Comparison of some Cartridges in the 4k+ region: Soundsmith "The Voice", Ikeda 9 TT, Ortofon "Windfeld Ti", Air Tight PC1

[shakti]

Yesterday the Miyajima Madake arrived, as former demo cart so with a view hours on it.

It took me a really long time to install it, as the cart is very sensible to small adjustments.

Doing it wrong the Madake sounds relatively dull, and lifeless. Bringing it to the point is getting leaner and more precise with a high resolution. I

f the Tonearm back end is a little too low , the Cart is just one of the warm and nice playing cards around and you might miss a lot. The Shibata diamond is kind of critical as always.

I have to say, that very often I do not like Shibata too much, as it such a lot of work to make the cart sing.

Now the Madake is nearly on the spot, but has the typical Colibri problems of sharp sibilants on certain records.

Other Carts of this comparison do hide this sharp "S" more and play the music more in a convenient zone.

The chosen impedance of 160ohm is theoretically right, but I will play around with that measure as well.

After some hours I start to understand, why I can find so many different points of views about the Madake performance, quality and character

So I have no final opinion yet and will work a little longer with this cartridge to understand it better.

(Yamamoto Titanium Headshell, Titanium screws, platinum Headshell wires, Ikeda 407 silver (steel wand) Tonearm, Vertere Tonearmcable)

 

[gian60]

Strange thing is that some love Madake and some don’t like
Nobody in the middle like other carts
This is strange

 

[kodomo]

Strange thing is that some love Madake and some don’t like
Nobody in the middle like other carts
This is strange

Let's see, I have just got one delivered to me a few minutes ago

 

[gian60]

Good,
very interested to listen your ideas

 

[kodomo]

Good,
very interested to listen your ideas

Here are my first impressions after about 4 to 6 hours adjusting and 14 hours of listening to the cartridge on the weekend. It was at 80 hours when I got it. A friend got it two months ago but his Nagra VPS did not provide enough gain, his Kondo SUT did not match so he got himself another cartridge. It was a surprising and unexpected deal for me as I am also getting 2 more cartridges and buying another one was not on my plans.

This is one of the those cartridges that sound good even without precise adjustment so some people without proper tools may be listening to this below the level of its performance. I concluded this because when I put it on and adjusted it briefly, what I heard was already good and also how people were depicting it. Nice and warm sounding, not very dynamic but still exciting with good and supple upper-bass. Yes, they are partly true but this is no wooden Koetsu. I am a little obsessed when it comes to fine adjustment of mechanical equipment as like most of the people here. So after fine adjustment of all the parameters, the sound got much better in every way. The preamp gain was perfect at 64db and 230ohms input resistance seemed to provide a great match. It is interesting to note, it is very responsive to loading, I really did not like 300 ohms or 150 ohms which normally sound more similar than different. By the way, this is one of the best cartridges that I had in terms of build quality. The stylus and cantilever were perfectly placed on the body, better than Kuzma and VdH cartridges I have as of now.

Even after careful adjustment, this cartridge is definitely not as explosive as VdH MS (nothing is yet) nor it is able to bring the ambient cues as much. It still has a signature on the upper-bass but a little less thick and more harmonically rich. It now sounds more dynamic, especially the macro dynamics are much better but it still lacks some on the micro-dynamics when you put it head to head with the best out there. Do I make it sound like it is not a good cartridge, well, it is definitely a very good cartridge adn I am just talking about what it misses. For the rest it hits the right spots completely.

In the end, I had a great listening session this weekend. Much relaxed and varied too. VdH is great on some recordings but I can hardly listen to some with it. Even some old favorites was lost on the VdH. They are now back and stronger than ever. At least my VdH has too much hype over 10khz. This Madake is measurably flatter than VdH. Although the upper-bass sound stronger, spl wise it is actually quite flat. So, I attribute it to its harmonic richness for I can not find a better way to describe it. The piano midrange and top end is really good, the mid bass is strong. I love listening to timbre of both acoustic instruments with it. It tracks really well. No issues with sibilance.

It is like the VdH was the frantic genius that puts on a great show on its preferred material but the Madake is like an old master who can play anything right and carry a subtle tone of its own.

All in all, this is a very good cartridge. There are only two downsides to its many upsides and they are retrieval of ambient cues and having a subtle signature upper-bass (more like thickness before careful adjustment) Who knows, maybe with its propriety sut, it betters in those two areas as well...

