Miyajima Labs 1.0 mil Infinity Mono

[Mike Lavigne]

i've decided to move on from my Miyajima Labs Premium Be mono cartridge, sold it 2 weeks ago. i owned it and really enjoyed it for 6-7 years now, but recently found that my mono pressings sounded quite a bit better on my Etsuro Gold stereo cartridges when using the EMIA silver wound SUT's. after pondering what i should do, i decided to step up to a higher level mono cartridge (1) to spread the cartridge hours around, (2) i have the extra arm and phono channel, and (3) i do enjoy the low noise on vintage mono pressings from a true mono cartridge.

the two i considered seriously were the Ortofon A mono and the Miyajima Infinity Mono. looking around for feedback, honestly there was not much. the price was going to be close enough that that was not the issue. i've heard the Miyajima Zero mono a number of times at my friend jazdoc's place and it has seriously impressed me as quite a big step up over my Premium Be. so this data point maybe was decisive in tipping the scales. in the end i went for what i felt would offer the more involving musical experience..........the 1.0 mil Infinity Mono. i think i would have been happy with the A Mono too......

so today i ordered and paid for the 1.0 mil Infinity from Robin Wyatt. it should be here in 3-4 weeks. i will report back once i get it up and running.

http://www.miyajima-lab.com/e-mono.html

in my search for answers, besides not really finding any......i did find others who were asking about this. so i figured i would start this thread.

 

[ferrari275]

Mike Lavigne

in my search for answers, besides not really finding any......i did find others who were asking about this. so i figured i would start this thread.

Great thread starter. Full disclosure, I am a novice Mono recordings listener at best but have been enjoying a Miyajima Mono Zero (1.0) for a number of years.

Curious to read more about your impressions of the Infinity Mono.......please keep everyone posted!

 

[Mike Lavigne]

update; the Infinity should land next Tuesday or Wednesday. looking forward to hearing it.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

the new Miyajima Infinity Mono landed today, been listening for the last 2 hours. it's a big mother, for sure. but big does not mean lacking sophistication or 'touch'. the initial impressions are that i'm mainlining the musical flow. it is so direct and holographic, with a reach out and touch it presentation. big, bold, and sassy. but nothing rounded or thick with this one. not any sort of sense of adding heft but missing detail. this one has all the detail and nuance, ease and delicacy too. and tone, tone, tone. you feel enveloped by musical presence.

the Infinity is alive and life-like, such musical tension and energy. explosive. immediate. unrestrained.

http://www.miyajima-lab.com/e-mono.html

it's mounted on the NVS on my standard 12" Durand Telos with the wood arm wand, tracking at 3.5 grams, level in the back, plugged into the dart phono. i can also use the CS Port 63db input, or one of my EMIA Ag SUT's as the tonearm cable with reach all three choices. eventually i will try all three.

this one happens to be the 0.7 mil stylus version Infinity, which while brand new, is a loaner until my 1.0 mil stylus Infinity arrives in about a month. thank you to Robin Wyatt (USA Miyajima distributor http://www.robyattaudio.com/ ) for being so understanding and allowing me to use this for now. this one is said to be more 'stereo cutter head' friendly compared to the 1.0 mil. the 1.0 mil might favor older (prior to 65') mono pressings. at this point i can't comment on that, other than everything i've played so far sets the new 'mono' performance standard to my ears.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

1.0 arrived today......

 

[Mike Lavigne]

i mounted the 1.0mil Infinity Friday night on the Telos, and listened.

as expected it went to another level on the early wide groove mono pressings. while the 0.7 mil was very very good on those, the 1.0 mil went to another level. and that had significant musical consequences. lower noise, more separation of musical parts, and more ease and flow. just more information. it transformed some of my early 50's pressings from barely listenable to 'let's boggie'. that was Friday night.

yesterday i did more of the early pressings and then later i started with the later mono pressings, the 45 rpm mono reissues, and later mono reissues. here it was very nice, but maybe not quite as 'special' as the 0.7mil version. finally i directly compared the 1.0mil version to my Etsuro Gold stereo cartridge on these new 'stereo cut' mono pressings. here what found was equivalency. maybe the 1.0mil was very slightly better than my Gold.......but just slightly.

