Cartridge suggestions for SME Turntable

@mijostyn,

My favorite right now is the Soundsmith Hyperion. It is not like any other Soundsmith cartridge I have heard or owned. It plays well and competes with cartridges costing thousands more from other manufacturers. The Hyperion does not have the Soundsmith house sound, but the organic sound of something like a Benz LPs and the details of a Koetsu Onyx. In order of ranking for my current collection. 
1. Soundsmith Hyperion MKII
2. Benz LPS
3. Soundsmith Sussaro MKII / Benz Ruby Z (tied)
4. Goldring Merlot Elite (Transrotor)

Will be interesting to see how the Opus 1 and Either Jade or Coralstone stack up in the future.
All are being used between two SME V arms. Third 12inch arm pending.


@lalitk,

I love the Benz LPS. It was my reference cartridge for years. I had compared it to the Onyx, not platinum version, and thought it was not too far off the characteristics from the Onyx. The Benz LPS has great voicing and stereo spaciousness that will make you happy. Until you hear a better cartridge it is great for what it does and can serve as a daily play cartridge for lots of music. 
Compared to the Onyx, I felt it lacked the detail and robustness in voices that the Koetsus are known for. But, the Benz LPS is in a category that exceeds the performance of many other cartridges and if that is all that you have, enjoy it. 

On my system, I played around with wide open (47) loading and below...it seemed to like a higher loading figure on my system. 
Right now, I am using the Ruby Z as back up to give the LPS a rest. The Ruby Z is also great, but lacks that last bit of detail the LPS can provide. 
This is a crazy fun hobby for sure. I guess I am going to have to add the Unami Red to my collection because it sounds like a cartridge hitting way above its league too, just like the LPS does.

@audioquest4life

Thanks for providing insight on Hyperion MKII and Benz LP-S carts. While Hyperion isn’t inexpensive, one can call it a bargain :-) I am going to add Hyperion to my audition list.

I have just upgraded my tonearm from 309 to V and the uptick in performance from Umami was quite shocking. The V allowed Umami to dig deeper and pull out every little detail. The combination of V and Umami is throwing an exceptionally wide and deeper soundstage, the midrange is so palpable along with well balanced bass. I’m having fun, let the journey continue....

I’d be interested to hear how the charisma sig one compares with your Hana. I’m in love with mine for sure!

@dodgealum 

Glad to hear you’re enjoying Charisma in your amazing system. No immediate plans to try another cart, I’m thoroughly enjoying Umami’s gorgeous well balanced sound :-) 

@lalitk Glad to hear it. When I look at the design characteristics of the Hana and the Charisma I see some similarities so curious if that translates into their sonic qualities. "Balanced" is perhaps the word that most jumps to mind when I think of the Signature One so interesting you used it for the Hana. That was something I loved about my ART9 as well--very even handed across all parameters. The Signature One has this in spades and then adds a host of other superlatives that bring it to the next level. There are now two professional reviews on the Charisma that may be of interest to those who are curious. One in Mono and Stereo: https//www.monoandstereo.com/2020/09/charisma-audio-signature-one-cartridge.html

And another recently appeared in Part Time Audiophile:
https//parttimeaudiophile.com/2020/12/26/charisma-audio-signature-one-moving-coil-phono-cartridge-review/

Enjoy!