Phono playback systems are an essential design tool in our business and the enjoyment of music. To this end it is important that every element of your playback system is optimized.
An often overlooked piece in this chain is the headshell. I have tested and listened to multiple headshells and I can honestly say that the Korf HS-A02 is the finest device of its kind by a wide margin. You might be surprised that something so seemingly insignificant can change the performance of your tone arm dramatically. The design is based on scientific principles and painstaking research, no snake oil here. Korf's research into resonance and vibration has borne fruit and has produced something special.
To sum it up, if you are serious about music reproduction you owe it to yourself to try the HS-A02... put in a few words, elegance, simplicity and purity.
I have a lot of high end headshells and the Korf ceramic headshell is easily one of my most favorite headshells. I bought 4 of them for myself and another 4-6 more for friends. I have about 15 cartridges and mount some of my finest ones on the Korf ceramic headshell. I highly recommend this headshell to those who are audio enthusiasts and want nothing short of the best.
As a long time audiophile I have often wondered about the advantages of different headshells. I knew through experience that the quality of the material and design had an effect on sound quality. I recently purchased the new Technics SL1210GAE and the stock headshell is ok but not great. I also used an Ortofon carbon fiber headshell and it made a nice difference. So I started doing research on what else is available, came across a blog by Alex and followed his developments and tests. I felt his approach to reduce resonance at the most important place — where cartridge attaches to its support — could and should improve the sound.
What I found with his ceramic design was that the headshell just gets out of the way of of the micro movements of the stylus and cantilever allowing for all or music retrieval to be revealed. It really is like removing a layer of cloth over the sound with clearer highs and dynamic bass. The Korf headshell is a component on its own and highly recommended.
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There's a lot to explore in the Blog Archives! Here are some of the most read articles:
From stamped aluminium sheet to exotic ceramics, from the simplest to clockwork-complex—the variety of headshells is bewildering. But do they really differ so much?
Many analogue enthusiasts believe that the cartridge's compliance should be precisely matched with the tonearm's effective mass. But what if we measure what happens when there's a supposed mismatch? Is there a tracking-busting low frequency resonance?
In a three-part series, we explore the "common knowledge" around the azimuth adjustment. Is it based on solid fact, or is it simply a carryover of misapplied research and questionable practices?