and this was what i needed to know. how can i optimize each part of my Lp collection? my problem is i have raised the bar so high with my Etsuro Gold that it really pushes a mono cartridge to be it's very best to justify me using it.

my conclusions;

---1.0mil is superior on older wide groove pressings. only equal to the best (in my experience) stereo cartridge on new 'stereo cut' mono pressings.
---0.7mil is superior to both the 1.0mil Infinity and the Etsuro Gold on new 'stereo cut' mono pressings, but not equal to the 1.0mil on older pressings.
---my Etsuro Gold is equal to the 1.0mil on new 'stereo cut' mono pressings, but falls clearly short to the 0.7mil on newer 'stereo cut' mono pressings.

so this morning i spoke to Robin Wyatt, and decided to KEEP BOTH!!

i have 3 turntables and 4 arms. 2 of those arms use head shells. so i have some choices as to where each of these 2 mono cartridges will be mounted. for now i will leave the 1.0mil Infinity on the Durand Telos on the NVS. i will likely mount to the 0.7mil Infinity on the 2nd head shell for the Tosca on the Saskia. that will be plan A. plan B might be to mount the 0.7mil on the Telos Sapphire on the NVS, and move the GFS to the head shell of the Saskia.

i can say unequivocally if you own an Infinity mono you will be listening to much more mono!!!! there is something quite magical that mono listening does for my peace of mind. it settles me. maybe my mind is less taxed, or something. but 2 hours of mono listening puts me in a very good frame of mind. it's kind. i love it!!!

as far as what i might recommend to others regarding the 1.0mil and 0.7mil question.......i'd say it depends on a few things. what does your collection look like now, and where is it going? do you listen to lots of 45rpm jazz monos? lot's of very early mono's? how 'great' is your stereo cartridge? if you have an 'Etsuro Gold' to surpass with modern mono pressings then that does raise the bar.

the physics of groove technology does have consequences. and therefore we must decide how badly we want to get all that information.

 

[bonzo75]

The 1.0 and the 0.7 is as expected. What is interesting is that even this level of stereo cart is falling short of the the two mono carts.

 

[bonzo75]

Maybe next step is to compare the Miyajima mono SUT in your set up?

 

[spiritofmusic]

i mounted the 1.0mil Infinity Friday night on the Telos, and listened.

as expected it went to another level on the early wide groove mono pressings. while the 0.7 mil was very very good on those, the 1.0 mil went to another level. and that had significant musical consequences. lower noise, more separation of musical parts, and more ease and flow. just more information. it transformed some of my early 50's pressings from barely listenable to 'let's boggie'. that was Friday night.

yesterday i did more of the early pressings and then later i started with the later mono pressings, the 45 rpm mono reissues, and later mono reissues. here it was very nice, but maybe not quite as 'special' as the 0.7mil version. finally i directly compared the 1.0mil version to my Etsuro Gold stereo cartridge on these new 'stereo cut' mono pressings. here what found was equivalency. maybe the 1.0mil was very slightly better than my Gold.......but just slightly.

and this was what i needed to know. how can i optimize each part of my Lp collection? my problem is i have raised the bar so high with my Etsuro Gold that it really pushes a mono cartridge to be it's very best to justify me using it.

my conclusions;

---1.0mil is superior on older wide groove pressings. only equal to the best (in my experience) stereo cartridge on new 'stereo cut' mono pressings.
---0.7mil is superior to both the 1.0mil Infinity and the Etsuro Gold on new 'stereo cut' mono pressings, but not equal to the 1.0mil on older pressings.
---my Etsuro Gold is equal to the 1.0mil on new 'stereo cut' mono pressings, but falls clearly short to the 0.7mil on newer 'stereo cut' mono pressings.

so this morning i spoke to Robin Wyatt, and decided to KEEP BOTH!!

i have 3 turntables and 4 arms. 2 of those arms use head shells. so i have some choices as to where each of these 2 mono cartridges will be mounted. for now i will leave the 1.0mil Infinity on the Durand Telos on the NVS. i will likely mount to the 0.7mil Infinity on the 2nd head shell for the Tosca on the Saskia. that will be plan A. plan B might be to mount the 0.7mil on the Telos Sapphire on the NVS, and move the GFS to the head shell of the Saskia.

