Sound Smith Product Reviews

Soundsmith Aida Ebony Phono Cartridge: Looking For Your Last Best Cartridge? This Could Be It, At A Decent Price!

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Hi-Fi Choice March 2018 Issue 434

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"... Considering what kind of performance Soundsmith Paua mk II is offering at its given price and the stand out "non tinted" voicing Peter has managed to accomplish, I'm more then happy to award this uncommon cartridge with the Mono and Stereo Upper Echelon Product Award
 

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I can’t deny it. There is something highly evocative about a cartridge that glows in the dark. That’s right: two blue LEDs at the front of the Soundsmith cartridge light up to confirm its operational status. Just a gimmick? No, not really. You see, the Soundsmith is quite unlike any phono pick-up you’re likely to have come across. It’s not a moving coil, nor is it a moving magnetic/moving iron type.

Sound-Smith's Hyperion Moving Iron cartridge features an unusual cactus needle cantilever. The sound was analogous to this photo: clear, well-focused and loaded with detail. The Hyperion was used in a few rooms and all who had one and all who listened were enthused.

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Hardly 90 seconds into the demo, the earthquake hit. No, not one caused by God and nature, or the vibrational residue from a huge subwoofer in the room above or below. Rather, this earthquake was courtesy of the huge industrial washing machine located directly below Soundsmith's fourth floor exhibit. And we are not talking minor stuff here, folks. Everything was shaking badly, including the sign on the wall, and it went on for several minutes.

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The Soundsmith Zephyr MIMC ($1499.95) is a new cartridge that uses much of the technology of the Soundsmith Sussurro ($4799.95), which Michael Fremer raved about in the March 2012 issue. Like all Soundsmith cartridges, the Zephyr MIMC uses what's usually called a moving-iron design, but which Soundsmith designer Peter Ledermann prefers to call fixed-coil. Ledermann makes a persuasive argument about the superiority of fixed-coil over moving-coil cartridges, lower moving mass being the major factor (footnote 1).

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The Aida is nearer the top of a line that extends well into exotic MC pricing, but, understandably, the most popular models are even lower in price, such as the Boheme, at $1199, or the shop-girl of the series, the Carmen at $699. And you can get right into old Shure top price territory at $379 for the Otello. Pretty operatic, eh?

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The endearing Otello is Soundsmith's invitation model and cheapest in their range. But don't let its affordable price tag lull you into thinking it's a sonic dullard. Within its design parameters, the Otello really swings, delivering a satisfying mid-fi performance that's truly alluring. So a natural rival for the Otello had to be none other than my long-term mid to upper mid-fi reference, the $599 Garrott P77i.

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Pages

They Said What?

"The Otello powers through Hollywood Nights with an assurance and sense of drive that makes for a very entertaining performance. The instruments come out of the mix in a pleasingly three dimensional way and are topped off with an excellent rendition of Bob Seger’s vocals. The claim of reduced inertia from this fi xed-coil cartridge system seems to translate into a coherent and lively rhythmic performance."

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