I just put a SoundSmith Zephyr MIMC Star (not the ES version, but the previous one) on my Well Tempered Classic, and I'm totally in love. I was a little apprehensive, because on paper, the low compliance would suggest a mismatch with the WT arm, but in practice it works magnificently. That cartridge is exactly what my ears crave: effortless, smooth-yet-supremely clear and detailed, tonally balanced, and spacious. Records that I was pretty lukewarm on have suddenly become favorites, and old favorites are revealing new charms.
The thing that especially fascinates me is the way it manages to be smooth sounding while also providing a clarity that I've never heard equalled. Usually, those two things don't coexist in my experience. Every nuance of every note is there, not spotlighted, just clear. This benefits the expressiveness of the music, the intelligibility of lyrics, and the sense of the recording space. The dynamics, too, are dramatic without calling attention to themselves. It's also astonishingly quiet: Backgrounds are pitch black, surface noise is a thing of the past, and any clicks and pops are rendered subliminal. The music simply appears out of nothing. Often, when I first put the stylus on the record, I have to check that the amplifier is on--it's that quiet. And that's with headphones! You simply would not believe how magical this sounds with the WT table.
One thing to note: I've got the counterweight out near the end of the tonearm. It does get me to the VTF I need, but without much room to spare.
