SoundSmith cartridges how good?

I joined the Soundsmith club a few years ago. At first I heard a Soundsmith PUA MKII at a friends house and was highly impressed. I also heard the Hyperion a couple of times at the Capital Audio Fest in somewhat of a small room with bookshelf speakers. Despite the smallish room and bookshelf speakers, I thought the Hyperion sound was captivating. During these comparisons, I was actively looking for something different than my Benz LPS and Benz Ruby Z in terms of sound. The Benz can achieve beautiful audio playback and are dynamic, but, I interpreted a slight recessed vocal area. It was not prominent, I just felt as if the voices could have had a little more presence, despite the glory of these cartridges. I also  listened to the Van Hul Colibri but it was not my cup of tea. 

When an opportunity arose to purchase a Soundsmith Sussaro MKII, I jumped on it. The sound of it was similar to the Benz LPS, but had more mid range magic, and, a better stereo playing field, as in a noticeably wider stage. The Sussaro MKII on my system equaled or slightly bettered the LPS and Ruby Z in some sound qualities. The LPS and Ruby Z are mounted on a pair of SME V arms. The Benz LPS and Ruby Z do bass really well on my system. The Sussaro MKII seems as if has has slightly less bass, but does not lose bass quality at all. It is a balanced cartridge from top to bottom, which makes me feel that it equals or slightly betters the LPS due to its balanced sound and a perceived wider frequency spectrum. You really have to hear them side by side, in which I did, since I have to exact arms to appreciate what I am stating. 


When I had another opportunity to upgrade, this time I went for the Hyperion. It was installed easily on the SME V and holy cow, the entire musical spectrum took on another spatial dimension. I heard more of the music venue where the recordings were made. I could feel the presence of the hall, room, or studio. The Hyperion MKII makes music sound like a live recording session. The voices are so damn real sounding and the backup vocals are so much more pronounced, that I rate the Hyperion equal or better, again in different ways, than a Koetsu Onyx. The Onyx and Jade have been my reference target point for audio bliss for many years due to their ability to do mid range and vocals in a stellar fashion.  

With advances in cartridge techniques, it seems like not just Soundsmith, but others such as Airtight and Hana are advancing the sound quality spectrum to be very competitive with other higher priced cartridges such as the stone Koetsu’s which have been around for a while. I believe that Soundsmith is doing the same. The spatial cues provided by the Hyperion will simply have you shaking your head in disbelief. The same could be said of the Koetsus...albeit, in a different manner. Once you hear the magic of vocal spatial cues and a wonderous soundstage, you understand why these other more expensive cartridges cost more. The Hyperion undercuts the price of the Koetsu stone bodies, but does not undercut the performance. It is just different and glorious in its own way. One day, I would like to do a direct comparison to the Koetsu Onyx or Jade to prove or disprove my hypothesis of the Hyperion being equal in sound qualities to the Onyx or Jade, but in a different fashion. 

I also rationalized retip and trade in prices for Soundsmith cartridges...they are one of the best priced in the industry for repairs and some vendors offer trade in allowances to upgrade. Good luck. 

@slaw I was thinking of the Sussurro but from some other posters do you think jumping all in for a SG cartridge would be wiser? Never listened to a SG before.

That is what I plan on doing when the time comes. All the reviews and comments point to the SG1 being right up there with the very best regardless of price. Cartridges which of course cannot be compared without being used with an equally expensive top flight phono stage. Factor in the SG1 eliminates the (very expensive) phono stage, and a very affordable user-replaceable stylus (if included with your order) and you have a stone bargain in a truly high end cartridge.

Search around, the clincher for me was there are aftermarket power supplies that are said to elevate the SG1 into the highest levels of the very very best rigs. Depending on the phono stage you have now and what you can get for it the net cost of moving into a SG can be very reasonable. 

@audioquest4life thanks for your detailed review of the SoundSmith cartridges much appreciated. Question have you heard SM strain gauge vs your Hyperion cartridge? Given the small difference in price and then taking into account of not requiring a dedicated phono unit for the SG would you think the SG is the way to go. Tough choice for me without being able to audition either.

@rsf507 ,

Your are very welcome. As a matter of fact, I did hear the SG at a few audio shows...Capital Audio Fest and the High End Show in Munich. When I heard it, and if my recollection serves me right, the SG played at a level comparable to the Hyperion and other cartridges at or above it’s price class. Now, as I mentioned earlier with the other Soundsmith cartridges, the SG has some things that it does better and some things it does not based on listener feedback on various forums. Mainly, the comments I read about the SG are from Whats Best, WBF. 


