Kuzma SAFIR 9

[phoni]

Which SFz, 1.5/30 ohm or 1/3/40 ohm? How is the synergy between SUT and cartridge?

The new SFz with 1.5/30 ohms would be near perfect ... the cart has 1.4 ohms

 

[mtemur]

The new SFz with 1.5/30 ohms would be near perfect ... the cart has 1.4 ohms

thanks for the info. 34dB gain might be a little too much for 0.45mV output. I guess a 34-38dB MM phono stage will be a good match.

 

[shakti]

Which SFz, 1.5/30 ohm or 1/3/40 ohm? How is the synergy between SUT and cartridge?

Kondo Sf-Z 1/3/40 ohm

connected to 3ohm.

sounds fine, but the gain match is critical.

 

[phoni]

0.45 mV should match with the Soulution phonostage, why not without the SFz?

 

[shakti]

0.45 mV should match with the Soulution phonostage, why not without the SFz?

As the Phasemation EA-2000 Phonostage is far better than the Soulution PhonoPre

 

[SOS]

Anyone have experience between the Phasemation EA-2000 vs EA-1200 vs EA-550 phonostgaes?

 

[shakti]

Anyone have experience between the Phasemation EA-2000 vs EA-1200 vs EA-550 phonostgaes?

this is the KUZMA SAFIR 9 thread, there are Phasemation threads in WBF.

My personal phono stage reference: Phasemation EA-2000

Since some years I am comparing phono stages, looking for a product, which can provide: - minimum of 3 inputs - MM & MC - RIAA plus Mono curves - XLR plus RCA - minimum of 65db Gain - output stage which can drive long cables All of the criteria are not a must, but would be a preferred option...

www.whatsbestforum.com

if not yet answered there, we might discuss this in the Phasemation thread?

 

[Marcus]

FYI: M. Fremer’s YT video: “Kuzma Safir 9 arm review preview - Full review upcoming in The Absolute Sound”

 

[PeterA]

FYI: M. Fremer’s YT video: “Kuzma Safir 9 arm preview review - Full review upcoming in The Absolute Sound”

Perhaps he will do a comparison with the K3 arm.

 

[bonzo75]

Perhaps he will do a comparison with the K3 arm.

I don't see the point. He needs 3 or 4 standard set ups now, which are accessible to many, at differing sonic and price levels, for reference. If his compares are going to only be made on a table and arm no one else has heard, it will lose meaning

 

[PeterA]

I don't see the point. He needs 3 or 4 standard set ups now, which are accessible to many, at differing sonic and price levels, for reference. If his compares are going to only be made on a table and arm no one else has heard, it will lose meaning

I was under the impression that the Kuzma SAFIR 9 and the K3 arms are both contenders for the state of the art. Wouldn’t you play those arms on your reference turntable? What turntable do you think Fremer will use to review the Kuzma SAFIR tonearm?

I was not aware that he has three or four other analog set ups for review purposes.

 

[bonzo75]

I was under the impression that the Kuzma SAFIR 9 and the K3 arms are both contenders for the state of the art. Wouldn’t you play those arms on your reference turntable? What turntable do you think Fremer will use to review the Kuzma SAFIR tonearm?

I was not aware that he has three or four other analog set ups for review purposes.

No I meant he needs to have 3 or 4 at differing points instead of one no one else has heard

 

[Bonesy Jonesy]

FYI: M. Fremer’s YT video: “Kuzma Safir 9 arm review preview - Full review upcoming in The Absolute Sound”

I would 100% miss the 4Point arms removable headshell and fine adjusting the VTA on the fly if I bought the Safir 9 to replace my 4Point 11" which I feel are key and great features of the 4Point arms !

 

[SOS]

I would 100% miss the 4Point arms removable headshell and fine adjusting the VTA on the fly if I bought the Safir 9 to replace my 4Point 11" which I feel are key and great features of the 4Point arms !

