Analogtechnik DMT25 - is M the new S?

Mono, stereo, whatever… had an interesting conversation with Dong Bum Kim (Daniel), the skilled artisan behind those amazing, handmade masterpieces…

I was - actually AM! - utterly amazed and shattered by the seldom heard beauty of the music as performed by this exotic, sought-after cartridge - i.e. DMT25: I couldn’t understand “why” this cartridge sounded more “right” to my ears than other cartridges!

The most technically- gifted advocates an embarrassingly “wrong” non-linearity of original Neumann DST62…

😱

Neumann DST-62 shows a 30-10Khz with a 10db channel  separation. This cartridges looks at measurements more mono than stereo.

Dual mono!

To my ears the exaggerated channels separations as found on most “modern” hi-fi cartridges sounds less natural than these old ‘50s DST design.

It’s like looking at a Neumann U47 frequency response: dips and peaks, a rollercoaster if compared to a B&K/DPA 4011 

🥳😎😱🥳

… or…

😱

… but: is human hearing “linear”?

(have a read at the “live link” above)

Will any passionate jazz, music lover like more a Rudy van Gelder-recorded John Coltrane’s tenor sax (non-linear, colored, whatever Neumann U47) or a laboratory-grade linear  B&K 4011 recording?

My humble approach is easy: I like what pleases me more.

Double Mono? Ok, fine to me!

😇

 

I must add that “colorations” (see above Garrardzilla declinations) are salt-to-life… they’re a reality interpretation, no lesser or wrong, per se: if these (apparent) weakness was good for Rudy Van Gelder and John Coltrane, it’s good for me 😊.

I asked Daniel for enlightening me…

Daniel - Thanking the researchers who designed and developed the DST cartridge in Neumann in the 1950s.  There is no better design than this.  I just researched and developed various materials to make this basic design sound better.  In particular, the DMT25 was inspired by the process of modifying the existing neumann DMT cartridge and producing it.  And I made my own sound while thinking of the many famous monocartridges that have been repaired.

Me - Yes… but how is it possible it plays like a stereo, ultra wide soundstage cartridge! I’m still impressed! Every instrument is superbly located in space… is DMT25 working on both vertical and horizontal planes like Mono and Stereo designs?

Daniel - Sound can be reproduced from all directions like a stereo cartridge.  However, it is difficult to play stereo lp.  It is designed to reduce stereo separation and reproduce mono sound as equally as possible on both channels.  The big difference between the DMT25 cartridge and other autophone series monos is that it minimizes the influence of the rubber damper in its structure and minimizes the distortion and exaggeration of sound because the vibration direction of the groove matches the vibration direction of the coil.

The DMT25 reproduces the sound signal in the same direction as the left and right directions of the groove, and the Autophone Mono reproduces the signal in a rotational motion rather than in the left and right direction.

Me - … makes sense… but believe me: it’s not reduced stereo separation, or, better, the separation isn’t exaggerated and to my ears more natural as live music 🥇🎶🥇

Daniel - You're right, the original record isn't over-recorded, because many cartridges play over-played. I left out one important point, except for cartridges that use air-core coils, all stereo and mono cartridges have iron bobbins inside the armature. Since it is placed on the magnetic field lines, the smooth movement of the coil is restricted.  This is the biggest downside to sound quality.

The Neumann DMT cartridge is a stereo cartridge produced briefly in 1957, early in the development of stereo cartridges.  The M in the DMT name is probably the M for a magnet (dynamic magnet tonabnemer).  In fact, there is a very small magnet in the middle of the coil) This cartridge was developed as a stereo cartridge, but it cannot be used like the current stereo cartridge.  The two channels are output in different ways.  It's not perfect, but only one channel can be used in mono.

The Analogtechnik DMT25 is rising the level of zestness and beefy-ness to 2.0 level… it’s like a field Coil DaVa FC1-A, a Neumann DST or… such an incredible quality! Sounds as fast and dynamic as master-tapes played on my Studer C37😎🥇🥇🥇😎

Needless to say I bought it (Needed it? No! Loved it? Yes!!!) and my sampler is serial # 001 🥇

World needs an M, aehm… S… well, W(hatever) cartridge.

DMT25 = Daniel-made treasure25cu, a statement.

Interested?

