gmercer, I think I would go with the Sound Smith. I think the company would be easier to deal with if something should go wrong.
millercarbon, I am all for low mass moving systems but how low is good enough? Low enough to keep the resonance frequency above 20 kHz will do. Any lower might adversely affect damping. Stylus "jitter" is one of Peter Ledermann's made up terms to scare people into buying his cartridges. I have a hard time buying anything from a guy whose office looks like it got hit by a tornado. Bad move putting that into one of his videos. Fortunately the rest of the outfit looks better organized. But, it is the "jitter" bug that really turns me off. It sounds so terrible, like it would eat holes in your vinyl. Who here has actually heard a stylus "jitter"? Anyone? I certainly have not. I imagine the stylus rattling around in the groove would sound terrible. Because Peter says it it must be true even if you can't hear it? Right.
millercarbon, I am all for low mass moving systems but how low is good enough? Low enough to keep the resonance frequency above 20 kHz will do. Any lower might adversely affect damping. Stylus "jitter" is one of Peter Ledermann's made up terms to scare people into buying his cartridges. I have a hard time buying anything from a guy whose office looks like it got hit by a tornado. Bad move putting that into one of his videos. Fortunately the rest of the outfit looks better organized. But, it is the "jitter" bug that really turns me off. It sounds so terrible, like it would eat holes in your vinyl. Who here has actually heard a stylus "jitter"? Anyone? I certainly have not. I imagine the stylus rattling around in the groove would sound terrible. Because Peter says it it must be true even if you can't hear it? Right.