Are wood cartridge bodies “ gimmicky”?

Or do they actually serve a purpose? I’ve always been fascinated with the Grado wood bodies. Just curious what wood adds ( or subtracts) to the overall sound vs other materials?

 

No

 

I doubt they add much, if anything, but they sure look cool. I've been tempted for years to buy a pair of Grado RS2's just because of those wood cups (but I like their headphones anyway and have a pair of SR80e's). Yes, I know there should be no apostrophes....

 

I don't know about wood (though I own one frankencartridge that Steve Leung made out of a Denon 103 that is potted in a wooden body with a microridge stylus) but I also have two stone bodied Koetsus and though the internals are theoretically the same (the rumor is the better made ones go in the more expensive units but I can't verify that), they sound significantly different.
The hardness scale of the Jade v the Tiger Eye is pretty similar as I recall (those are the two I own, new from factory) but there are other factors that apparently play into their differences in sound. I do recall someone explaining that the hardness factor of the stone is only one of its parameters that affect sonics, but can't remember the explanation.
Isn't the difference between two high end models of the Lyra how the body channels vibration- whether it absorbs it or delivers it to the arm; the latter being more "alive" sounding. (I forget the model names, but they are both upper tier cartridges in that line).
I know Grado makes a pretty pricey one that our host has played with; man, I haven't had a Grado in years. They used to be the supreme value in cheap, good sounding cartridges back when cavemen painted on walls and civilization was still in its early throes.

 

I will be interested to see the responses here because actually I have horse in this race. I have an EAT Joe No. 8 cartridge which has a handsome Chestnut body. Over the years I have not seen any definitive testing to support the superiority of wood over other materials. Wood is electrically and physically inert and lightweight, but so are other materials. I have always thought it was curb appeal because wood looks high end and luxurious. Plus it is always seems to be some exotic semi-rare wood. I have often wondered if it isn't a case of using the wood as a means to charge a bigger premium.

So why do I own a wood-bodied cart if I don't necessarily believe in the need for wood? Good question. My EAT C-Sharp originally was supposed to come with the Ortofon Quintet Black. When I got mine it came with the then new EAT Jo No. 5 cartridge made by Ortofon. I was initially a bit disappointed but I ended up really liking this cartridge and it getting good reviews. When it came time to replace it, I went with the Jo No. 8 with it's Hickory body. It had the same bulbous body as the Jo No.5 but made out of wood not polymer. To me the common shape was branding and the wood of the No. 8 was curb appeal. I hoped to hear an improvement in the sound and not just be made to feel all warm and fuzzy over the fancy wood body. The Jo No. 8 was indeed an audible improvement over the No. 5. Sure the wood is classy looking and a big improvement over the gross green color of the Jo No. 5. For me the wood was a non-issue. I will be really interested to see if someone one can offer some proof as to whether there are or are not any real benefits.

 

Good thread. I've wondered the same thing about headshells. Like the Yamamoto's:

 

Beautiful cartridge

 

Me too. Soundsmith makes one as well

 

Thanks. I think so too. Why am I afraid the wood is really there to help make you feel good about the price the manufacturer wants to charge you for a particular cartridge? Or am I too cynical?

 

You said it sounds better isn't that the point? You have no way of knowing if that wood body is contributing to the better sound or not but that certainly could be the case and looking nice is a good bonus.

 

It seems that cart body material would certainly impact the overall sound due to the material's resonance (i.e. wood vs plastic vs coral, etc). However, to what it extent it's impacting the sound you hear isolating the issue ONLY to cart body material would seem like a nearly impossible exercise. Way too many dynamic factors in play.

 

I saw that. They aren't saying what wood though. Just "specialty" wood.

 

Not to mention, if you are talking about resonances, every piece of wood is going to be different. Even from the same species - density is going to be different, grain is going to be different, the cellular alignment and patterns will be different.

 

It depends on the cart. A wood cartridge body certainly has a very meaningful impact on what you are hearing. Can you just put a “regular” cart in wood and charge more with no real improvement this in sound and charge much more? Sure. That doesn’t mean that’s what’s happening with every wood bodied cart. It’s best not to worry about the material And just listen to the cart.

