SoundSmith cartridges how good?

The Paua mkII is a wonderful cart and it’s what gave me the upgrade bug to the Hyperion.
Peter is 3 weeks into building it right now and I’m going to his place to pick it up - and then I will be selling my PAUA on Usam  if anyone is interested pm me. Purchased in Jan 2021 and a great entry point into his highest level designs with a very generous retipping program.

To the one guy who felt short changed by Peter in the course of a telephone conversation, it would help us to understand your angst if you would say what the subject was and what was your question. Because in general, there is absolutely no other cartridge manufacturer who so readily reaches out to customers and has also become a major guru in the industry, other than Peter.. The only other company that even comes close is Lyra, with Jonathan  carr as its spokesperson. You must have reached Peter on a very bad day or at a very bad moment, because I have found him to be unfailingly courteous and responsive. We are lucky to have him.

"The Paua mkII is a wonderful cart and it’s what gave me the upgrade bug to the Hyperion."

I'm envious.
I heard the cactus needled Hyperion demoed by Peter years ago. What stayed in my mind is the fact it was on an "average" setup-VPI HRX and thru his bookshelves.
The sound coming thru the unimpressive looking small bookshelves was huge. Only thing that topped that was hearing the amazing straingauge, which was another setup there. 

Those 2 carts are in the BADASS category to my ears.

I've mentioned this experience in the past thread. Even Peter was impressed with the sound of his gear when we  played one of my "stampers" I had with me. It was David Gilmores debut album. Peter wanted to keep the album for his demos!

Off topic sidenote:
Pink Floyd fans, if you don't already own this album, get it. You want
this version
https://www.discogs.com/David-Gilmour-David-Gilmour/release/751793
For a 70's Rock album, audiogeek/phool demo showoff worthy, IMO.

Just buy a high quality MM/MI and do not mess with the lower scale MC as most are inferior in sound and range in comparison.

@tablejockey 

To be honest the only cart I ever owned before were from the Rega line including the Apheta and their top of the line Aphelion2.  Really no comparison.