Has anyone listened to the soundsmith Paua cart


I was in the market for a new cartridge for my classic 1. I originally wanted a soundsmith zephyr. I then found a soundsmith sussurro Paua with low hours on the classifieds. I went ahead and purchased the Paua because it wasn't that much more than a new zephyr.. It seems the Paua and the zephyr have nearly identical weight and compliance. I talked with Peter at soundsmith and he said the Paua will be a good match on the classic 1 arm. He also said my phono loading must be 1000 ohm minimum as this is a low output .3 mv cart. The only differences I can see between the zephyr and the paua is the output and the stylus shape. I have been using a soundsmith boheme with good results. The boheme has a contact line stylus like the paua. I have always wanted to try a low output cartridge so, I opted for this used paua over a new zephyr. I haven't seen much talk about the paua on the forums here. I just wanted to know if anyone has listened to one. What cartridges would you compare it to? If anyone else owns one, what loading are you using? Thanks a lot.

Andy
andyprice44

Showing 4 responses by intactaudio

Viridian,

Actually we are on the same page. It is just another one of those situations like electrons flow from negative to positive yet current flows from positive to negative.

dave
Hey,

The low output SS carts can use a SUT, you just need to be aware of the 1000 ohm maximum load. Assuming the 47K input impedance of a phono stage this limits you to a 1:7 step up ratio (I'd look at 1:5). The other option is of course to yank that silly 47K out and replace it with the largest value you can so you can more freely choose SUT ratios for your LOMI and MC carts.

dave
Andy,

you need to place the word "value" after the word minimum to make your statement correct.

"1K is the minimum value load" or conversely you could say "1K is the maximum load".

It all comes down to the proper definition of minimum and maximum load.

A maximum load has a low value. In order to increase the load you decrease the resistance. Think about what you need to do to load something down.

A minimum load has a high value. In order to decrease the load you increase the value. Think about how you reduce the load seen by the source.

dave
Peter was referring to the value of the load. I was referring to the magnitude.

Again. While 1K represents a "minimum value" it the absolute sense, it is the maximum load.

dave