Air Tight PC-1 Supreme Versus Air Tight Opus 1

Ron Resnick

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Has anyone actually directly compared on the same turntable in the same system (ideally on the same brand and model of tonearm but that ideal comparison is unlikely) the Air Tight PC-1 Supreme versus the Air Tight Opus 1?

The technical specifications and the designs of these cartridges are very similar. So what are the real sonic differences between them?

Are these cartridges, in practical reality, so close in sonic characteristics that after an hour of listening to music you really wouldn’t be able to tell which one you were listening to?

Or is the Opus 1 a clearly noticeable and significant improvement in one or more sonic attributes over the PC-1 Supreme?
 

Ron Resnick

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PeterA

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Valin reviewed both AirTights in TAS. He like the Opus a lot. I don't know if he was able to do a direct comparison. You could contact Arturo at Axiss Audio, the US Distributor, or Albert Porter. I think each would be happy to give you his assessment. From what I have read, the Opus seems to retain what is special about the Supreme, namely a very natural sense of tone, good resolution and magic on strings and vocals, and it increases frequency range, dynamics, and resolution. I have not hear the Opus. I don't think that cartridge specs tell you much about how a cartridge sounds. The cantilever material is different with these two cartridges.
 

Ron Resnick

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Thank you, Peter.

There are small design differences, but the Air Tight website lists both cantilevers as boron.
 

PeterA

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Thank you, Peter.

There are small design differences, but the Air Tight website lists both cantilevers as boron.


Ron,

Here is Valin's review in TAS: http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/air-tight-opus-1-ermitage-moving-coil-cartridge/?page=2

In it, he describes the cantilever as Duralmin, like that in my MSL Signature Gold. The Supreme uses a boron cantilever. The review also mentions a slightly different stylus shape. My impression from this review is that the Opus combines the best of my two cartridges into one: the soundstage, body, richness and tone of the Supreme and the dynamics, extension and resolution of the Signature Gold.
 

Ron Resnick

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Both cantilevers are made of boron. The Air Tight website says the housing of the Opus 1 is made of duralumin.



48459B4E-BA4E-4763-B951-45FDADBAFE31.jpg




6FCAD90D-E9D9-44C8-A7EB-984202464D06.jpg
 

dan31

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Hi Ron,

“It didn't matter whether the signal was soft or loud; the Opus never compromised the quality of sound. Musicality was always retained. Where the Supreme began the process of pushing down awareness of the mechanical aspects, the Opus completed it.”

I guess the Opus is a more complete cartridge. It does not mean you would not prefer the Supreme. They seem to be great cartridges with happy owners.
 

miniguy

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Ron,

Here is Valin's review in TAS: http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/air-tight-opus-1-ermitage-moving-coil-cartridge/?page=2

In it, he describes the cantilever as Duralmin, like that in my MSL Signature Gold. The Supreme uses a boron cantilever. The review also mentions a slightly different stylus shape. My impression from this review is that the Opus combines the best of my two cartridges into one: the soundstage, body, richness and tone of the Supreme and the dynamics, extension and resolution of the Signature Gold.

For whatever reason, Valin made a mistake. Both cartridges have the same boron cantilever.
 

PeterA

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Miniguy, Thank you for sorting that out. I wonder if Valin was reviewing a prototype? I think I read somewhere that both Valin and Fremer tested earlier versions of the Opus 1 when it was called the Opus Magnum or something like that. I notice that the weight of each cartridge differs by 0.5g. That would create different effective masses. The cartridge compliance is spec'd the same, so resonance frequency on the same arm would be slightly different. The Opus is heavier, so on the same arm, the counterweight would move backwards slightly, changing the inertia of the arm/cartridge combination.

I am sure the cartridges sound different because the reviews describe differences. Why the sound different is interesting: output, weight, effective mass, inertia, cartridge body resonance, internal impedance? Ron, I'd ask either or the two gentleman I suggested earlier, describe your arm and listening preferences, and they can make a recommendation. Or, you could buy the Opus, send it to me, and I will do the direct comparison on my SME V-12 arm. Come to Boston to hear them for yourself, and I'll take you out for an evening sail.

IMG_2255.jpg
 

Ron Resnick

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Thank you for the invitation, Peter!

Here’s the thing: I just do not believe there is such a thing as a sonic free lunch. (I appreciate the Opus 1 is a lot more $ expensive than the PC-1 Supreme, but I am talking only sonics.)

I am skeptical that the greater high-frequency extension and the greater detail retrieval of the Opus 1 does not take something away subjectively from the rich and full-body midrange of the PC-1 Supreme.
 

Ron Resnick

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Hi Ron,

“It didn't matter whether the signal was soft or loud; the Opus never compromised the quality of sound. Musicality was always retained. Where the Supreme began the process of pushing down awareness of the mechanical aspects, the Opus completed it.”

I guess the Opus is a more complete cartridge. It does not mean you would not prefer the Supreme. They seem to be great cartridges with happy owners.

Thank you, Dan!

Peter is correct. I should contact Albert. But I already know that Albert loves the Opus 1.
 

PeterA

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Thank you for the invitation, Peter!

Here’s the thing: I just do not believe there is such a thing as a sonic free lunch. (I appreciate the Opus 1 is a lot more $ expensive than the PC-1 Supreme, but I am talking only sonics.)

I am skeptical that the greater high-frequency extension and the greater detail retrieval of the Opus 1 does not take something away subjectively from the rich and full-body midrange of the PC-1 Supreme.

You are most welcome, Ron.

I understand your concern, and yet you really liked MikeL's GFS (in his system context) which, arguably, has even more HF extension and resolution than the Opus-1. And then, you are considering the Opus or Supreme instead of the Benz LPS. Resolution is a good thing, as long as it sounds natural.
 

PeterA

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Thank you, Dan!

Peter is correct. I should contact Albert. But I already know that Albert loves the Opus 1.

Yes, but Albert can better describe the differences he actually heard, which may not agree with my summary of what I've read about the differences. More data points. I keep returning to the fact that those people who have heard both, ALL seem to prefer the Opus-1 to the Supreme.
 

Ron Resnick

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OK. I stay with Opus 1. :) Thank you.
 

Ron Resnick

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Thank you, Gian.
 

Birdwatcher

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Ron, would you please report on your experiences with the Opus 1?
I would especially ask you about your own questions and concerns you wrote above, before you had bought the cartridge. How would you answer your questions?
thanks a lot, as I am thinking about a Supreme or Opus 1 as an alternative cartridge for Lyra Atlas on my Kuzma Airline and 4Point.
 
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Ron Resnick

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Jan 24, 2015
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Ron, would you please report on your experiences with the Opus 1?
I would especially ask you about your own questions and concerns you wrote above, before you had bought the cartridge. How would you answer your questions?
thanks a lot, as I am thinking about a Supreme or Opus 1 as an alternative cartridge for Lyra Atlas on my Kuzma Airline and 4Point.

Dear birdwatcher,

I cannot answer the questions I posed in my post, above.

I have not yet purchased an Opus 1. I never compared a PC-1 Supreme to an Opus 1.

I have only random experience data points. I heard the Opus 1 twice on the Bergmann Odin on a Bergmann Galder at Alma Music and Sound; I heard the Opus 1 several times in demos at audio shows.

Why are you looking for an alternative to your Lyra Atlas?

Is there anything about the sound of that cartridge that is not to your liking?

What are you hoping to achieve by switching to a different cartridge?
 

Ron Resnick

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Please tell us your impressions of the sonic differences between the 4Point and the Airline.
 

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