Catridge with "prettiest" square wave response you've seen?

[cuallito]

Hi, what's the "prettiest" square wave response you've seen from a cartridge? Thanks all.

 

[lcsaszar]

This is a theoretical question, because:

• 
  Music does not contain square waves
  It is impossible to cut square wave with infinite rise and fall time on vinyl
  Most of us do not have any test record with "square wave" signal
  Audio magazines or labs could not test all cartridges ever existed
  No louspeaker or headphone, even electrostats can reproduce a square wave perfectly

That said, for reproducing a steep rise signal with minimal ringing, one needs a very low mass cantilever/stylus/moving part (magnet or coil) cartridge, with short and rigid cantilever. Here is one legendary example:
The Dynavector Karat 17D2 MK.II MC Cartridge by Vangelis Lazarou

 

[warrjon]

Here is a Stanton 881s with 2 different capacitive loadings. The top trace is 330pf and the bottom is 50pf. I can't find the trace I did with the correct 275pf loading.

LP is the CBS ST100 directly out of the cartridge

 

[billshurv]

• It is impossible to cut square wave with infinite rise and fall time on vinyl

You don't cut a square wave, you cut a Triangle. Played back without RIAA you get a square wave out. Scott has got some pretty good square waves out a cheap Grado posted on here somewhere.



But it is a diagnostic tool/party trick.

 

[super10018]

Here are the tests I did before. The top is the reference signal with RIAA. Botton is my test signal.








The purpose to track square waves is to see how well the cartridge tracks the groove.

 

[tvi]

See below
Response to a 1-kHz square wave from CBS STR-112.

The output impedance is a pure resistance of 5.15 kilohms, and the square-wave response was unaffected until a total capacitance of 1,000 pF was placed across the output terminals. Changing the resistive load on the cartridge from the standard 47 kilohms affected only the output amplitude and not the wave shape (as observed on a 'scope). Figure 3 shows the response to a 1-kHz square wave using the CBS STR-112 test record. The rise-time was found to be 13µS


Many/most/all(?) squarewaves on test records aren't riaa eq'ed, so going through a pre will distort the signal.

Carts a Miro Acoustics 630 eletret with inverse riaa built in so don't know if they somehow bypasses that or not?

 

[tvi]

Micro Acoustics 630 Phono Cartridge (Mar. 1984)

 

[cuallito]

Thanks all!