Audioquest commissioned Scantech to design and build this particular cartridge. At this time competition in the analog market was fierce, and every company was looking for a competitive advantage. Over time Scantech evolved into Lyra Audio, which exists today, building some very high end moving coil cartridges.
The 404B is the cartridge that gave credibility to high end moving coil cartridges. Other cartridges had their good points, but always had at least one serious flaw. Not so with the 404B. Actually this cartridge sounds like a relative of the Accuphase AC2 and AC3 cartridges I have owned, which were highly sought after cartridges, and still command serious money today when they can be found.
Cartridges has 2.2 mv of output and can be used into a standard 47K moving magnet phono stage. Cantilever is the original black sapphire gem stone, not a second party rebuild. Finding one with the OEM cantilever is no small feat. Cantilever is straight, not skewed, and rides nice and high. Hours are not known, but a visual inspection with magnification shows minimal wear. Cartridge plays my test records just fine, and shows no audible degradation on orchestral and piano music. hard to see the cantilever in the pictures, but if you expand them, it is visible.
I played a Sumiko Blackbird after listening to the 404B for the afternoon, and the differences between the cartridges are slight at best. Yes the Blackbird is a bit more dynamic, and a little more vibrant, but we are talking about an $1100 cartridge! The 404B is so close it is an easy decision to say which is the best bang for the buck. If you want quality analog playback for a modest price, this is the cartridge.
Comes secured in a generic box. Comes with stylus guard, but will be packaged separately in the box, Seen too many of these come loose and damage a cantilever. No mounting hardware or original box. No dings, scratches, or major cosmetic defects.
$275.00 plus $10 for USPS Priority shipping
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