2. analog
  3. 169343-117

MY SONIC LAB Cartridges

I'm considering the Hyper Eminent for my Shindo/Altec setup. The table is a Kuzma Ref 2 and Ref 313 gimbaled bearing arm. My question only has to do with sonic flavor. I was going to go with a Koetsu Rosewood Sig, but as much as I love Koetsu, I think it will be too warmly balanced in my setup. So I'm looking for a slightly more neutral sound without  dipping in to brands that tend to hyper detail the event. I think many of us know what lines they are, so let's leave specific names out of this thread. Let's just say I'm looking for a more linear, dynamic sound, yet still retaining enough body. 
fjn04
fjn04 OP
1,561 posts
 
Thanks table jockey...Nice review. Not sure if I agree with this statement within the review though: "High end cartridges often end up being super refined, polished and tonally charming at the expense of transparency and immediacy." Do you think the Boron they use in the ART 1000 is a more exotic material over an Aluminum (alloy) cantilever. Interesting stuff....MSL uses what they cal Duraluminum on three of five of their cartridges...the $4500, $5500, and $9000 models. Then the Ultra Eminent at $7000 uses Boron, along w/ their flagship $11K model.
edgewear
543 posts
 
Matsudaira San’s designs definitely fall in the ’neutral’ camp, for whatever that term is worth. This often comes together with extreme detail retrieval, but the emphasis - if any - with MSL cartridges seems more on micro and macro dynamics than details for their own sake. This may be the reason these cartridges are usually described as being very lively, but sometimes also as being somewhat ’uneventful’: nothing sticks out, nothing draws attention to itself. In other words - uh - neutral.

You should disregard the ’observation’ about aluminum being an unworthy material for a top cartridge. The phrase ’just because’ in the comment says it all. Aluminum and boron clearly have different sonic attributes and generally speaking boron emphasizes detail retrieval more than aluminum. But this doesn’t mean one is superior over the other. Matsudaira San acknowledges the distinction but refuses to take sides and provides his customers with a choice, as mentioned. So If ’hyper detail’ is not your thing you’re probably better off choosing the aluminum cantilever, which in this case is ironically called Hyper Eminent.....

jerry_gt3rs
82 posts
 
fjn04,
  I have the MSL Ultra Eminent EX which uses a boron cantilever, so the presentation may differ slightly from the cartridge that you are considering slightly. I would say the overall character of the sound is quite neutral or what I would refer to as natural. It is not a cartridge that screams call attention to itself per se, I find it more organic and almost sonically "invisible". 
Post removed 
lewm
13,166 posts
 
JPerry, Eyes closed, could you distinguish among those 4 cartridges?
More to discover