Contact - siemensklangfilm@hotmail.com

Dong Bum Kim 

Damaschke str.4

08064 Zwickau

Germany

Tel - +49 (0)17656433631

P.S. - I’m not related to Analogtechnik and am not responsible in any way for anyone liking or not these cartridges: I’m just sharing my first-hand opinions, for the sake of passion for quality-audio and love for music.

Whales napping 😴

 

When sperm whales need a nap, they take a deep breath, dive down about 45 feet and arrange themselves into perfectly-level, vertical patterns. They sleep sound and still for up to two hours at a time between breaths, in pods of 5 or 6 whales, presumably for protection. No one knew whales slept vertically until a 2008 study documented the behavior. And no one captured really good photography of it in the wild until 2017. French photographer Stephane Granzotto was documenting sperm whales in the Mediterranean for his book on the creatures when he came across these sleeping whales.

Napping 💤  in the deep blue 💤

Sad news - Jon Hassel passed 😢

 

A genius, a music magician… he’ll live forever with his music…

💔

New Gotorama‘s crossovers layout

 

I had far too long cables between Goto drivers and crossovers… from 5x2 meters long runs for each drivers to… 50/75 cm pairs, now! From previous 60 meters total  vs. ~ total 8 meters, now!!!

Happy I puffed and sweated on this early morning on my birthday.

I got a cheap, priceless gift: more music.

🎶🎶🎶

Paulisms 🥳

 

Les Paul and Paul, with Paul's Les Paul. 😛

🥳

Ha, haaaa…

 

John McLaughlin’s Illumination

 

I love this picture…

His Goal’s Beyond

🥇

… more Luigi Nono on Dischi del Sole (1969)

 

An hen’s teeth record… sure not music to whistle having a shower, but nonetheless worth a listen.

🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶

Luigi Nono on Wergo

 

Antonio Gramsci-inspired music, I’d call this… I love this Italian composer, born in Venice.

He who was a student of Bruno Maderna and a friend of Vedova, the painter, also born in Venice, who painted Nono’s music.

He who married Arnold Schoenberg’s daughter, in a sort of circle of life and art.

Nice music, to be enjoyed like an Armagnac glass. 🥂 

Disc of the Week - Dave Holland Quintet (ECM)

 

This is a wonderful disc whose first rate recording serves the music.

Swinging and rocking music.

Highly recommend 🎶🥇🎶 

… and this is my listening room 🥳

 

In the meantime, in Cremona…

 

The Bompo apprentice

 

🥳😇🥳

Studer - those were the days

 

A family more than a factory… man-sized workshop, common spaces for lunch, wooden benches, no robots…

Studer C37 workshop…

No wonder Studer hand-made in Regensdorf the best studio equipments.

🎶🎶🎶🥇🥇🎶🎶🎶

El mejor regalo es un disco

 

Thanking from my heart to my pal Gábor Tuske who gracefully gifted to me a copy of this sought-after jazz disc, a first pressing made in Santiago, Chile, recorded on June 1966.

I was so moved by graciousness of this generous gesture.

As the back cover says:

The recording is first rate, premium studio gears were used and music is to par: a pre-coup d’ètat Chile (1973), a time-capsule item, even more incredible this fragile disc survived the abuses of History.

Thanks, Gábor 🥂🥂🥂🥇 for the much appreciated and timely gift, as my birthday will be next week 😄🥂😄

Looking forward to cheering, soon. 🥂🙏🥂

🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶

Analogtechnik DMT25 🥇

 

I admit I was quite reluctant to try the DMT25 cartridge as I had to take away the DST15 which I so greatly enjoyed and admired for about 15 very intense hours…

Mr. Daniel Kim, the maker

As you imagine DST15 uses a 15cu highly polished conical diamond tip, while the DMT25 a 25cu conical diamond tip; as per suggestion by Daniel Kim - the gifted maker of these labor of love carts -  utmost care must be used when handling these behemoths, as DMT25 extremely powerful samarium-cobalt magnets could attract metal objects and debrises (screws, other cartridges, etc.) with potentially destructive results.

… but we’re not talking about a weapon or… whatever.

The mighty DMT25 is a quite strange cartridge: the “M” in suffix would suggest about a mono version on “S” - i.e. DST vs. DMT, but… the latter doesn’t look like a boutique DL102, a real modern mono cartridge with +/- terminals and a diamond also good for stereo discs.

