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Anyone have experience with Soundsmith’s strain gauge?

After watching Peter Ledermann’s excellent presentation on phono cartridge design I am now quite interested in his Strain gauge cartridge. Unfortunately reviews for the product seem to be sparse and are from nearly a decade ago. I’m wondering if anyone here is an owner of such a system and if they’d be so kind as to share their experience with it. I currently have the Aida cartridge from their high output MI lineup and I want to know if the sound really is a big step up from what I currently have. 
thermionicvinyl

Showing 3 responses by tablejockey

tablejockey
3,793 posts
 
Ever since hearing the Straingauge years ago, I heard it as one of the "best" ever heard. 
The fact it wasn't on an uber setup(VPI HRX) made it even more attractive.

I heard  it along with  a couple other top SS models demoed by Peter.  The  cactus cantilever Hyperion is also an impressive cart.

Either one would be a last for me.
tablejockey
3,793 posts
 
"(Incidentally, I was absolutely amazed by the sound of his monitors especially the bass response considering that they don't have a large woofer like a floor stranding .)"

This post reinforces my experience. I didn't include in my post that the amazing sound was coming from wimpy looking bookshelves!

I had Peter play the record I had. Even he was surprised.So much, he wanted to keep it! It was  a stellar copy of the David Gilmore debut album and the cut was "There's no way out of here."


tablejockey
3,793 posts
 
I did have one negative observation about the Strain gauge...

It has that corny 1980's blue LED! That would be the first thing I would try to disable. It's 2020, are there STILL fans of the blue LED on audio equipment?

Blue LED's remind me of stuff made in...oh that's another thread. BAN the Blue LED!
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