Cartridge Reviews

Sort By:  Post Date TitlePublish Date
Cartridge Reviews
Soundsmith SMMC1 moving-iron phono cartridge
Michael Fremer  |  Apr 25, 2008  |  3 comments
The audio industry may have lost a legend and a prolific innovator in Henry Kloss a few years back, but it still has another affable, creative eccentric in Peter Ledermann. In the mid-1970s, Ledermann was director of engineering at Bozak, where, with Rudy Bozak, he helped develop a miniature bookshelf speaker and a miniature powered subwoofer. Before that, Ledermann was a design engineer at RAM Audio Systems, working with Richard Majestic on the designs of everything from high-power, minimal-feedback power amplifiers and preamplifiers to phono cartridge systems. He was also an award-winning senior research engineer at IBM, and the primary inventor of 11 IBM patents.

Continue Reading »
Cartridge Reviews
AudioQuest 7000 Fe5 MC phono cartridge
Michael Fremer  |  Dec 02, 2007  |  0 comments
You know what's the first thing they teach you in dental school? Don't ever say "Oops!" Even if you stick one of those hooked teeth scrapers through the patient's cheek, you don't say "Oops!" "Don't move!"? Yes. "Oops!"? No. That's the big day-one lesson—and given the cost of medical malpractice insurance today, a damn good one.
Continue Reading »
Cartridge Reviews
Allaerts MC2 Finish Gold phono cartridge
Michael Fremer  |  Sep 30, 2007  |  0 comments
These are great times for analog, and I'm happy to have played a small part in the revival, but recently the demand for some products has outstripped supply; getting review samples has been next to impossible. I've requested an Audio Research PH7 phono preamplifier for literally years now, but ARC can't build them fast enough, so they don't need a review. The more they sell, the greater the buzz, and the greater the buzz, the more e-mails I get from readers asking for a review. It's not nice to not be needed.
Continue Reading »
Cartridge Reviews
Lyra Clavis Da Capo moving-coil phono cartridge
Michael Fremer  |  Sep 02, 2007  |  0 comments
Scan-Tech builds low-output moving-coil cartridges for a number of companies, including AudioQuest, Linn, and Spectral (footnote 1). It also markets its own line, under the Lyra brand name (Lydian, Clavis, Parnassus), which is imported and distributed by Immedia out of Berkeley, CA.
Continue Reading »
Cartridge Reviews
Lyra Skala moving-coil phono cartridge
Michael Fremer  |  Mar 18, 2007  |  1 comments
Back in 2000, when Lyra introduced the Helikon moving-coil cartridge, which replaced the then six-year-old Clavis D.C., the company inexplicably retained the Clavis D.C.'s retail price of $2000. This was inexplicable because the Helikon's revolutionary design was new from the ground up, and because audiophiles—like most, if not all, consumers—perceive price to be a reflection of quality and performance.
Continue Reading »
Cartridge Reviews
Lyra Parnassus D.C.t phono cartridge
Michael Fremer  |  Jun 11, 2006  |  0 comments
Continue Reading »
Cartridge Reviews
Koetsu Urushi MC phono cartridge
Michael Fremer  |  May 07, 2006  |  0 comments
What makes a phono cartridge worth $3500 or $4000? Pride of ownership? Snob appeal? Sound? Tracking ability? Exotic materials? Styling? Labor cost for skilled artisans? Special ether? Cool wooden box? All of the above?
Continue Reading »

Pages

X