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Originally I ordered this cartridge for my SOTA/Stax headphone setup, as an upgrade to my Ortofon Cadenza Bronze. There's nothing wrong with my Cadenza, and it's still like new - but in the past year I've become so enamored with the Shelter Harmony on my main 2ch rig (ClearAudio/Tannoy), that I became curious about the 2nd-from-top Accord. It took around 4 weeks to arrive from Japan. When I finally found time for mounting/aligning this weekend, I figured I might as well give it a first shot on the main 2ch and see what it's really capable of. My Harmony has been mounted on a ClearAudio 12" Universal arm, but I also have a Graham Phantom Supreme 10" that I've been running with various Koetsus: Coralstone Platinum, Onyx Platinum, Onyx Signature (alnico). So I mounted the new Accord to a spare armwand, and have been mighty impressed from the 1st drop. Before the Accord I had the Coralstone on the Graham, and I'm not kidding when I say I'm looking forward to keeping the Accord on there for a while (at least).
It sounds quite a lot like the Harmony, which is great, but perhaps with a touch more warmth and maybe even a little more bass impact. The Harmony is slightly more detailed, but the Accord might well be the most well-balanced of my cartridges. Like the Harmony, it seems to excel with a huge soundstage and super-low noise floor. Like the Harmony, it's got a lovely touch or warmth and sweetness to the midrange; certainly not all the way to Koetsu levels, but definitely a ways from an Ortofon. Bass is very fast and clean; no trace of "bloom" or tubiness. Both Shelters are exceedingly smooth and grain-free; easily a cut above the Cadenza. I'm wondering if this Accord could even become my go-to cartridge for most sessions where I simply want to enjoy a wide range of music as much as possible - it'll be interesting to see how this plays out over the next few weeks.
I wanted to share thoughts on this fine cartridge, because it's been almost impossible to find any reviews or impressions on it! I had to take a leap of faith to purchase, though some good words from my dealer helped too. Many online retailers, even those which advertise the Harmony, don't seem to list this model - not sure if the oversight is intentional or not. The Accord supposedly utilizes most of the same design elements as the Harmony, but replaces the dry carbon-fiber sidewalls with a machined shell of titanium. The titanium shell isn't finely polished (like you'd expect from a ClearAudio Titanium), but is thick enough that it should be quite effective for damping resonances, and still looks cool enough. The Accord also uses a simple elliptical stylus, instead of the Harmony's fine line. Its cost is mid-$3000's.
It sounds quite a lot like the Harmony, which is great, but perhaps with a touch more warmth and maybe even a little more bass impact. The Harmony is slightly more detailed, but the Accord might well be the most well-balanced of my cartridges. Like the Harmony, it seems to excel with a huge soundstage and super-low noise floor. Like the Harmony, it's got a lovely touch or warmth and sweetness to the midrange; certainly not all the way to Koetsu levels, but definitely a ways from an Ortofon. Bass is very fast and clean; no trace of "bloom" or tubiness. Both Shelters are exceedingly smooth and grain-free; easily a cut above the Cadenza. I'm wondering if this Accord could even become my go-to cartridge for most sessions where I simply want to enjoy a wide range of music as much as possible - it'll be interesting to see how this plays out over the next few weeks.
I wanted to share thoughts on this fine cartridge, because it's been almost impossible to find any reviews or impressions on it! I had to take a leap of faith to purchase, though some good words from my dealer helped too. Many online retailers, even those which advertise the Harmony, don't seem to list this model - not sure if the oversight is intentional or not. The Accord supposedly utilizes most of the same design elements as the Harmony, but replaces the dry carbon-fiber sidewalls with a machined shell of titanium. The titanium shell isn't finely polished (like you'd expect from a ClearAudio Titanium), but is thick enough that it should be quite effective for damping resonances, and still looks cool enough. The Accord also uses a simple elliptical stylus, instead of the Harmony's fine line. Its cost is mid-$3000's.