Post by foveaux on Sept 23, 2020 10:39:57 GMT 12
Houdini-Cartridge De-Coupler  ...“The problem you never knew you had” and all turntables suffer from it... hmmm, a solution in search of a problem ?www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/houdini-cartridge-de-coupler/The Funk Firm's Arthur Khoubesserian views Houdini as the greatest contribution he’s ever made in audio.  Price: US$400 My Hana ML has a brass cap that (presumably after definitive R&D) ensures the optimal coupling to any tonearm. And wouldn't the same logic apply for all reputable cartridge manufacturers? Any DL colleagues had experience with cartridge de-coupling?
"I see music as a lifetime affair." [Rory Gallagher]
"Free - I miss that band, but when I look back, we were very young" [Paul Rodgers]
850 posts
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Post by cartridgeguyonline on Sept 23, 2020 12:48:18 GMT 12
Have never tried it myself but I remember Len Gregory ( The cartridgeman ) in the UK had something similar a few years back. Essentially like an isolastic shim that went between the cart and the headshell. There was a suggestion that a piece of double sided foam tape would acheive much the same result. (in fact was the cartridgemans shim actually double sided tape ??). Easy enough to try if you have a spare cart/ headshell and are feeling brave/ foolhardy or bored ?
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Post by Citroen on Sept 23, 2020 13:10:21 GMT 12
I've used the Isolator that cartridgeguyonline is referring to. It was on a VPI unipivot arm, with a Music maker cartridge. Its got a sponge like material between two plates of metal. I recall that dynamics and micro details were improved but my nervousness in using it made me remove it, as yes, it is indeed stuck on with its own sticky tape. From google, 
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Post by Owen Y on Sept 23, 2020 21:17:44 GMT 12
Dave (Whittaker) gave me a sample of his DIY copy of the Cartridgeman Isolator. I never really auditioned it properly... 
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Post by Owen Y on Sept 28, 2020 15:45:06 GMT 12
Here's an explanatory 'paper' by The Funk Firm - although not that explanatory Arthur Khoubesserian has always been challenging the conventional in vinyl replay, since introducing his Pink Triangle in the late 70s. 
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Post by Citroen on Sept 28, 2020 16:33:04 GMT 12
Decoupled carts. Decoupled speakers (refer Herbies Gliders thread). Oh my what's next? Decoupled amps?
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Post by michaelw on Sept 28, 2020 17:28:42 GMT 12
decoupled listeners 
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Post by Citroen on Sept 28, 2020 17:33:07 GMT 12
decoupled listeners Lol
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Post by RdM on Sept 30, 2020 23:55:31 GMT 12
Decoupled carts. Decoupled speakers (refer Herbies Gliders thread). Oh my what's next? Decoupled amps? You forgot turntables ;=}) Cheers!!
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Pundit
Post by neilsan on Oct 1, 2020 8:43:52 GMT 12
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Pundit
Post by peter0c on Oct 1, 2020 9:52:59 GMT 12
It is probably better to deal with the source of the 'old house' bounce problems. I solved it by putting additional piles and supports under the floor immediately below my equipment rack (which itself is fixed to the wall) with the assistance of a couple of car jacks. All my amps and turntables are on sorbothane and my speakers are spiked. My cables are raised on thrice blessed sky hooks!
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Post by Owen Y on Oct 1, 2020 10:08:37 GMT 12
(Getting off 'cartridge decoupling' topic, sorry but...) I have those Sorbothane hemispheres as 'feet' under my tube amps to minimise microphonics.
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Pundit
Post by peter0c on Oct 3, 2020 11:40:39 GMT 12
Returning to the topic of decoupling cartridges, the basic assumption underlying sprung sub-chassis turntables (e.g. AR, Thorens, Linn etc) is that the cartridge, arm and platter move as one tightly coupled unit. Therefore any extraneous bumps and so on that are not isolated through the springs arrive at the platter (record surface) and arm and cartridge (cantilever and stylus) at the same time and importantly, in phase. In theory then both move and so no voltage is generated through the movement of the stylus. I suspect that solidly mounted turntables (e.g. Garrard 301 / 401 and Pioneer SL1200) behave in much the same way with the essential difference being that their sheer mass rather than isolation shield the cantilever from extraneous bumps or whatever, except for perhaps a truck going past or an earthquake. So decoupling the cartridge is probably counterproductive. It would be hard to establish whether or not Neisan's experience of it isolating footsteps may have caused problems at higher frequencies.
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Post by cartridgeguyonline on Oct 3, 2020 14:35:05 GMT 12
Thats quite correct Peter0c, but there was also a theory running around about decoupling of arms from plinth. My Kenwwod DD has a rubber arm mounting base that goes between the arm and the plinth, I also tried something similar on my Gyrodec way back when but didnt like the results. So its an idea thats been around for a while.
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Post by Owen Y on Oct 4, 2020 14:50:00 GMT 12
Despite that fact that the (pivoted) tonearm is free to move in all directions on its low friction bearings, to a cartridge stylus, the tonearm appears to be a solid object. This is of course because, within the audio bandwidth (say 20-20kHz), the combination of the tonearm & cartridge's 'effective mass' & the compliance of the cartridge suspension, are carefully chosen so that the 'resonant freq' of the combo, is outside of the above audio bandwidth. Cartridge 'decouplers' as above, could I imagine, mess with LF performance (because the foam material would decouple the tonearm mass, lifting the resonant freq possibly into the audio LF region). But it might reduce energy transfer from cartridge to tonearm, which could be useful for certain cartridges (eg. MCs with EHF resonant energy peaking) and/or certain tonearms (which might not handle energy that well).
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Price: US$400