i can say unequivocally if you own an Infinity mono you will be listening to much more mono!!!! there is something quite magical that mono listening does for my peace of mind. it settles me. maybe my mind is less taxed, or something. but 2 hours of mono listening puts me in a very good frame of mind. it's kind. i love it!!!

as far as what i might recommend to others regarding the 1.0mil and 0.7mil question.......i'd say it depends on a few things. what does your collection look like now, and where is it going? do you listen to lots of 45rpm jazz monos? lot's of very early mono's? how 'great' is your stereo cartridge? if you have an 'Etsuro Gold' to surpass with modern mono pressings then that does raise the bar.

the physics of groove technology does have consequences. and therefore we must decide how badly we want to get all that information.

Triple chocolate brownie? Or strawberry cheesecake ice cream? I'll have both, thanks!

 

[Ovenmitt]

Great info Mike! I have been thinking about a mono cartridge in my setup but have been reluctant to pull the trigger.... not knowing which cartridge might be best for me, or if it would even give me more love than my ZYX Universe or SPU. I’ve got a pretty mixed bag of early vs. “modern” mono, so some further deliberations are in order.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

The 1.0 and the 0.7 is as expected. What is interesting is that even this level of stereo cart is falling short of the the two mono carts.

what pushed me to try the Infinity to begin with is how much better my Etsuro Gold sounded on all those mono's compared to my Miyajima Premium Be mono. which prior had easily bettered other high level stereo carts. so this is mostly about just how amazing the Infinity is. it is crazy good.

Maybe next step is to compare the Miyajima mono SUT in your set up?

at this point no. (1) my CS Port phono already has both it's 40db MM inputs occupied by my pair of EMIA Ag 1:10 SUT's, and (2) those SUT's happen to match perfectly already the .4db, 6 ohm output of both of the Infinity's.....and (3) unlikely that the Miyajima mono SUT competes at the same level as these EMIA silver beauties.

and i do plan on trying both Infinity's on both the SUT's and on the standard 63db input on the CS Port phono. so far i've only tried either on the dart phono.

one variable i did not mention above when comparing the Stereo Etsuro Gold to these Infinity's is that the Gold had the CS Port LFT1 + EMIA SUT's + CS Port phono......verses Infinity's with the wood arm wand Durand 'standard' Telos + NVS + dart phono. you could make a case that the Gold had all the advantages...........yet........

the Infinity is the real deal.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Triple chocolate brownie? Or strawberry cheesecake ice cream? I'll have both, thanks!

sure. and i have a sweet tooth. both for 'sweets' and audio gear. can't help myself over-doing it.

but really this is about how the physics of "stereo cutter head" and "early mono cutter head" mono pressings are different. it just takes the right tool to demonstrate that. as you increase the performance, things tend to separate themselves and we see more truth.

 

[bonzo75]

So, next step is to swap carts? Please let us know if the infinity is still better. Don't stop now

 

[Mike Lavigne]

So, next step is to swap carts? Please let us know if the infinity is still better. Don't stop now

explain? which cartridges?

 

[bonzo75]

explain? which cartridges?

The etsuro to the NVS, the 1.0 to the CS port

 

[bonzo75]

Or keep the TTs just swap the input carts to the phono

 

[Mike Lavigne]

The etsuro to the NVS, the 1.0 to the CS port

we will see. unlikely that either Etsuro Gold will end up on the NVS. but i promise to do that if you visit me again......just for you.

OTOH Mik is ready to ship me a new 'super-uber' long anticipated LFD phono cable, and with that shipment he will include another head shell for my CS Port linear tracker. and when i get that likely i will try one or both Infinity's there too.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Or keep the TTs just swap the input carts to the phono

the cable for the GFS/Telos Sapphire/NVS, all the way to the right in my system, won't reach to the CS Port phono on the middle rack.

 

[bonzo75]

the cable for the GFS/Telos Sapphire/NVS, all the way to the right in my system, won't reach to the CS Port phono on the middle rack.

Move the phono

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Move the phono

and i know 100% you are serious.

NO.