Shelter Accord: Great Cartridge!

[mulveling]

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.

[mulveling]

I'd moved my Shelter Accord onto my SOTA Nova V table and its Fidelity Research FR64fx arm, for use in my headphone rig - as per my original plan. On the big rig I had really enjoyed its sound as per my initial report, but over a few weeks it couldn't continue standing up to the much more expensive Harmony and Koetsus. I felt like the Accord sounded better in its new location that it did on the Graham Phantom II Supreme, but it was too different of a system to directly compare. I let it languish a bit in my headphone rig until this week when I decided to give the SOTA an audition on the big rig, just for fun, not expecting much. I'm literally stunned by its performance. It's shockingly similar to a Koetsu platinum for its beautiful midrange, and it has great bass impact and sweet treble as well. I think the table/arm matching has certainly made a very positive difference, and I want to mount a Koetsu into this SOTA for another data point. But this Accord is simply a gorgeously-balanced, musical powerhouse that takes any decent pop or rock recording and makes an immersive performance out of it. This is the only cartridge I have with a "mere" elliptical stylus profile, and though not as detailed as a Koetsu Blue Lace Platinum (or even its sibling Harmony), I'm not missing that little bit of extra detail while I'm so damned into the music. I'm definitely having thoughts of "Welp, I don't really need anything more than this". There may be something about the mix of dry carbon fiber and machined titanium shell that yields the wonderful sonic balance. The all carbon fiber Harmony seems to focus more on detail, and gives up some of the midrange richness for that, but again I should try it on the SOTA/FR64fx for another data point.

Unfortunately, since my original post it looks like Shelter Japan has taken the Accord off its website, along with many other models (5000, 7000, 9000). That would be a real shame, as I think this cartridge never got its due. It's also crazy because the Accord was only introduced back in 2014! The bigger sibling Harmony has been boosted by reviews and TAS awards over several years, but the poor Accord got NOTHING. A $3000 cartridge THIS musical makes for a great option nestled between the chasm of: "I know I can do better than this decent $1500-2000 cartridge" versus "$5000+ for a cartridge that will wear out is way too much". I hope Shelter will retip mine when the time comes, but it's been hard to get any info from my dealer about this (I've asked a few times).

Also, I'd like to reiterate that the VAC Renaissance SE phono stage in my main rig is pure magic. Just so much better than any phono stage I've owned. And a lot more expensive too, but clearly worth every penny. Even the really nice Herron fell dead flat against it. If you're looking for that final-destination phono stage to end the revolving door of gear, give this one a hard look!

[aKnyght]

thanks for the post, especially all the background info on shelter ...as well as your thoughts on the vac renaissance.

[mulveling]

My Accord must be fully burned in now (even with my large rotation of cartridges in play), and continues to amaze and exceed expectations. I absolutely prefer it to the top-of-the-line Harmony - no question. I'd rather have a 2nd Accord! It's simply a better rocker, and its overall style of sonics come closer to the Koetsu Blue Lace Diamond than anything else I've heard. Maybe that has to do with the titanium shell vs the Harmony's fully dry carbon fiber suit - somehow, Shelter considers the titanium a downgrade. Also a bit shocking it uses "only" a nude elliptical stylus and aluminum cantilever.

I'm perpetually sad now that it seems to have disappeared from the Shelter website, and never was offered on most web retailers whereas the Harmony is nearly ubiquitous by comparison.

It's a fabulous match with the Hashimoto HM-7 SUT, and of course my VAC phono stage. But also does awesome with an older Sonic Frontiers Phono 1SE+ (64dB version). Boy, sometimes I think I could have just gone for only the Accord plus that Sonic Frontiers (and SOTA) and saved HEAPS of money.