No!

Analogtechnik’s DMT25 has 4 pins like DST15 and, after installing on The Peak arm on Garrardzilla and using some cherry picked mono discs (Luis Horacio Borraro, Joni Mitchell, Dave Van Ronk), all played with exceptional ease and aplomb, I decided to give it a try with one of my references: Collin Walcott - Grazing Dreams on ECM.

What the fuck!

Would you imagine it? 

The soundstage on ECM disc was so  H U G E…  so B R O A D! Timbre was incredibly natural and dynamics just U N B E L I V A B L E, period.

Call it M or S or W… who cares! Everything is here and beefy and real-life.

Yes, a close friend of mine called me crazy to dare comparing

brand new cartridges without properly breaking-in… maybe it’s true, nonetheless I feel quite confident about what I listened to and experienced and I cannot be fooled: Analogtechnik DMT25 is the best sounding cartridge  I ever listened to.

I repeat: THE VERY BEST SOUNDING CARTRIDGE I EVER LISTENED TO in my system and elsewhere.

The best sounding cartridge, not the best cartridge… why?

Is it such a perfect cartridge? No: it’s bulky, not easily fitted on many arms around, quite expensive, also if costing about the half of a Neumann DST, if you’ll be able to find one.

Nonetheless: it’s the most musically involving cartridge I ever listened to.

What’s perfection? Technical wizardry or getting a moving, musically involving sound?

This hand-made cartridge weights 35+ grams and a minimum 6 grams VTF is required; only these two “details” could chill and worry also the most daredevils around.

Let’s try to face it out and refute the commonplaces: vinyl formulations changed from ‘60s to ‘70s and nowadays… yes, but no “plastic” as someone believes is used on modern pressings - only more or less manufacturing skills and processes in quality controls and molding; softer or harder vinyl always existed and will exist to make audiophiles and experts endlessly chatting.

Is a 6 grams VTF potentially destructive for vinyl discs?

Yes, if you own ten discs and play any given side two, three or more times in a row.

Same happens if using an Ortofon’s SPU at 4,5 or 5 grams VTF, too!

Yes, if you try a Fine Line elliptical diamond with poor set-up you’ll destroy your discs, too.

My personal feeling is that the so powerful emotional experience of listening to such a masterpiece cartridge (DMT25) simply transcends the above practical questions and  doubts and concerns.

Is someone worried about tyres consumption or fuel needed to reach a 400 mph on a Bugatti Veyron or a Pagani super cars?

Is it a concern if a periodical check-up for the a.m. cars costs like a brand-new Audi?

Could I be blamed if I’d own and enjoy driving “this”, in same attires as the gentleman here below?

Would it be worth the effort treasuring such a dinosaur?

Well… all practical aspects vanishes in my opinion when you get a glimpse of heaven: I humbly got two very intense, priceless eargasms, today.

My arms and legs hairs had a looooong, so pleasant wave-like goose-bump and (I swear) slow tears poured from my semi-closed eyes…

Pure joy.

Everything else is lesser and to be neglected: only music and emotions and sheer, timeless, pure happiness remain… and frankly I simply don’t care if I’ll have to replace a worn-out disc!

I’d be the cartridge maker, I’d provocatively call the cart DWT25 where “W” stands for “whatever”.

A bravo to Daniel Kim, the skilled, gifted artisan whose love for music brought him to highest peaks of technical and manufacturing dexterity and of music reproduction… considering the original Neumann DST and DST62 were laboratory gears for quality pressings control and have always been unobtanium, here is your ticket for this uniquely involving, uncompromising, violent 😱, natural, not compressed, free flowing music-machine.

My pristine Neumann DST (1958)

Must, better: wish to thank everyone who made this result possible… Misho Myronov’s phono stage, Franz’s WE421A amp, Ikeda-san for Fidelity Research AS1 line stage, Serge Schmidlin’s silver cryo signal and speakers cables, Seiya Goto for Goto Unit’s magnificent drivers and 4 ways crossovers and Franz Hinterlehner’s bass horns, Mario and Lo for Garrardzilla and The Peak arm and, last but not least, Daniel Kim’s Analogtechnik DMT25.

Maestro Daniel Kim, the operatic singer 

My music system… thanks everyone who contributed to get… a tear of joy.