Before I mention this, I forgot to add, that the Hyperion does not sound close to any of the Soundsmith cartridges in their line up. That is to say, it’s organic and natural sound, especially with voices, and free flowing dynamic range, and its ability of deep information detail retrieval without noise (ticks, pops, or whatever can emanate from an LP groove as some form of noise). That’s why I made the comparison to the stone bodies. 

The SG also does not sound like any Soundsmith in their lineup and has its own distinctive listening traits. Peter from Soundsmith has been known to advocate that the the SG and the Hyperion operate in the same musical and dynamic class and each one are exceptional for that, but, are for sure different. That being said, the SG does not have any major sonic traits that are similar to other Soundsmith cartridges, as with the Hyperion. 

The merits of not having an external phono stage for some folks is an ideal solution which takes the guesswork out of phono matching and helps eliminate phono stage buying fatigue to “get it right”,  For someone like me, starting to invest more into this hobby, and gathering numerous tonearms, and cartridges, I don’t think it is worth my investment to explore or experiment with the SG and its phono equalization/amplifier or other phono stages, since I have highly invested into an Aesthetix Io Eclipse with dual power supplies. Also, the SG, having less space requirements than other phono stages, such as the Aesthetix Io three components configurations, makes the SG highly appealing for those people who do not have the space for three large phono components. Although, the SG does have several types of electronic pickups to experiment with, as well as different power supplies, so, one can also experiment to blend  the right ingredients for their own sound mix. 

Not to say, that an SG can’t be part of your smorgasbord of phono sound accessories, as some of our fellow vinyl brethren thrive on such antics, and have multiple analog sources and arms to play around, LOL. I suppose that once you hone into a solution that befits your style of listening, and your are deeply satisfied, your less apt to want to experiment.


I am at a point in my audio journey that I am willing to keep experimenting with tonearms and cartridges due to advances or increased performance in this “old tech”. That’s what makes it interesting to me to see newer products, I.e, cartridges and tonearms, advancing in performance, and bringing the costs of musical nirvana down. 

There will always be extremely high priced arms and cartridges and they are exceptional for what they do. Either the Hyperion or SG will make you less willing to jump on that upgrade bandwagon, until the itch to explore or experiment overcomes your listening pleasure. This is what I call “mod fever”. Analogy: When modding your sports car or Harley Davidson, you do this for performance or aesthetics, or both, but at the end of the day, your willing to invest more money into a perfectly functioning means of transportation conveyance to satisfy your own desires. I use that analogy because I own two tonearms, looking at a third, and also looking at some more costlier cartridges, diamond cantilever types, and am willing to set as side the money to try those. I definitely have “mod fever”, LOL. 

The sound traits I have heard being thrown around for the SG range from what I stated above to sounding somewhat solid state to organic, but in other ways compariqble to the Hyperion. Also, some mentions here and there that the SG may have some perceived lack of deep bass. I cannot corroborate any statements about the SG, except for what I heard personally and expressed my opinion as stated above. 
I don’t think you can make a bad decision either way regarding the Hyperion or SG.  The decision will more than likely come down to space requirements, if it is part of your decision making process, limiting one self to a one tonearm solution and a variety of tips for the SG, or having a multitude of options with a traditional tonearm and cartridge. In a sense, your flavor for these ingredients will be vastly different than that of others. Empirical data, statistically speaking, will often show some form of swing to the left or right when portraying data, but, when we factor in the deviation factor, 1-2%, then we know, that that percentage is not the norm...I tend to think we as audiophiles, fit into that deviation factor. There are so many varying degrees of information posted on the web. You will have to extrapolate and interpret for yourself what sounds good. Good luck. 

If I go anywhere from The Voice it could be to a strain gauge set up but for those people thinking about it it is important to listen to it first especially if you do not have access to digital EQ. The strain gauge does not completely follow the RIAA curve. It comes across a little on the bright side according to what I have read. As my daughter lives in NYC on a trip down there I plan on stopping by Sound Smith to have a listen. Peter relates they keep one on display perpetually. My first experience with a strain gauge (Wyn Labs) did not end well which makes me a little nervous about doing it again. I also really like the sound of my ARC phone stage. Maybe another turntable is the answer:-)