in this issue

ut the resolution, tone color, transients,
soundstaging, and transparency
of the cartridge are doubtlessly attributable
in part to the extremely low mass
(0.00016 grams) of the HD stylus and
perhaps to the high mass (9 grams) of
the titanium housing, which is said to
lower resonance and reflections and permit
better dynamics. (Clearaudio claims
a dynamic range of +95dB, which
would explain the Titanium’s way with
starting and stopping transients.) At a
VTF of about 2.35 grams, the Titanium
also tracks beautifully.
The Titanium isn’t perfect. It is not
as thunderous or extended in the very
deep bass as, say, the MBL 1621A/
1611E CD player are. Though it has
plenty of “oomph” on doublebasses,
timps, piano, or low brass and winds, it
won’t reproduce something like a battery
of Tsuridaiko and Kakko drums or
the synths on David Bowie’s Earthling
[Sony] with the jaw-dropping impact of
the MBL digital gear. On the tip-top it
is just a little less stingingly dynamic
than CD/SACD on attacks like cymbal
strikes, although it compensates for this
with greater treble-range air, superior
extension, more natural tone colors, and
simply marvelous decays. The way the
16 THE ABSOLUTE SOUND ■ APRIL/MAY 2006