Thanks everyone for your input. @mijostyn I have a friend that has a Soundsmith Paua Mk II on his table. In my opinion it’s one of the best sounding cartridges I have heard. However, I think that costs more new than a Purple Heart. I would like to hear some of Soundsmth’s other offerings as I find their price to performance motivating. Has anybody had any experience with the Kiseki Blue Gold Spot. I wonder how their sonically different to a Purple Heart.
Cartridge upgrade
Hi all. I have a quick question. I have a Marantz TT-15S1 turntable that I've been enjoying for the last couple of years. I am still using the included MM Clearaudio Virtuoso wood cartridge that has served me well so far. At the end of last year, I upgraded my phono stage to a Manley Chinook that I like a lot. I am looking to upgrade my cartridge this fall. I was looking at Kiseki Purple Heart NS. My question is this, does it make sense to put a $3,400 cartridge on a $1,700 (base audiophile) table? I imagine there will be some sound improvement but how much?
Showing 4 responses by rfauto
@lewm I kind of wanted to grab a Purple Heart as a fellow commentor mentioned Kiseki is pulling out of the US market. I guess I could grab one used somewhere down the line. However, I’m not against buying from Soundsmith or some of the makers that you mentioned. Over Christmas there was a sale on Hana Unami Blue’s. In hindsight I should have grabbed one. I kind of want to shy away from a cartridge that requires a step-up transformer. My Chinook is the Upscale Audio Ed. that has up to 65 db of gain. Is that enough? |
@mijostyn thanks for your input regarding a cartridge for my table. I made a stop at my local Clearaudio dealer last week. He agreed with you that the satisfy tonearm on my table could handle a significant cartridge upgrade. I was planning on moving forward with a Soundsmith Voice purchase but was told by my local audio shop that my phono stage might have trouble properly loading that cartridge. I ended up ordering a Hana Umami Blue. It hasn't arrived yet but I'm really looking forward to using it. Cheers, Russ |
That’s kind of what I thought too. I currently have my Clearaudio Virtuoso V1 MM carts gain set at 45db, load resistance at 47k ohms and a load capacitance of 100pf. So, the moving iron Soundsmith is virtually the same…. The other reason I went with the Hana was that I got $800 off of the $2500 list by trading in my old cart. That got me into the sub $2000 for a new cartridge. It made more sense going that direction on my current table. I’m still going to buy a Voice at some point, probably when I buy another turntable. I’ve been looking at VPI Classic Signatures. Add a 10’ Fatboy tonearm and a Soundsmith Voice. I’ve got some house projects going on. So, I’m not quite ready to spend the cash. |