 

[bonzo75]

We tried the SUTs with both mono and stereo at Montesquieu. I remember the mono SUT being quite effective compared to the stereo.

 

[Exlibris]

During the last months I have tried a lot of cartridges.

As the "uber" High End" section of cartridges has passed the 10k price point now regular for the most manufacturers, I am not willing (and not able) to support this direction of "new" High End pricing, as the Cartridge is a product with a limited lifetime , and depending on my nervous fingers, a product which can be destroyed easily while using.

So my goal was, to find cartridges with a high sonic value, a specific character , which makes it easy to connect and to enjoy music.

One of my most favorite carts is the 1k Audio Technica ART9, as this cart has a perfect balance of all the things I like. It can rock, it can drive me to tears, it can make me happy, it can play also some strong female voice sections without distortion.

So every cartridge costing significantly more, must play in a much more better level in the most areas of music reproduction.

Otherwise I would stick to the AT ART 9 as the day to day cartridge.

My "reference" Cartridge Is the vdh Stradivarius Master Signature, so this will be the benchmark in the other direction.

The comparison was done mainly with the following set up:

- TechDAS Airforce 3 Premium turntable
- Ikeda 407 chrom, Ikeda 407 silver, Ikeda 345 silver, SME 3012R tonearms
- Boulder 2008, Audio Specials, Audio flight, Grandinote Celio phono stages
- Koda Takumi K10, Grandinote Genesi PreAmps
- VTL-S 400, Grandinote Demone Amps
- Wilson Audio Maxx 3 speakers

The following 4 cartridges do make their job now for a longer time, others were sold after a while. If a better cart will join the group, one of the 4 has to leave as well

- Soundsmith "The Voice" (this year a newer version was launched, my version is from 2017)
- Air Tight PC1 (the original one, now they are updated and called like : Supreme, Coda and so on)
- Ortofon Windfeld Ti (current version)
- Ikeda 9 TT (current version)

As the prices for Cartridges differ a lot by market, I do not write them down in detail, but in Germany they are in a similar region, the PC1 the most expensive, the Voice the most affordable.

I will continue this thread with my notes about every individual cartridge in the next days.

Great thread. I'm looking forward to reading more suggestions.

 

[shakti]

Great thread. I'm looking forward to reading more suggestions.

OK, I like to give some more suggestion:

- Soundsmith PAUA MkII

This Cart retails in Germany for around 5k eur and was a clear step forward in comparison to the Soundsmith "the voice", if your PhonoPre can do MC with 500ohm or even more load. The Tonearm should be on the more heavy side of "medium effective mass"

The Paua plays with a lot of energy and still keeps the nice tone on voices.

- Kiseki Purple Heart

The Purple Heart retails in Germany for 3k eur and is a really nice alternative to the Koetsu range of carts.

Tonality is more close to Koetsu Black than to Koetsu Rosewood, plus a blend of resolution and emotion, that Cart is for 3K a nice looking and well balanced alternative for the more lighter arms of "medium effective mass"

 

[Exlibris]

OK, I like to give some more suggestion:

- Soundsmith PAUA MkII

This Cart retails in Germany for around 5k eur and was a clear step forward in comparison to the Soundsmith "the voice", if your PhonoPre can do MC with 500ohm or even more load. The Tonearm should be on the more heavy side of "medium effective mass"

The Paua plays with a lot of energy and still keeps the nice tone on voices.

- Kiseki Purple Heart

The Purple Heart retails in Germany for 3k eur and is a really nice alternative to the Koetsu range of carts.

Tonality is more close to Koetsu Black than to Koetsu Rosewood, plus a blend of resolution and emotion, that Cart is for 3K a nice looking and well balanced alternative for the more lighter arms of "medium effective mass"

View attachment 63409View attachment 63411View attachment 63412View attachment 63410

Coincidentally I just watched an old review on YouTube yesterday where Steve Guttenberg was comparing the Purple Heart to the Koetsu Sky Blue. I checked out the specs on each -- the Koetsu would work perfectly with my arm and SUT but, unfortunately, not the Purple Heart.

 

[Sergio Kwitko]

Excellent comparisons Shakti!
Have you compared the Ikeda 9TT to vdH the Crimson?
Also, since ART9 is a high compilance cartidge, and Ikeda 407 arm is a high mass arm, how do they work well togehter?

