I have been intrigued by the idea of a SoundSmith cartridge for a number of years but started seriously considering upgrading to one of their low output cartridges from my Ortophon 2M Black cart a few months ago. I have been getting back into vinyl for the past three years or so and have been acquiring high quality recordings from the likes of Analog Productions, Reference Recordings, Berliner Philharmoniker, and other labels through Acoustic Sounds. I upgraded my phono preamp last year from a Lounge Audio LCR MKIII MM preamp to a PS Audio Stellar Phono Preamp. The new preamp gave me the ability to use a low output cartridge which, I had never had before even though I have been in the hobby for over 50 years.
Two weeks ago I spoke with Peter Ledermann regarding the feasibility of moving from the Ortophon 2M Black to a Zephyr MIMC Star even though my turntable, a customized Rega RP6 with a Rega RB303 tonearm, is modest when considering the entire turntable, with the 2M Black, cost as much as the Zephyr MIMC Star. It didn't make rational sense to me to buy a cartridge that, once installed on the turntable, would account for almost 2/3 of the cost of the turntable/cart combination. Peter, was persuasive, and convinced me it would make sense and hearing would be believing. Kind of like the old saying "the proof of the pudding is in the eating", in this case the "proof of the rationality is in the listening".
So, I ordered a Zephyr MIMC Star and a set of SoundSmith EZ mount screws. They arrived on Friday May 7. I got the Zephyr Star mounted and adjusted on Saturday the 8th. The screw set made matching the counterweight, mounting, and adjustment a breeze. I also used the round bar included with the cartridge since the RB303 doesn't have azimuth adjustment. To make sure I got the adjustments correct, I had a friend with a lot more experience mounting and adjusting cartridges then I have come over and check my set-up. It didn't hurt that he had never heard a SoundSmith cart on a system he had experience with and was eager to do so. This meant we were both able to make direct comparisons between the 2M Black and the Zephyr Star. The improvement wasn't subtle and it was immediate even though the Ortophon was well broken in and the Zephyr was brand new.
The first thing we listened to was the 4th movement of Beethoven's 9th Symphony from the Berliner Philharmoniker/Simon Rattle "Beethoven the 9 Symphonies" box set. The sound was nothing short of amazing. Silky smooth, lush, dynamic, were some of the adjectives used. The highs might have been a little subdued but it was a brand-new cart. By the second album, Willie Nelson's Stardust, the highs were coming through with presence, crispness, subtly, or decay depending on what the music called for. We were also taken by how quiet the surface noise was. That is to say, most of the time there was none and what there was was divorced from the music to the point it was barely noticed. The more albums we listened to, the more impressed we were. My reaction was this purchase was worth every penny and more. His was that now he understood what all the hype about SoundSmith cartridges is all about.
Over the past week I have been listening to more from the Beethoven box set (the 3rd and the 8th) and other recordings from Fleetwood Mac, Steppenwolf, Linda Ronstadt, Eric Copland, and Duke Ellington. The experience keeps getting better.
A new Holly Cole 45RPM box set of Temptation arrived Wednesday, Ray Charles/Genius + Soul = Jazz and The Gil Evans Orchestra/ Out Of The Cool From QRP is due in today. Next Friday the Analogue Productions UHQR issue of Kind of Blue should be on its way. I can’t wait to hear these recordings.
Specifically, my TT is a JWM Acoustics Karen 6. It has a custom bubinga and Wenge plinth; a 24V AC motor, TTPSU, and RB303 tonearm from Rega; VTAF (vertical tracking angle on the fly), teflon upgrade, and counterweight from Pete Riggle; the bearing sleeve, bearing, subplatter, triple pulley, belts, platter, and feet from TangoSpinner; an external linear power supply for the TTPSU, and now the Zephyr Star cart.
