I am selling my Cardas Myrtle cartridge. I am selling it only because I am changing over to a Soundsmith Strain Gauge setup, and selling all of my previous vinyl chain except for the table. The cartridge cost $2800 new in 2003, and I would like to get $800 for it (or best offer). It is in its complete original package - box, level, response chart, and cart. I live in southern Maryland.
This is a moderately low-output moving coil, built into a body of hard Myrtle wood. The coil is wound of silver wire. The Cardas Heart website is here:
http://www.cardas.com/content.php?area=products&content_id=7&pagestring=Accessories&product_id=58.
Review and discussion of the cartridge may be found in the May 2005 Soundstage, here:
http://www.soundstage.com/vinyl/vinyl200505.htm, and in issue 22 of Positive Feedback, here:
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue22/cardas_myrtle.htm.
I played the cartridge with great satisfaction for several years on my VPI HR-X machine. I really don't listen to a lot of vinyl, and I split the duty with an Audio Tekne cartridge part of the time, so this cartridge does not have a great deal of use. The last time I set it up, in April of this year, one channel was dead. I sent it to Peter Ledermann at Soundsmith and he found little or no wear on the stylus, and a broken wire from the coil to one of the pins. I don't understand how that happened, as the wire is well protected within the body, but Peter found and repaired the wire. The cartridge plays and sounds as good as ever. I've played it about 1 hour since getting it back.
The cartridge has an internal impedance of 30 ohms, and is recommended for 1.8 - 2.0 grams VTF. I found that it tracks very well, better than most MC's I have used. Its output is specified at 0.3 mVolt at 3.54 cm/sec, 1kHz modulation.
Here is a link to my Cardas Heart gallery:
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?action=gallery