 

[shakti]

Excellent comparisons Shakti!
Have you compared the Ikeda 9TT to vdH the Crimson?
Also, since ART9 is a high compilance cartidge, and Ikeda 407 arm is a high mass arm, how do they work well togehter?

I never owned a vdh Crimson, so no chance for a comparison.

The ART9 will show a very good performance in heavy tonearms. AT is measuring the compliance differently to other brands, so a factor of around 10 is between the measurable.

 

[bonzo75]

I have heard the art 9, art 1000, in different tonearms and with different phonos. They are both excellent carts and difficult to beat art 9 in value terms. But I think both are classical and jazz carts, and not so much for rock. In fact I preferred the lower priced AT33 to art 9 for rock in the same system.

I don't know the Crimson, but the master signature is quite superior to the Art carts.

Art 1000 heard with vertere tonearm and FM 123 phono where it was compared to Miyajima madake at vertere, then with kuzma 4p and Ypsilon phono comparing to Lyra atlas in dctom's system, and in another system with kuzma airline and thoress and silvercore phonos.

Art 9 heard with Allnic 3000 in UK Paul's system, and with the lower model Sikora arm in the horns universum system

 

[shakti]

I like to continue the 4k Cartridge story.

Since a couple of weeks the

Etsuro Urushi Cobalt Blue

is fitted in a Ikeda 407 stainless steel armwand tonearm.

Techn Data:

Type
Moving coil

Frequency response
15-50,000Hz

Output voltage
0.25mV/1kHz

Output balance
?0.5dB/1kHz

Channel separation
33dB/1kHz

Tracking weight
2gr

Impedance
3?/1kHz

Trackability
?70?m/2gr

Stylus shape
80?m microline diamond

Cantilever
0.4? sapphire pipe

Cartridge base
Extra super duralumin(A7075)

Cartridge housing
Extra super duralumin(A7075)

Housing processing
Urushi handmade

Terminal pin
Rhodium plated

Cartridge weight
8.1 grams


within the Etsuro Urushi product range, the 4k Cobalt blue is the entry model.

A time ago, I had the Bordeaux , the mid point of the range in my system.

Compared to my other carts the Cobalt Blue plays on the neutral to a little slightly warmer side.
Not too far away from the tonal balance of the My Sonic Lab Signature platinum, which is a little more rounded.

It seems, that the Cobalt prefers the connection to a matching transformer, at least in my system I liked it that way. So I understand, that Etsuro Urushi offers a step up as well.

The Cobalt Blue play surprisingly close to my other carts in the double price league (MSL, Sumile, Hyperion).

Having a free cart choice on many records the Cobalt blue becomes very often my favorite cart. This is different to the Etsuro Urushi Bordeaux, which was (from my memory) not that well balanced in the quality over the complete spectrum. Partially clearly the Bordeaux is better than the Cobalt, but you start to focus on the better and start to miss the quality on other areas of the reproduction. Means you immediately start to dream about the Etsuro Urushi Gold Top Cartridge.

Listening to the Cobalt Blue makes me missing nothing, the cart is just opening the door to an emotional music listening.

In this price range, the Cobalt blue is (for me) one of the most complete cartridges.

But the next competitor is already on the way from Japan, I ordered a not so well known and popular cartridge.

I will write up next time, after having received and mounted this special cart

 

[defride]

Interesting comments re the Bordeaux, I've heard nothing but positive from reviews and the couple of people I know with first hand experience. Good to have another perspective.

Another cart has entered the fray @ £3299, all information from Audio Emotion in the UK who appear to have them in stock despite no press or even a press release. Given it's the same maker it'll be an interesting compare to the Cobalt



When you experience a particular savoury deliciousness in food, it’s Umami; and Umami coupled with other specific ingredients meld together harmoniously to become more than the sum of their parts, many of the world’s tastiest dishes are assembled in this way.

Hana’s Master cartridge designer Okada-san produces this quality in sound when he selects materials and techniques to create the richness and harmony you will experience from his new HANA-Umami Red hand-built MC cartridge.

The new HANA-Umami Red high-end MC cartridge combines classic Japanese materials and techniques with modern audio engineering. The age hardened Duralumin A7075 machined body is Urushi lacquered and incorporates an Ebony Wood ‘Tuning Key’ providing rich harmonic overtones. The unique Auricle shaped body design which mimics the outer ear rigidly couples the “Open Air” MC generator, providing focus and transparency.

