Has anyone listened to the soundsmith Paua cart


I was in the market for a new cartridge for my classic 1. I originally wanted a soundsmith zephyr. I then found a soundsmith sussurro Paua with low hours on the classifieds. I went ahead and purchased the Paua because it wasn't that much more than a new zephyr.. It seems the Paua and the zephyr have nearly identical weight and compliance. I talked with Peter at soundsmith and he said the Paua will be a good match on the classic 1 arm. He also said my phono loading must be 1000 ohm minimum as this is a low output .3 mv cart. The only differences I can see between the zephyr and the paua is the output and the stylus shape. I have been using a soundsmith boheme with good results. The boheme has a contact line stylus like the paua. I have always wanted to try a low output cartridge so, I opted for this used paua over a new zephyr. I haven't seen much talk about the paua on the forums here. I just wanted to know if anyone has listened to one. What cartridges would you compare it to? If anyone else owns one, what loading are you using? Thanks a lot.

Andy
andyprice44
You own it. Why not listen to yours and tell US what it sounds like. It seems the Sussuro and the Paua are rather rare birds, which is why there are probably not to many reviews available. I thought about buying that one myself. The reason for using a 1000R minimum load has nothing to do with the low output, mostly to do with the internal resistance of the cartridge and its inductance. Obviously, you should take Peter's advice on that.
Lewm,
I suppose I should have said I don't actually have it in my hands yet. Sorry for the confusion. I intend to post my thoughts of the cart when I actually get it setup and playing. I am going to follow peters advice on the loading. I was just asking what load others have used because I have read reviews that have used different loadings. Hopefully I will have it by the end of the week.

Andy
Andy, looking forward to reading your comments on the Paua. Did you ask Peter how much he charges for the re-tip?

I had given some thought to picking up a Paua, but my phono pre only puts out 58bd of gain, plus 12db from the line stage, or 70db in total. The Paua output is only .3mV. FWIW, ARC said I would need a SUT, which they don't recommend because it adds a coloration to the playback.

I'm sure the use of SUTs is a controversial subject, so please, no one start a ruckus on this OP about SUTs.