SoundSmith Sapphire cantilever upgrade to CA Virtuoso?


Hello,

I have a CA Virtuoso cartridge that I am thinking of replacing or upgrading with a SoundSmith's new Sapphire cantilever with a Contact line stylus or change the stylus myself with the AT-VM95ML.

Does anyone have experience with these stylus and whether they would provide an upgrade to the Virtuoso?

Thanks, Drew Harty




drewharty
I would send it in for repair, then keep as a spare.

I would upgrade to something else if I wanted an upgrade
Thanks for everyones input. I am looking into cartridges that would be considered an upgrade, but my budget is limited--mostly looking at a used Maestro V2 or Zephyr MK III with low use.

There seems to be mixed opinions about whether a new stylus improves the sound quality of the Virtuoso. Many say there's a big improvement with the 95ML, like Rauliruegas, or the Soundsmith Sapphire stylus, but some say not, so it doesn't seem like it would be a waste to try a new stylus, if I can't find something else used.

Drew

Hi Chakster,

Yep, there are so many cartridges to choose from! I selected the Maestro V2 because I know the Clear Audio MM house sound, plus Fremer's review of the cart, and the Zephyr because it is suppose to work so well with the JWM 9 on my Scoutmaster (I use a Reflex M), plus I've read only positive comments about the cart and Soundsmith company. The low cost for a complete rebuild is also appealing.

Has anyone compared these two cartridges and could characterize how the Zephyr sound would differ from the Maestro?