I just got a Soundsmith Sussurro Mk 2 and I love it. According to this review of an earlier model, it tracks better than anything he tried except for the Shure V15 series, and my listening tests confirm that: https://www.dagogo.com/soundsmith-sussurro-mcp2-phono-preamplifier-review/ But the Sussurro then takes all that information picked up by the stylus and cantilever assembly and preserves it in the output, unlike MM's. Definitely I'm hearing detail now that makes me marvel at just how much information in those grooves is waiting to be unleashed. Of course a very quiet phono stage helps with this, in my case a Pass XP 27. I'm now convinced that the arguments Peter Ledermann is making for why his low mass moving iron design is better are absolutely legitimate. I, for one, have always been in the camp that tracking is paramount. Shure only lost out in the end because their cartridges, although the best trackers, were not very articulate. Now Soundsmith, and particularly the Sussorro because of my experience with it, have picked up where Shure left off and brought superior tracking and sound quality to the table.
van den Hul Colibri, Koetsu Rosewood Signature, SoundSmith Sussurro Mk ii
After years of focusing on medium to high compliance MM and MI cartridges (and a handful of old piezoelectrics) in various turntables, I'm finally looking to add my first serious MC cartridge. I've long been interested in either the Koetsu Rosewood Signature or the van den Hul Colibri (XGP/XGW) and had planned to go with one of those carts. That said, I've seen enough glowing reviews of the SoundSmith Sussorro and its progeny to make me seriously consider that as an alternate route. I would love to hear thoughts from anyone who has experience with more than one of those carts.
The cart will be mounted in a Moerch DP6 (yellow) as the second arm on a Thorens TD 124.
My listening tastes are eclectic, so I'm particularly interested in how the carts handle a diversity of music.
Thanks in advance.
Best,
Carroll
The cart will be mounted in a Moerch DP6 (yellow) as the second arm on a Thorens TD 124.
My listening tastes are eclectic, so I'm particularly interested in how the carts handle a diversity of music.
Thanks in advance.
Best,
Carroll
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- 17 posts total
How can you mount a Koetsu to the arm with 8g effective mass ? Koetsu Rosewood Signature Compliance: 5 at 100Hz (about 8.5 cu at 10Hz) Even 14g (blue) armtube is not enough for Koetsu, no ? You need 30g effective mass to use such low compliance cartridges with the best result |
Chakster is right - if you want to try different sound than usual MM and MI designs you have to invest into heavy tonearm (I don't argue that you'll get better sound just different ) Moerch DP6 (yellow) is medium light tonearm. If to look into compliance it should work with Colibri. Although if you want to try different sound - go for Koetsu. Peter Ledermann arguments about moving iron superiority is bs and shame on him. |
The Mørch should work just fine with the Rosewood, especially with a blue arm tube. Way back I tested an Onyx Platinum in my (then) Syrinx PU3b with an effective mass of 11g and it worked beautifully. The paramount issues are the quality of the arm’s bearings, its general construction quality and tolerances, not adherence to a compatibility table which dates from the 50s and is likely quite incorrect. The Mørch scores high on all three and I’d have no doubts about using it with a Rosewood. I’d still buy the Colibri though. |
A low compliance cartridge on mid mass tonearms (or on a light mass tonearm) may be "fine" only for those who does not care about theory of resonance frequency described here. It’s easy to measure tonearm/cartridge resonance with Hi-Fi Test LP. 8g "yellow" armtube suggested by the OP. It’s a bad choice for a very low compliance cartridge! 14g "blue" armtube is better, but not ideal. Everything can work until there is an issue with some slightly warped records and stuff like that. There are tonearm with effective mass twice as much compared to Moerch "blue" and they are made for low compliance MC Koetsu is not just a low compliance, it’s an EXTREMELY LOW compliance (7.5 cu at 10Hz) |
- 17 posts total