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Anyone have experience with Soundsmith’s strain gauge?

After watching Peter Ledermann’s excellent presentation on phono cartridge design I am now quite interested in his Strain gauge cartridge. Unfortunately reviews for the product seem to be sparse and are from nearly a decade ago. I’m wondering if anyone here is an owner of such a system and if they’d be so kind as to share their experience with it. I currently have the Aida cartridge from their high output MI lineup and I want to know if the sound really is a big step up from what I currently have. 
thermionicvinyl
spiritofmusic
828 posts
 
Thermionic, my tt/arm not considered high end, but I've maxxed out performance w some fairly radical mods incl €6k Stacore isolation.
Audio is a synergy and a blend, and I've spent as much on the tt/arm as I have on the SG which I consider a cart/phono system.
So in pure monetary terms the SG is not out of place or extravagant here.
spiritofmusic
828 posts
 
Tomic, don't say it! I had to wait 9 months for my Zu Defs 4 spkrs  after the reviewer wouldn't let them go. At least he wrote a good report Lol.
Azimuth set once during initial install. VTA set on the fly, a matter of seconds per lp.
tomic601's avatar
tomic601
12,911 posts
 
@spiritofmusic good news on Azimuth then :-) I have a Triplaner with a Delos and VTA  is easy :-)
Best !!!!

jim


spiritofmusic
828 posts
 
Tomic, I used to laugh at those audiophiles who were OCD on setup...no more, SG has really taught me EVERY detail and adjustment parameter matters.
thermionicvinyl OP
5 posts
 
This maybe be a bit of stretch...but would anybody be will to share a needledrop of this cartridge? I know it's not the same as being there but I there no nearby sellers of Soundsmith in my area and this is the next best thing to listening to it live.

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