Question on Soundsmith carts

Why not just call and talk to Peter? He would know better than anyone.

Does he answer calls?  Did not know that was an option.

He is not always easy to get a hold of as he is very busy, but if you do get to speak to him you will readily acknowledge it was worth the effort.

I found this post in another forum, but it describes the new ES generation some. I did not write this, but, believe that the newer ES generation may have some lower noise due to the design factors. I have a Sussaro MKII and a Hyperion MKII ES. I know this is not quite a good comparison but from what I read about each of these in previous forms, they were very good years ago. So, if your looking at an opportunity to get a used higher end model, just make sure that it is serviceable and plays. I don’t think you could go wrong. The flip side is if the new variant is an blatantly cartridge, then, I would get the latest and greatest. It may be hard to get precise feedback from people who have owned both types because they may not hang around here on this forum. 

“I like the designs of the previous generation of Soundsmith cartridges, but the new ES generation is said to have a design that lowers resonances more than the older design. So the new generation may be ugly, but may also sound better. As for compliance, what Soundsmith calls "medium compliance" is "high compliance" to other makers. :) So Soundsmith cartridges likes low to low-medium mass tonearms. It’s a fixed coil design, a "moving micro cross" which is a variant of moving iron. Nagaoka MP-cartridges (Moving Permalloy) could be an alternative, or Goldring 2x00-serie (Moving Iron) or Grado (Moving Iron) if one has a tonearm that is not really working with Soundsmith.”

Why would you call the manufacturer to see if their products are any good or if their new product is better than their older product? Do you really think that any manufacturer is going to say that their newer products aren’t as good as their older versions? I know some people here get a kick out of talking to manufacturers to find out how good their products are, I’d rather talk to people that actually use the products for advice.