Well I ordered my Safir 9. I decided to go with the silver gold to RCA termination box and still use my Transparent Magnum Opus phono cables...not sure on ETA yet, I guess a few weeks
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Kuzma SAFIR 9
- Thread starter Marcus
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the sound of this tonearm is so "clear" that it has me adjusting VTA compulsively. well maybe it is because it is "clear". i'm no expert. but certainly i find myself adjusting vta to get to a sweet spot for at least half the records i am playing. at the sweet spot it feels full of power and weight - but not bogged down.
Due to its natural transparency, the Safir allows you to listen to records in a way that was previously unknown (to me). So, the VTA setup gets an increased importance. After installing a few cartridges, I finally ended up with the clearaudio Goldfinger v2 providing a special "prime line" line-contact stylus. This type of stylus shape enables a VTA setting allowing listening without permanent re-adjustments.
The manufacturer specifies the corresponding VTA angle for each cartridge, for mine it is 3 degrees at a tracking force of 2.8 mN. This specification can be dialed in with sufficient precision by using an USB microscope and fine-tuning by ear. Incidentally, the records from the Swedish label Opus are ideal for this.
The manufacturer specifies the corresponding VTA angle for each cartridge, for mine it is 3 degrees at a tracking force of 2.8 mN. This specification can be dialed in with sufficient precision by using an USB microscope and fine-tuning by ear. Incidentally, the records from the Swedish label Opus are ideal for this.
I believe it was either the Safir just not a good match to the Etsuro Gold, or the cartridge was not fully run in. I have never auditioned the Etsuro Gold before, so have no idea of its characteristics.
I am pretty sure the Safir is not lean sounding on its own, as it sounded exceptionally well in the agent’s exact same system with the EMT VM.
In my system, in addition to the EMT, I have also paired the Safir with the Dynavector XV1s and the Ortofon A95, and non of the combos sounded lean.
I would be very interested to audition the Etsuro Gold again, either with the Safir or another arm.
I am pretty sure the Safir is not lean sounding on its own, as it sounded exceptionally well in the agent’s exact same system with the EMT VM.
In my system, in addition to the EMT, I have also paired the Safir with the Dynavector XV1s and the Ortofon A95, and non of the combos sounded lean.
I would be very interested to audition the Etsuro Gold again, either with the Safir or another arm.
I am unfamiliar with vta expressed as a single digit number, 3 degrees related to what?
Maybe too much sapphire in this combo? Sort of a joke but you never know hehe
Hello,
Which phono stage did you listen/own? I have the Dyna XV1-t and also contemplating getting the EMT VM too. But I think the phono is also very important in the chain. I just upgraded from Pass XP-27 to Allnic H7000v and I have some doubts about the EMT VM working synergistically with my stage.
Hi, in the agent’s system the VM was fed into the EMT JPA66. In my own system, the phono is mainly the Aesthetix Io Eclipse with dual power supplies. I am also using a LCR phono built by my friend, and have gotten good result matching the VM with a 1:10 SUT.
I find myself adjusting VTA alot. Each turn of the adjustment on the Safir is 0.5 mm. I note that an internet source says vinyl thickness is not standardised and a survey of thicknesses found a range from 0.9 mm to 2.2 mm. 1.3 mm of potential difference then. or close enough to three turns of the adjustment.
I will suddenly hear that things aren't right (imo) and make a change. When VTA is too high that's easy because it sounds like a CD, all detail and no groove, and I am sitting there thinking "what have i done". If it is like that I will come down 1-2 mm (2 to 4 turns). If VTA is too low the bass timing literally slows down and it's like the stylus is being dragged thru treacle. I might go up 0.5 mm to 1 mm from that situation.
am i doing this right? I have only been at it for 1 week really and totally due to removing a warm power cord from riaa and replacing with something more transparent. with the warm cable that meant much less VTA adjustment as the sweet spot seemed bigger/sound more vague. Now I have my quietest and more neutral cable powering the RIAA, the consequence of having VTA right is such that adjustment is becoming de rigeur.
I will suddenly hear that things aren't right (imo) and make a change. When VTA is too high that's easy because it sounds like a CD, all detail and no groove, and I am sitting there thinking "what have i done". If it is like that I will come down 1-2 mm (2 to 4 turns). If VTA is too low the bass timing literally slows down and it's like the stylus is being dragged thru treacle. I might go up 0.5 mm to 1 mm from that situation.
am i doing this right? I have only been at it for 1 week really and totally due to removing a warm power cord from riaa and replacing with something more transparent. with the warm cable that meant much less VTA adjustment as the sweet spot seemed bigger/sound more vague. Now I have my quietest and more neutral cable powering the RIAA, the consequence of having VTA right is such that adjustment is becoming de rigeur.
As discussed earlier in this thread, I believe many Safir users simply set VTA/STA with 180g LPs, and not bother to readjust for different weight records, let alone every record!
If you have the urge to readjust for every record, then the Safir may not be the best arm for you. Since it doesn’t have detailed VTA markings, you will have a hard time if you want to go back to previous settings!
Please use this link:
https://www.analogplanet.com/conten...tylus-rake-angle-using-digital-usb-microscope
Instead of 3 degrees I could have written 93 degrees, but the article with its video should be very informative on this topic.
In my opinion, there are two major points where a perfect setup can fail. Tracking force is one, the weight of the catridge is the other. Mickey Fremer explains everything about tracking force in great detail in this video:
Take a closer look at the Kuzma cartridges and you will notice that they all weigh 17 grams. Through my experiences with different cartridges I have found that the ones weighing 12 grams or more can be dynamically balanced. With lightweight cartridges the tonearm tends to bounce when tracking wavy records.
This is the reason why I use Opus records to dial in a VTA setting which lets you listen to records from 100-180 grams. Their grammage is around 120.
I think this approach is not wrong at all. The stiffer the material of the cantilever, the more resonances and distortions shift out of the audible range. When the phono stage is working properly, it sounds clean, but it can also seem lean. If the phono has a problem with high frequencies, this feeling can be exacerbated. I would reduce the resistance of the phono input slightly.
P.S
You can also connect a cap 1nf in parallel phonoinput to limit the bandwidth of the phono. how fm acoustics does it. with sut not
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Can you explain why? How did you end up with this conclusion?
Can you elaborate this a little bit more?
My dealer spoke to someone who has the Safir in kondo silver and the Safir in Cardas clear. Both wired straight to RCA plugs/no breaks. This person prefers the Cardas wiring feeling the Kondo can sound a bit forward (not bright as some silver is). I've adjusted my order to Cardas Clear to RCA Term Block. I like what I am hearing on my 4 Point so will get my Safir 9 wired the same way. Expect this to be about a month or so for special order delivery.
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