 

Agreed. It seems like there are too many variables to say whether the wood actually has a major impact on the sound. Speaking or variables: Several have mentioned the difference in different pieces of woods as a variable and an X-factor. What I am wondering is the use of the wood more to get you pay more because the wood is a perceived to make the cartridge a premium product. Some carts are made of exotic woods from very exotic sounding places. If a company made a cartridge with the same internals but with a case made from "less exotic" materials, but having the same overall performance could they charge more for the wooden version.

I remember a speaker review in either The Absolute Sound or Sterophile. The speaker being reviewed was available in several very attractive wood veneer finishes. The reviewer auditioned all of the finishes in the manufacturer's or distributer's listening room. One variety was more exotic looking book-matched rare wood veneer and commanded a premium price over the other veneers. This I can understood. Here is what seemed totally ridiculous and very amusing to me: This reviewer using all sorts of flowery adjectives to describe the superior sound of this pair of speakers compared to the other models. Who knew a different paper-thin wood veneer applied over the same engineered wood inner carcass could make such a difference. I wonder if some of the same thing is going on with the perception of wood cartridge bodies?

 

More environmentally friendly than plastic, at least

 

Maybe...unless their killing exotic trees found only in a rain forrest.

 

From the wood carts i've heard...they feel a bit like tubes. More warm and natural sound with less high end sparkle and less bong rattling bass. I'm not willing to say that's because of the wood but that seems to be consistent enough that it should be an expectation.

 

I do not think wood cartridge bodies are gimmicky. Under the basic principle in audio that everrything effects something, it becomes more a question of what was effected and by how much.

I have a Denon 103R that was retipped by Peter at Soundsmith and while this was being done I had the plastic cartridge body replaced and repotted with a panzerholtz catridge body. No way to know which effected what because the Denon conical stylus/aluminum cantilever was replaced by the Soundsmith sapphire stylus assembly with its modern tracing profile. It is logical to surmise that the resonant frequency and the overall cartridge weight was changed in the doing of this. In real life terms, what I got out of it was it made a Denon that is a solid value of a cartridge nicer still but it will not transform a Denon into a Keotsu, as into something more whatever that it is not. But that's OK as there is a lotta audiophile goodness to be had with a Denon and if that is anyone's chosen endpoint, it is a darn good one.

Enjoy what you have. Whether the cartridge came with a wood body or not. It's all good.

 

I use this headshell with a Audio Technica VM740ML which has an aluminum body, I had read somewhere that a wood headshell pairs well with a metal bodied cartridge.
I first had the 740 mounted on a darker and heavier African wood version from Yamamoto and it really brought out the bass, but it was too heavy (and maybe that's why the bass...) compliance wise so I got this 8g boxwood HS.

I haven't done any switching around to see how it behaves on a alloy HS,
I leave it as is because it does seem very even keeled now, nothing is highlighted or exaggerated,
it just sounds right.

 

My Koetsu Urushi Sky Blue says no, wooden body cartridges are not gimmicky. Doesn't mean any cartridge can be removed from it's body and placed in a wooden one and sound good. But cartridges that were designed with the wood body in mind can sound amazing.

 

Good to know. That's the exact cartridge I want to try on my Technics SL-1400 MKII. But I need to repair the infamous no-return cam lever before I put that expensive of cart on.

 

To add a data point for wood actually making a difference-- Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Benz Gullwing SLR and the top of the line Benz LPS are identical, save for the ebony body on the latter. The LPS is tonally richer, with more deep bass and a seemingly flatter treble (and equal treble extension). The wood definitely enhances the overall character. I own both (and love both of them!) and have used both cartridges on the same table and arm. That said, I'm not sure the LPS is worth the premium over the Gullwing, but that's another discussion.

 

I have no idea about the initial question since I never had a cartridge with a wooden body. Many turntables have wood in their construction and some arms are made entirely or partially from wood. Saying wood though is too generic, a hard dense wood like ebony is different (not just in color) from a softer one like poplar. Even different species from the same wood have different charectristics, for example maple from different regions & climate. And two pieces of wood are never the same even if they come from the same tree. Unlike other materials wood is "alive", it expands & contracts that's why it needs proper drying before it's used for constructions and most woods need finish.

In any case...for small sizes like a cartridge body or a headshell I'd like to make my life simple and believe only the weight affects the cartridge - headshell - arm synergy and the music they are producing.

 

If wood bodies did what they claim of sounding less hard or less edgy or warmer than metal or plastic bodies, it would be indicative of a loss of information due to the wood being more compliant.
More accurate ways to tune a turn table system.