£60,000, cartridge, anyone,

[InSides]

but they do not state what TT was used, which i thought was a bit strange, and what the rest of the system was

It may not matter. The cartridge's performance may be such that it transcends any inherent limitations in the rest of the source, nay, playback chain.

This lame attempt of a joke aside, I really do wonder what it sounds like. I have no reservations about its aural performance, and although I would never own it, it does bring me some joy that technical developments of this level are still being made in a hobby as niche as ours.

Brings back fond memories of the days of "build the craziest thing possible to one-up the competition, budget be damned" - one such thing being the AKG K-1000 earspeakers.

Back to the topic at hand, with this being sort of a recreation of an older technology (as many things analog seem to be nowadays), I wonder why, apart from an attempt by a Russian designer, we have not seen a production level Neumann DST-like contraption.

Now, that is something I would definitely think about splurging. As long as it is way, way less than £60,000, of course.

 

[eevo1969]

Doesn’t it occur to anyone that to the type of person that can afford this it’s likely to affect their wealth less that a AT-VM95C does to the average person? This makes me wonder what the potential customers of this cart think about audiophiles who strive to improve their kit at a much higher rate relative to earnings, mugs and fools I’d imagine

 

[sonddek]

It does have a canti-lever and needle one piece design...

This reminded me of my preferred way of offering a cup of tea:
"One lump or two?"
"One please."
"Sugar?"

 

[sonddek]

Hold my beer

https://neverheardbefore.com/founderseries/nfs-00/

Whoa! I didn't know I could spend that much. Exciting. [pulls cheque book from pocket].

 

[sonddek]

It’s amazing the lengths people will go to compensate for a technically compromised format.

As John Peel would say, "life is a technically compromised format".

 

[sonddek]

I've got more time for kit that is based on a genuine effort to advance the art through real engineering. DS Audio products qualify because the moving mass of the stylus-cantilever-coil system is a significant problem when you want it to vibrate with perfect responsiveness. An optical transducer probably does allow you to build something lighter than a coil-based or magnet-based mechanism because tiny mirrors can probably be made lighter than coils or magnets. I'm interested in the cheaper end of the range. If they need a flagship product so that quadrillionaires can help to fund their research into making the cheaper end even better, I wish them well. I'm sure it will sound good on my aerogel tonearm (POA).

 

[GT]

I heard the other day from one of my German friends who is in the audio business. He was telling me about Dartzeel's new cartridge that I believe was used at the Munich High end show. It was reputed to be 1,000,000 CHF (1,000,000 Euros or £900,000). That might include a dedicated phono stage, but I am not sure on this...

Update: https://neverheardbefore.com/founderseries/nfs-00/

 

[Woodface]

As John Peel would say, "life is a technically compromised format".

Not sure a quote from him wins any argument

 

[leroyd]

Is this a Smiths song?

Available only on vinyl

 

[guydarryl]

I heard the other day from one of my German friends who is in the audio business. He was telling me about Dartzeel's new cartridge that I believe was used at the Munich High end show. It was reputed to be 1,000,000 Euros. That might include a dedicated phono stage, but I am not sure on this...

Whether or not the phono stage is included could be the deal breaker

 

[Mike Reed]

though my Bardo/12" Enterprise4/Koetsu RSP/BB3 combo got me about 80% of the way there when I fired it up on getting home.

Only 80%? Bit surprised, unless that wasn't with the Summits (presumably X?). BB3? (ph/stage?)

 

[Lurch]

No still had Quad 989s for a few days until Summits (non-X) delivered. Yep BB3 = Phono, a BigBottle Audio (an Oli, Bigman80 & Alan, firebottlebuild). 80% as soundstage not so big, slightly less seperation & air + bass limited by 989s.

 

[epo1]

One piece diamond cantilever and stylus? Flashy and probably very expensive. Life of this assembly? Replacement cost? Manufacturing time?

It is excellent that people are trying something new, I just hope there are enough deep pocketed oligarchs to fund their efforts. Unless this is a daft idea this will trickle down.

I like the idea of optical cartridges and properly executed they could extract some more out of the medium. Whether I'll ever have a decent enough system to try one out...

 

[Beobloke]

I heard the other day from one of my German friends who is in the audio business. He was telling me about Dartzeel's new cartridge that I believe was used at the Munich High end show. It was reputed to be 1,000,000 CHF (1,000,000 Euros or £900,000). That might include a dedicated phono stage, but I am not sure on this...

Update: https://neverheardbefore.com/founderseries/nfs-00/

As I understand it, it does come with a phono stage, the boss man comes and sets it up for you and it has a lifetime guarantee.

An evil part of me would love to see his face if he arrived to install it and you wheeled out a Garrard SP25…

 

[Sue Pertwee-Tyr]

As I understand it, it does come with a phono stage, the boss man comes and sets it up for you and it has a lifetime guarantee.

An evil part of me would love to see his face if he arrived to install it and you wheeled out a Garrard SP25…

I did have a little smile at the 'add to cart' box on the page.

 

[GT]

I did have a little smile at the 'add to cart' box on the page.

Nothing surprises me anymore, considering you can buy anything online nowadays including several million pound supercars with the click of a button. I remember thinking back in 2000 about people advertising cars on eBay. I thought back then who is going to buy a car on eBay. I got that one well and truly wrong...

 

[Craig B]

As I understand it, it does come with a phono stage, the boss man comes and sets it up for you and it has a lifetime guarantee.

An evil part of me would love to see his face if he arrived to install it and you wheeled out a Garrard SP25…

Whose lifetime, his or the customers?

 

[daytona600]

One piece stylus-cantilever nothing new lab-grown diamonds can be made in almost any shape with chemical vapor deposition

 

[Octavian]

There was a time things like this raised questions that audiophiles wanted to be answered. Today’s audiophiles do not like those questions to be asked.

 

[Sue Pertwee-Tyr]

One piece stylus-cantilever nothing new lab-grown diamonds can be made in almost any shape with chemical vapor deposition

It does state that the stylus is gemstone, not industrial diamond though.