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Gonna have to ditch the Soundsmith Carmen II

I've given this cart the benefit of the doubt and then some, but it's going to have to go. 

the sibilance on s's is just to much. The sound isn't distorted, just way louder than the rest of the vocals. This happens to one degree or the other on all records with vocals. Sometimes it's barely noticeable sometimes it hard to bare. other than the sibilance I love the sound, I love the live nature of the music.  so I hate getting rid of it. 

So so the things I've done and made sure are dead on:

alighnment - that means SRA, VTA, TF, Azimuth, anti skate (per,SS), platter level, checked mounting hardware, checked tunntable . . .etc

my Denon 2x20L doesn't do this.

it may be there is a bad combo with some piece of equipment or loudspeaker and it just doesn't jive with the rest of the rig. 

My system:

VPI prime
Parasound JC3+ Phono pre
PAD phono cables
Decware integrated SET tube amp
Zu Omen Def MKII with Radian tweeter upgrade. 

So the question is what cart, around $1k will give that live dynamic sound, tracks well, but does emphasize the S's?

ones I'im interested in but have no way of hearing:

Ortofon Quintet Black
Audio Technica ART 9
???


last_lemming
Ag insider logo xs@2x
cleeds
6,033 posts
 
folkfreak@cleeds if you did some research on the SMARTractor you would be aware that is a system that includes a magnifier, a mirrored high precision gauge and a very accurate P2S system. In other words about as close to perfect alignment as possible ...
I'm familiar with the Smartractor but as with any tool, it can be improperly used. It still isn't clear to me that the OP has used it as intended, nor is it clear to me what he used to measure the VTA.
last_lemming OP
639 posts
 
To answer some questions,

i look at the cantilever and it’s reflection. 

As for vta, I don’t have a tool. It I do have my ears. If it would have changed for the better reardless of the actual angle I would be happy. 
rbstehno
1,491 posts
 
Send it back to Peter and have him check it out. If you like the Carmen except for the issue, try out the latest version soundsmith zephyr. I have had the zephyr II for a few years and like it better than the Ortofon MC cart that I had prior.
retipper
61 posts
 
The Carmen is known for NOT having Sibilant performance. You either have a damaged stylus, bad alignment, damaged cantilever or defective cartridge. The tone arm may also be having bearing issues (see if it has any play). Sometimes the uni-pivot bearings are damaged and this will create problems. We REBUILD all our products to new condition for 20% or LESS.  How old is this unit?? I wish you would have called me  - we are here to help with any issues - whether it is the cartridge or not.

Peter Ledermann/Soundsmith
last_lemming OP
639 posts
 
Hello Peter,

I did call you about a week or two after I purchased it. That was about 4-6 months ago. I don’t listen every day, usually on weekends so it’s taken me a while to go through all my the different variables.  You did indeed try to help and I went through all the different suggestions. I thank you for that. I honestly don’t think it’s the cart, but as someone said earlier it may not be working in good synergy with the system.  And my room certainly isn’t helping due to its small size.  It’s not sibilance with distortion, but the S’s seem more pronounced than they should be. 

I did did call VPI and talked with them as well, and I even bought a new pivot and cup to make sure that wasn’t the issue as there were some minor small scatches
that looked suspicious. As far as the alignment is concerned I’ve got the table zero’d in using the SMARTractor, Fogometer and a digital scale and I have followed all the best practices as described by people on the know such as yourself. 

The thing is I love the presentation of the music through the cart!
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