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Stereo Sound cart rankings

Here’s Stereo Sound’s 2008 cart rankings, regardless of price range. The 103R still in TOP 10 after all these years!!!

14pts = Phase Tech P3G = 115,000yen
11pts = Lyra Skala = 320,000yen
10pts = Ortofon SPU Synergy = 170,000yen
9pts = My Sonic Hyper Eminent = 460,000yen
8pts = My Sonic Eminent = 300,000yen
8pts = Ortofon Winfield = 400,000yen
5pts = Phase Tech P3 = 85,000yen
5pts = Audiocraft AC03 = 160,0000yen
4pts = Denon 103R = 33,000yen
4pts = Lyra Helikon = 220,000yen
4pts = Benz-Micro Ruby = 300,000yen
3pts = Ortofon Jubilee = 220,000yen
3pts = Benz-Micro LP Ebony = 380,000yen
3pts = Lyra Titan = 450,000yen
2pts = AT-33 mono, Ikeda 9C-V, Denon DL-S1, Phase Tech P1, Audiocraft AC03 mono, Benz Ref. 3 silver, EMT JSD5
1pt = Denon DL-102, Yamamoto YC03S, Lyra Dorian, Clearaudio Symphony, Ikeda 9 Supremo, My Sonic Eminent Solo, Haniwa HCTR-01, Audio Note IO-M
cmk
cmk OP
397 posts
 
Jonathan, thanks for the correction, I knew it was too good to be true, but yes on a performance/$ ratio, the 103R should still rank highly.

I've heard the Titan a number of times and was always impressed, but not the Skala. You must have done something right with the Skala. Could you share the key differences between the 2 in terms of design and sonics?
lewm
12,575 posts
 
Who is Stereo Sound and why does their editorial opinion matter any more than does that of S'phile and TAS or any other mag? It seems highly unlikely that any one person on the staff of SS could have carefully evaluated this many cartridges, not to mention all the other products they apparently rated,so what we must have here is a kind of group-think result. Of interest to me however is that they rate highly a few cartridges that I never knew existed.
cmk OP
397 posts
 
Stereo Sound is to the Japanese audiophile what Stereophile/TAS is to the American audiophile.

As in all things audio, it is an opinion based on tastes and musical biases. Nevertheless, they put that in print and are willing to critique, and likewise by criticised for their opinions.

These are just another point of view from the other side of the world. Some of the carts are exclusive to the Japan domestic market and are therefore not exported, but one or two of these could potentially be undiscovered gems which haven't been discovered by the rest of the audio world.
ducatirider
111 posts
 
without system matching it's likely out of context as well, although associated components are likely published within their demographic.
pgeorgyev
2 posts
 
Just quickly scanning the list, 3 great cartridges that would easily outperform just about any of the listed (from my own humble experience)- Koetsu (any stone) platinum diamond, ZYX Universe, Dynavector XV-1s. Makes you wander how are those guys making their selection...
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