Combining classic materials with high tech processes, the cryogenic treated MC generator features a samarium/cobalt magnet with a pure-iron square plate former. The coil is hand-wound with a high purity 30-micron copper wire for an internal impedance of 8? and .4mV output. A Nude natural diamond Micro-line stylus is bonded to the .28mm solid Boron cantilever, to capture the very smallest musical details with great dynamics, stereo imaging, and resolution.

 

[shakti]

Interesting comments re the Bordeaux, I've heard nothing but positive from reviews and the couple of people I know with first hand experience. Good to have another perspective.

Another cart has entered the fray @ £3299, all information from Audio Emotion in the UK who appear to have them in stock despite no press or even a press release. Given it's the same maker it'll be an interesting compare to the Cobalt



When you experience a particular savoury deliciousness in food, it’s Umami; and Umami coupled with other specific ingredients meld together harmoniously to become more than the sum of their parts, many of the world’s tastiest dishes are assembled in this way.

Hana’s Master cartridge designer Okada-san produces this quality in sound when he selects materials and techniques to create the richness and harmony you will experience from his new HANA-Umami Red hand-built MC cartridge.

The new HANA-Umami Red high-end MC cartridge combines classic Japanese materials and techniques with modern audio engineering. The age hardened Duralumin A7075 machined body is Urushi lacquered and incorporates an Ebony Wood ‘Tuning Key’ providing rich harmonic overtones. The unique Auricle shaped body design which mimics the outer ear rigidly couples the “Open Air” MC generator, providing focus and transparency.

Combining classic materials with high tech processes, the cryogenic treated MC generator features a samarium/cobalt magnet with a pure-iron square plate former. The coil is hand-wound with a high purity 30-micron copper wire for an internal impedance of 8? and .4mV output. A Nude natural diamond Micro-line stylus is bonded to the .28mm solid Boron cantilever, to capture the very smallest musical details with great dynamics, stereo imaging, and resolution.

The Hana Umami looks indeed like an interesting comparison, specially as the current much cheaper Hana carts do have slightly different voicing than the Etsuro carts. More vibrant, but with much less resolution. I believe the aspect of resolution will become obsolete, reading the spec of the Umami.

looking forward to hear an Umami.

But at first my next already ordered Japanese Cartridge need to arrive

 

[shakti]

n my research work on "My Sonic Lab"

https://www.whatsbestforum.com/threads/my-personal-journey-to-my-sonic-lab.30722/


I tried to understand the history of the company owner Matsudaira.

I came across the person of Eiji Kanda, who runs MUTECH corp.

MUTECH corp. has been manufacturing MC systems and transformers for more than 50 years.

The MUTECH corp. was founded by Mr. Eiji Kanda, who was involved in the development of transformers and transformers for various manufacturers of audio devices.

Kanda and his company MUTECH started developing cartridges together with SUPEX. in 1959. The accuracy and technology of MUTECH is highly valued not only by Japanese but also by foreign audio manufacturers, so that MUTECH supported the development cooperation with many brands as well as carried out the OEM production (eg for Transfiguration). This bundled know-how ultimately led to the development of the "MUTECH / LM-H" magnetic material for the MUTECH MC systems.

The "MUTECH / LM-H" material was used to develop and manufacture yoke-free MC systems
(such as for Transfiguration).

Kanda is now using this combined knowledge to produce systems (similar to Matsudaira (and may be sourced from)) with very low DC resistance and high output voltage.

The last stage of development led to the current one

MUTECH RM-Kanda Hayabusa

Features
Brand New generator developed by Eiji Kanda.
Low impedance high output (0.45mV) with placing original core (SS-?M) into the magnetic material Neodymium.
Removed Yoke, place Core (SS-?M) into Ring Magnet directly, the magnetic special quality is improved. The magnetic distortion is avoided.
The impedance of coil is so small that an electric current to the voltage becomes high. Finally the sound stage is made clear.
Original custom made suspension wire made sound quality highly.

