Aidas Durawood Rainbow Cartridge "Review"

I've had the Aidas in my system for just over a month. It replaced a Hana ML which by most accounts is a great cart for the money, and I thought so too.

At $4,350 the Aidas was a bit of a leap of faith considering is isn't exactly top of mind as far high-end carts go. Most of the the reviews I found dated back to when Victor Simakov of Vira USA was claiming he was the manufacturer. 

I eventually found Erik @solypsa who is now the official USA distributor. He gently but convincingly encouraged me to give Aidas a try. Aidas Svazas  IS the man behind the carts, which are designed and manufactured in Kaunas, Lithuania. https://www.aidascartridges.com/  

I don't have any experience with any other carts in this price range, but the detail, clarity and dynamic range is truly astonishing. Channel separation is much better and I guess that is what contributes to much better sound stage imaging. Overall I'd say it sounds warm and VERY easy to listen to. 

It catches me off guard sometimes when I hear sounds in a well-known track that are completely new.

Aesthetically it's a work of art and seems to be really well made. 

I'm really happy I made the leap, and my guess is the Rainbow is a very serious contender amongst some of the finest machines out there.  

Lastly, the pre and post sales support I got from Erik was top notch (and patient), and he has some great set up tips. Also these can be re-tipped and/or re-built by Aidas so that's an added bonus.