, where is a good guideline or starting point for cartridges let's say $500.00 or a little one way or the other ?
I think there are some amazing cartridges at much lower prices than that. I believe diminishing returns rapidly take over above $500/600 or so.
I have a lot of cartridges. I made a conscious decision to buy a bunch of good lower cost models (over time of course) rather than one "super expensive" one. I enjoy switching them in and out and listening for differences with my favorite recordings. I have three systems set up too.
I think four of the cartridges I have can give many of the mega buck cartridges a run for their money. They are the Denon DL-160 ($180), Ortofon Samba ($225), Denon DL103R ($379) and Dynavector ($380). Note that they are from companies that build their own and do not seem to overprice their offerings, imo.
Even the A-T440MLa, A-TOC9ML/II and Denon DL-110 are tough to beat and sound great too.
This is a sensitive issue, but some of the very high end cartridges would be beat out in blind listening, I'm sure.
With anything you can buy, the real values are in the middle price ranges. Same with watches, cars, wine whatever!
Madame Lalou Bize-Leroy makes some damned fine wine.
And I could take a short drive into the Alsace to Trimbach and find you a wine for around $50 that is one of the top five whites in all of France, easily competing with burgundies (Chardonnays) that cost anywhere from 10 to 30 times the price. And many, many wines for around $15 that will put the more famous names to shame.
I'm not really a good guy to ask because I tend to use cartridges from back when. I did have a Grado Platinum reference that sounded pretty good, but I traded it to another guy around here. It was a $300 cartridge, and I actually liked it better than the $500 Sonata. I have an NOS cartridge that I like better than both, so I suppose your mileage will vary.If I had the extra money, I would add a ZYX Universe and a Blue Angel Mantis to the stable. I would appreciate it, if you would PayPal $10,000 to my account. ;)
I think we've been here before....
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- I remember it like it was only yesterday, sure, now let's think, it was a dark and rainy morning when all of a sudden there was a crack of lightning and then,......... (Open in New Window)
From the days of yore.
Some of those Andante cartridges were made by Grace, and sold by Sumiko.
The Andante's were indeed Grace's. However just because Grace is no more, doesn't mean their former design staff are out of work, eh? :-)
Me, I'm just a lawnmower, you can tell me by the way I walk....
-Ray
Thanks, to bad this was not there a year or so a go. This is written as if the 201 is new, I bought mine early last year when they were REAL new.
I saw it for the first time a few days ago. It also happened to be the first time I looked at the Elusive Disc web site.
I guess my "regular cartridge dealer" Needledoctor never carried it.
Doggy, I find a few others that also don't maybe that is why they won't.
I was thinking of buying one myself. I was most interested in the fact that it has the same body as the Garrotts.
Since you noticed the resemblance I need not post a picture, just compare the the Sumiko and the Shelter to the K-series Garrott. Odd, but it was my impression the body used for the Garrott was said to be a Grado. I was led to believe it might be because it invoked that well-known Grado hum on my Heybrook TT-2. I replaced it with a Denon DL-160, which still hums a little but not nearly as bad.
What I have is the Clearaudio Aurum Beta MkII not the S. So since all is being told here on where does this cartidge origin from ??
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