Specifications
Model: RM-KANDA HAYABUSA
Electricity generating system: Yokeless Ring Magnet MC Cartridge
Output voltage: 0.45mV (1kHz, 3.45cm / sec)
Tracking force range: 1.8 - 2.0g
Frequency response: 10-45,000Hz
Coil impedance: 1.5? (DCR)
Cross Talk: more30dBdB (1kHz)
Chanel balance: less 0.5db (1kHz)
Magnet: Neodymium. ? 50
Stylus: semi-line contact stylus
Cantilever: ?0.3?? nude boron ?3Mm.m × 30Mm.m?
Terminal: rhodium plating
Weight: 9g

In the past, I have always appreciated the different Transfiguration systems. Unfortunately the brand no longer exists after the death of the owner Seiji Yoshioka. However, the yoke-free magnet in the cartridge technique he developed with Eiji Kanda lives on with the Mutech Hayabusa.

Michael Fremer, celebrated in the US as Analog Pabst, writes about the Hayabusa as a conclusion:

"I took an immediate liking to the sound of this Japanese cartridge."

“The RM-Kanda makes use of the familiar combination of boron cantilever and nude semi-line-contact stylus (Ogura PA) found on other costly Japanese cartridges — except that this isn't a costly Japanese cartridge.

It costs $ 4500 — not exactly cheap, but considering its construction quality and that MuTech, while not well known in the US, has been building cartridges (and supplying parts) for others for more than 50 years, and that this sample was easy to set up, with crosstalk and channel-balance measurements that matched its published specs, I'd say it's great value for money. But only if it sounds good. Which it did. ”

“However, at less than half the price of the Ortofon and Lyras (referring to the MC Century, Atlas and Etna), the RMKanda is a highly evolved, well-built, tonally honest-sounding cartridge that also tracked well. If you own a tired Transfiguration cartridge but still love its sound, step this way!"

Perhaps the designer can next come up with a double-ring-magnet cartridge as a suitable replacement for Transfiguration’s underpriced / overperforming Proteus? ”

 

[shakti]

During the weekend I had the time to mount the Hayabusa,

Since my last systems all played in the Arche Headshell, I also installed the Hayabusa in one.

You can tell the Hayabusa case, the needle guard, etc. the proximity of the two developers Kanda and Matsudaira, would assume that Kanda gets some raw parts from My Sonic Lab, which would not be the worst.

Accordingly, the assembly is quite quick and easy.
Compared to the MSL Platinum Signature, I have minimally reduced the tracking force, increased the anti-skating a bit, also the Hayabusa may be with me, slightly higher at the back.

These are at least the settings for the initial assembly,
that may change after a few hours of play.

The system's first sound impression brings the sound of the family sound from My Sonic Lab and related brands closer to me, although I really like the very beautiful and expressive midrange and immediately noticed it.

Obviously, the yoke free construction of the magnet brings certain advantages / differences.

The Hayabusa is definitely characterized by a deep space and a very three-dimensional and emotionally appealing reproduction. Especially since the system will surely gain further resolution over the break-in period.

I will leave the Hayabusa in the GLANZ MH 124s tonearm in my chain, but I will probably switch from the also very full and round sounding GLANZ tonearm cable to one from the Wireworld or JPS, because my current chain is rather warm at the moment and the tonearm cabling is therefore rather neutral may.
At My Sonic Lab and other pickups from this house, you usually have to pay double the Mutech Hayabusa for the Boron needle carrier.

In this respect I find the price-performance ratio of the Hayabusa very good,
a successful start , at least in Germany (Hayabusa is for Export only)

Now I'm going to continue to fine tune the system and I'm excited to see how it develops.

 

[Vienna]

Hi Shakti what’s Hayabusa compliance?

 

[shakti]

Hi Shakti what’s Hayabusa compliance?

Mutech does not specify the compliance, but as the cartridge assembly is using many parts of the
MSL Platinum Signature, I like to assume, that the compliance is similar as well.

Best Guess: Compliance 10x10-6cm/dyen

Someone from WBF told me, that the Hayabusa is a great match with the Glanz MH124 S Tonearm,
which would underline this lower compliance level

 

[microstrip]

Just to point a review of the Kiseki Purple Heart in TAS

http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/kiseki-purpleheart-ns-moving-coil-phono-cartridge/

Probably it is the cartridge I have listened for more time in my audiophile life, I preferred its faster and airier sound to the Koetsu's, that were also more expensive. I remember seeing daybreak at the airport in the late 80's, waiting for friend who was arriving in a much delayed flight from Japan bringing me a Purple Heart Saphire in his pocket ...