I thought the same thing have loved my 4POINT and so easy to hear and adjust VTA on the fly. But once heard you forget about those concerns and just get immersed in the music. It's like having no tonearm just your favorite cartridge floating on the LP.
What Fremer didn't explain is when adjusting VTA on the Safir you must bring the arm back to its holding clamp to to engage the mechanism.

 

[thekong]

I thought the same thing have loved my 4POINT and so easy to hear and adjust VTA on the fly. But once heard you forget about those concerns and just get immersed in the music. It's like having no tonearm just your favorite cartridge floating on the LP.
What Fremer didn't explain is when adjusting VTA on the Safir you must bring the arm back to its holding clamp to to engage the mechanism.

I was going to say the same thing, small sacrifice to pay for the improvement in performance

 

[pcosta]

I was under the impression that the Kuzma SAFIR 9 and the K3 arms are both contenders for the state of the art. Wouldn’t you play those arms on your reference turntable? What turntable do you think Fremer will use to review the Kuzma SAFIR tonearm?

I was not aware that he has three or four other analog set ups for review purposes.

In Fremer's video he has the SAFIR mounted on what looks like a Acoustic Signature turntable. He probably can't mount it on his OMA table because of the oversized platter of the OMA table.
I would like a compare as well. In the past when Fremer did them he used the same table and cart for the compare and at least give us a slight impression of what he is hearing.

 

[Bonesy Jonesy]

I thought the same thing have loved my 4POINT and so easy to hear and adjust VTA on the fly. But once heard you forget about those concerns and just get immersed in the music. It's like having no tonearm just your favorite cartridge floating on the LP.
What Fremer didn't explain is when adjusting VTA on the Safir you must bring the arm back to its holding clamp to to engage the mechanism.

I guess the challenge is getting the Safir9 set-up to it's peak performance level with a trial adjustment of the VTA off the record that could be multiple times i.e. onto record, listen, if not satisfied with the sound back onto the arms holding clamp, re-adjust etc. numerous times.
Whereas with the 4Point arms you can get the VTA set with very fine adjustment to exactly what you are hearing at the same time therefore getting the peak performance level of the 4Point quite quickly and accurately which I would have thought would be more effective than the Safir9 approach.
So you would have more chance it getting the best performance it has been designed to do with the 4Point arms as opposed to the Safir9 arms and yet the Safir9 is double the cost of the 4Point 14" and nearly triple the cost of the 4Point 11".
Therefore, would you be getting value for money with the Safir9, if hasn't been set up for optimum performance ?

Also if you have multiple cartridges for different music genres and or different phono stages / systems etc. it would be quite tiresome to have to keep taking off the cartridge from the Safir9 headshell and then re-installing a different cartridge and going through the whole process again of setting it up. Wheras on the 4Point arms you would have already done that the first time you have installed a different cartridge if all of your cartridges are each already mounted on the Kuzma headshells.

 

[SOS]

@Bonesy Jonesy all valid points you raise BUT again I have to state once heard you forget about everything else. The Safir can be adjusted in micro mm and yes it does take a bit extra effort but in the end well worth the trouble IMHO.

 

[Bonesy Jonesy]

@Bonesy Jonesy all valid points you raise BUT again I have to state once heard you forget about everything else. The Safir can be adjusted in micro mm and yes it does take a bit extra effort but in the end well worth the trouble IMHO.

Thank you SOS for your reply. Much appreciated.

 

[Birdwatcher]

In my opinion the exchange of premounted headshells with different cartridges on the 4Point is not very practical. I had the 11“ 4P for about 6 years and have never used the second headshell. The unclipping of cable, readjustment of the counterweights, VTA, antiscating and azimuth, is way too complicated to do it in regular manner. Maybe mounting new cartridges every some months, but I wouldn’t change it in smaller intervals.
So I can (oh, sorry: COULD) live best with the fixed headshell, not on-the-fly VTA of the SAFIR, if the end resulting performance is significantly better.
Beneath my actual AS Axiom the SAFIR is one of the most exciting, and after all these reports here, one of the most promising tonearms on the market nowadays for me. But maybe I am a little biased, as I had the Stogi, Stogi Ref, Airline and the 11“4P in the past…