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- Specials ...
REVIEWS & TECHNOLOGY
NOTE: We can order in any OL part not listed,
anything not in stock takes approx 2 weeks to deliver to us, once you place
your order we order anything out of stock from OL immediately.
As you might guess, the “Cartridge Enabler” “enables” your
cartridge to operate much more effectively. Consisting of a thin material
which you fit between the cartridge and headshell,
this simple device is one of the most cost effective upgrades you will come
across.
How does it sound?
You immediately notice improved bass fullness with added textures.
Voices especially take on a tangible quality which sounds more natural and
realistic.
Attaching the Enabler is like improving the suspension of a car
travelling down a road full of pot holes. Resonant jagged edges which jar and
detract from the performance are removed which gives a sense of increased ease
and vibrancy to the music.
Interestingly the Enabler improves the sound quality of lower cost
cartridges to a much greater extent than those at the higher end of the
spectrum.
Cartridge Isolation Works
The idea of an energy absorbing interface for the cartridge is not
entirely new. The Cartridge Man isolator has done this successfully but at a
higher cost for a product that is not so universally applicable. Another
alternative promoted by the Dynavector UK importer
suggests 3 plastic washers placed between cartridge and headshell
– this also works effectively but not as well as the Enabler.
The Key Advantages of the Cartridge Enabler
are:
It sounds brilliant.
Easy to fit.
Low cost at $45 (performance improvement can be valued at over 10 times
this figure)
It works with all cartridges (we’ve tried from £35 budget up to £8000
high end cartridges)
Robust and long lasting
Provides the ability to slightly adjust
azimuth on tonearms.
Features:
Isolation Material: The specialist material used absorbs energy
evenly across the audio frequency spectrum. Most materials tend to work in a
fairly narrow band which leads to negative results. The material is similar to
a good gasket material, flexible and robust. Not only does the material
selected work where almost all others fail but we modify and treat it in a manner
which enhances it’s performance.
Profile: It’s not just the type
of material which matters but also the profile. The shape has been refined and
tested for an optimised performance.
Washers: The Enabler protects
the topside of the cartridge from vibration but what about energy transmission
through the bolts? To address this problem we supply washers made from the same
material as the Enabler and then use nylon washers to spread the load of the
bolt heads.
Fitting the Cartridge Enabler
The Enabler has precision cut slots which allows
you to fit it acurately between cartridge and headshell without any fuss or additional tools. It adds 1mm
to the height of the cartridge so your arm will be best if raised 1mm higher at
it’s base.
Adjusting Azimuth
The Enabler allows you to set up your cartridge exactly parallel to the
underside of your tonearm headshell. It’s possible to
simply tighten one of your cartridge bolts to compress the Cartridge Enabler
slightly more on one side and thus slightly alter azimuth.
Considerations & Limitations
The only limitation to hearing what the Enabler will do is an
inadequate phono stage which chokes off vinyl signal quality. Very occasionally
we hear from clients who say they can’t hear differences which should be
obvious. The usual culprit is a poor phono stage. For more information on phono
stages please email us.
Another major cause for not hearing differences is listening at lowish volume levels.
Fitting
The Enabler is simple to fit, however the cartridge will need to be
re-aligned, tracking force set and arm height adjusted. If you can do this then
the upgrade is a great idea. If not then you can download generic cartridge
set up instructions for beginners from the Origin Live online support
pages. Another alternative is to get a local dealer to fit it for you.
This product was added to our catalog on Monday 13 July, 2020.
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