Urbinator Posted February 17 Posted February 17 It has taken me a few months to find a suitable cartridge with my Bergmann Galder TT. The journey included the brands Hana, Ortofon and eventually Soundsmith. The brand that seemed to match my system best (Bergmann, Mola Mola, TAD) was Soundsmith; from these, I had the Paua MkII and the Sussurro MkII, and later the Sussurro MkII Gold. I had the Paua and Sussurro for a month, including breaking in, which gave me an excellent opportunity to get a feel for what these offer. Maybe somebody can confirm that the difference between these two is the Sussuro has a ruby cantilever and the Paua an aluminium cantilever. The Paua sounded more relaxed with a tube-like sound, oh and quiet, even to the point of sounding as quiet as a CD. I had never experienced this from a cartridge before. Even my mate commented on how my vinyl playback had a CD quality to it. The Paua was good, but it just felt a little soft for me; maybe easier listening and more forgiving? The Sussuro had a better pace and the presentation had more shading around the notes. I preferred the Sussuro; it felt more lively. But both demonstrated speed, separation, and an uncanny tracking ability. The harmonics come through quickly and clearly with little jitter. The bass was accurate and detailed, dropping off like a cliff edge. I hear a well-choreographed sound stage; any panning is linear with a smooth transition. This is what the Moving Magnet design brings to the table, as I was not hearing this so much with the Hana Umami Red, which I had demoed earlier. Eventually favouring the Sussurro, I have an album that I am fond of; it’s been in my Fathers and then my ownership for around 50 years and has been well-cared for - Santana Abraxas. The Sussurro was able to pull out some incredible sound from this album! It brought tears to my eyes; it sounded better than I’d ever heard it before! It’s a fantastic album and the percussion is just amazing, it really breathed new life into this album. It’s incredible! You can tell from the Soundsmith cartridges that Peter really cares about the materials he works with and is a true alchemist/Soundsmith! Now, cost of ownership. Peter has built upon the low-mass moving iron design from Bang & Olufsen, and it works surprisingly well, but the biggest draw for me is that these can be rebuilt for around 12% of the RRP, which brings the ownership costs down a lot. This is quite a wow for me; ownership has always been inhibitive for cartridges as they are disposable. But this proves you can have your cake and eat it. There is around a grand difference in the cost between these two cartridges. Initially, I would be willing to go for cheaper as you will be throwing it away after 1500 hours, but if it can be rebuilt cheaply, it's time for cake, and that initial investment is the only hurdle. Gripes, I have a couple; although the cantilever is well protected, installing the stylus guard that comes with Soundsmith cartridges is a heart-in-mouth moment. It's not easy to install and seems to sit way too close to the cantilever, so mine hardly ever gets fitted. Secondly, these cartridges are not forgiving when it comes to installing. I can appreciate most guys reading this will have a pretty good understanding of how to set up a turntable, but if you are not, you need to get somebody in whois. Finally, on purchase, I had the chance of going for The Sussurro Mk2 Gold. This one was destined to be a review cartridge in the UK, so Peter Lederman had meticulously tested it; I was able to twist my dealership's arm into allow me to purchase this at a very good price. Its had about 30 hours so far and once I have hit around 60 I will try and do a comparison with the Sussurro Mk2 to see how they compare. For now, and already, i am loving it. I have gone from the prejudice of dismissing anything built in America, to being pleasantly surprised. I am really hoping Soundsmith can make some Headway in the UK and hold the torch for what Analogue is capable of. 6 1
SONDEKNZ Posted February 18 Posted February 18 (edited) How very interesting, Lee. [Please forgive my ignorance... ] Am I right in understanding that these fixed coil Soundsmith carts are more or less the same thing as low-output MM? Either way, this is a completely new phono cart topology to me... and whilst they are far from inexpensive, it seems you prefer this topology to other high-output MM and other equally costly traditional MC options... Have I got this right? Edited February 18 by SONDEKNZ
Urbinator Posted February 18 Author Posted February 18 Hi SondekNZ No forgiving is necessary; I did not explain the background of these cartridges. They have a fixed coil and magnet; when the iron, which is fixed to the cantilever, comes into the range of the magnetic field, it is temporarily magnetised, which causes an electrical current within the coil. The benefit of this design, which Peter Ledermann has refined, is the ultra-low mass of the cantilever, which reduces jitter. It is something entirely new for me, too, and was suggested by my local dealer to try it, I was sceptical. Prices of the soundsmith cartridges start at £600, so they are not hugely expensive to start. The Soundsmith design attraction is that these cartridges can be rebuilt, so the long-term running costs decrease considerably. I have been using moving coil cartridges for over 30 years and still do Every cartridge has its own signature and I wanted to add a high end cartidge to the collection. After trying several cartridges including Hana and Ortofon, I could not justify the running costs. All of these cartridges are designed to have a finite life of anything up to 2000 hours of use. You can get these retipped, but you are still using the old suspension, which also wears. 1
billstevenson Posted February 20 Posted February 20 Congratulations on your discovery. I am with you, SoundSmith cartridges are the bomb. I have been very happy with my Hyperion for almost 6 years. Each model has unique strengths. Many people prefer their Sussaro to any other. 1
Recommended Posts