It has taken me a few months to find what I felt would be a good cartridge to go with my Bergmann Galder TT. the journey included the brands Hana, Ortofon and eventually Soundsmith. The brand that seemed to match my system best (Bergmann, Mola Mola, TAD) was Soundsmith, from these I had the Paua MkII and the Sussurro MkII, later the Sussurro MkII Gold. I had the Paua and Sussurro for a month including breaking
in, which gave me an excellent opportunity to get a feel for what these offer.
Maybe somebody can confirm, the difference between these two is the Sussuro has a ruby cantilever and the Paua an aluminium cantilever. The Paua sounded more relaxed with a tube-like sound, oh and quiet, even to the point of sounding as quiet as a CD. I had never experienced this from a cartridge before. Even my mate commented on how my vinyl playback had a CD quality to it. The Paua was good, but just felt a little soft for me, maybe easier listening and more forgiving? The Sussuro had a better pace and the presentation had more shading around the notes. I preferred the Sussuro, it felt more lively. But both demonstrated speed, separation, and an uncanny tracking ability. The harmonics come through quickly and clearly with little jitter. The bass was accurate and detailed, dropping off like a cliff edge. I hear a well-choreographed sound stage; any panning is linear with a smooth transition. I am guessing this is what the Moving Magnet design brings to the table as I was not hearing this so much with the Hana Umami Red, which I had demoed earlier.
Eventually favouring the Sussurro, I have an album that I am fond of, It’s been in my Fathers and then my ownership for around 50 years, and been well-cared for - Santana Abraxas. The Sussurro was able to pull out some incredible sound from this album! It brought tears to my eyes, it sounded better than I’ve ever heard it before! It’s a fantastic album and the percussion is just amazing, it really breathed new life into this album. It’s incredible! You can tell from the Soundsmith cartridges that Peter really cares about the materials he works with and is a true alchemist/Soundsmith!
Now cost of ownership. Peter has built upon the low mass moving iron design from Bang & Olufsen, and it works surprisingly well, but the biggest draw for me is that these can be rebuilt for around 12% of the RRP, which brings the ownership costs down a lot. This is quite a wow for me, ownership has always been inhibitive for cartridges as they are a disposable. But this seems to prove you can have your cake and eat it. There is around a grand difference in the cost between these two cartridges, initially I would be well go for cheaper as you will be throwing it away after 1500 hours, but if it can be rebuilt cheaply then its time for cake and that initial investment is the only hurdle.
Gripes, I have a couple, although the cantilever is well protected, installing the stylus guard that comes with Soundsmith cartridges is a heart in mouth moment. Its not easy to install and seems to sit way too close to the cantilever, so, mine hardly ever gets fitted. Secondly, these cartridges are not forgiving when it comes to installing. I can appreciate most guys reading this will have a pretty good understanding on how to set up a turntable, but if you are not, you need to get somebody in who is.
Finally, on purchase I had the chance of going for Gold. This one was destined to be a review cartridge in the UK so had been meticulously tested by Peter Lederman, I was able to twist my dealerships arm in to allowing me to purchase this at a very good price. Its had about 30 hours so far and once I have hit around 60 I will try and do a comparison with the Sussurro Mk2 to see how they compare. For now, and already, i am loving it. I have gone from the prejudice of dismissing anything built in America, to being pleasantly surprised. I am really hoping Soundsmith can make some Headway in the UK and hold the torch for what Analogue is capable of.
in, which gave me an excellent opportunity to get a feel for what these offer.
Maybe somebody can confirm, the difference between these two is the Sussuro has a ruby cantilever and the Paua an aluminium cantilever. The Paua sounded more relaxed with a tube-like sound, oh and quiet, even to the point of sounding as quiet as a CD. I had never experienced this from a cartridge before. Even my mate commented on how my vinyl playback had a CD quality to it. The Paua was good, but just felt a little soft for me, maybe easier listening and more forgiving? The Sussuro had a better pace and the presentation had more shading around the notes. I preferred the Sussuro, it felt more lively. But both demonstrated speed, separation, and an uncanny tracking ability. The harmonics come through quickly and clearly with little jitter. The bass was accurate and detailed, dropping off like a cliff edge. I hear a well-choreographed sound stage; any panning is linear with a smooth transition. I am guessing this is what the Moving Magnet design brings to the table as I was not hearing this so much with the Hana Umami Red, which I had demoed earlier.
Eventually favouring the Sussurro, I have an album that I am fond of, It’s been in my Fathers and then my ownership for around 50 years, and been well-cared for - Santana Abraxas. The Sussurro was able to pull out some incredible sound from this album! It brought tears to my eyes, it sounded better than I’ve ever heard it before! It’s a fantastic album and the percussion is just amazing, it really breathed new life into this album. It’s incredible! You can tell from the Soundsmith cartridges that Peter really cares about the materials he works with and is a true alchemist/Soundsmith!
Now cost of ownership. Peter has built upon the low mass moving iron design from Bang & Olufsen, and it works surprisingly well, but the biggest draw for me is that these can be rebuilt for around 12% of the RRP, which brings the ownership costs down a lot. This is quite a wow for me, ownership has always been inhibitive for cartridges as they are a disposable. But this seems to prove you can have your cake and eat it. There is around a grand difference in the cost between these two cartridges, initially I would be well go for cheaper as you will be throwing it away after 1500 hours, but if it can be rebuilt cheaply then its time for cake and that initial investment is the only hurdle.
Gripes, I have a couple, although the cantilever is well protected, installing the stylus guard that comes with Soundsmith cartridges is a heart in mouth moment. Its not easy to install and seems to sit way too close to the cantilever, so, mine hardly ever gets fitted. Secondly, these cartridges are not forgiving when it comes to installing. I can appreciate most guys reading this will have a pretty good understanding on how to set up a turntable, but if you are not, you need to get somebody in who is.
Finally, on purchase I had the chance of going for Gold. This one was destined to be a review cartridge in the UK so had been meticulously tested by Peter Lederman, I was able to twist my dealerships arm in to allowing me to purchase this at a very good price. Its had about 30 hours so far and once I have hit around 60 I will try and do a comparison with the Sussurro Mk2 to see how they compare. For now, and already, i am loving it. I have gone from the prejudice of dismissing anything built in America, to being pleasantly surprised. I am really hoping Soundsmith can make some Headway in the UK and hold the torch for what Analogue is capable of.
