How Does the Soundsmith

Dear Slowhand: That cartridge comes ( design ) from B&O MMC series cartridges and like the original B&O is really good.

THat MM/MI alternative compete not only in that range price of the LOMC ones but well beyond that, in some ways not only compete but IMHO surpass these MC cartridges.

I heard three different SS but The Voice that performs very well but I prefer the original B&O. Like always this opinion is system/ears and music priorities dependent.

I don't think you can go wrong with the MM/MI alternative, it's a great one. I concur with Teres on the quality performance of these cartridges and like him you will have a nice surprise.

Regards and enjoy the music,
Raul.

Dear Doug: +++++ " The Voice goes smooth and easy because it collapses harmonic overtones " +++++

like I posted I don't heard/hear The Voice so I can't speak on specific but in that " collapses harmonics " that you comment I can't understand how do you know that this fact comes from the cartridge in specific where there are other audio links in that audio chain that could be the " culprit " about even that like Slowhand posted: ++ " I heard this cartridge at RMAF last year, but it is hard to draw conclusions in such an enviroment. " ++++, could you explain it?

On other subject I don't hear any " smooth " characteristic on MM/MI cartridges but the natural agresiveness that has the live music, maybe and I say only maybe Teres means with that smooth word the rightness of the performance in that cartridge, I really don't know and I don't want speak by Teres.

Anyway, Doug when you hear with the right set-up in a good audio system almost any MM/MI cartridge you can/could be a little confuse of what " audio words " use to decribe its performance because in someways that quality performance is something " new " and you don't have " new " audio words but maybe to re-invent the meaning of our audio vocabulary.

In the other side what for me means bright ( example ) maybe for other person could be over-bright or shrill.

Regards and enjoy the music,
Raul.

Dear Doug: +++++ " the Voice is very extended, detailed treble that is remarkably clean and therefore easy on the ears. " +++++

with the right set-up this Teres statement is a characteristic of top MM/MI performers. These type of cartridges ( like I posted several times. ) IMHO have very low overall distortion when you compare against its " brothers " LOMC ones, I repeat lower distortion not " collapsed harmonics " or smoothness ( soft ). Other MM/MI characteristic that Teres point out is: " more articulate ", I can add " better articulate " than almost any LOMC cartridge in any price range.

The term " romantic " that Mosin posted seems to me more an " artefact " of somewhere ( audio links ) the audio system than a cartridge characteristic and a result of the overall audio system performance.IMHO and through sevral years of attend to live music events I never experienced a " romantic " presentation ", any one of you can attest about: hear a single/alone instrument ( live ) like piano, guitar, horn, voice, etc at no more than a normal home audio system seat position ( 2.5m/3.0m ) and you will see what I'm talking about. Some kind of music could tend to sound " romantic " maybe at 30-40m.

Regards and enjoy the music,
Raul.

Dear Doug: Yes I agree with.

I would like to add to this cartridges evaluation ( I'm not defending The Voice that I don't hear it yet. ) that could be a little unfair for The Voice ( or any other MM/MI sample. ):

First because almost all of you are comapring that RMAF set up against your fully dedicated and precise/fine tunning LOMC set up at your home audio system and second because probably The Voice was running at 47K where maybe the people in that show room don't try to change the load impedance a " little " higher.

Anyway, is good to read that there are more people that today are interested in the MM/MI alternative and this fact only can help to improve and make that the high-end audio industry grow-up in good terms.

regards and enjoy the music,
Raul.

Dear Doug: I always say: system, ears and music priorities dependent.

regards and enjoy the music,
Raul.

Dear Dgad: +++++ " The Colibri is probably the most detailed cartridge I know. It is truly a matter of personal taste. " +++++

I concur with you on that Colibri characteristics that almost no LOMC can achieve.

In the other side IMHO I think that more than " a personal taste " the subject on LOMC and MM/MI performance is more of which one cartridge type are nearest/truer to the MUSIC/recording and this judge needs that any one of us that are making this kind of evaluation/opinion have in deep/continuous experience with live music. Many times the " taste " of many of us in our home system perfromance has nothing to do with MUSIC and what this word means.

Regards and enjoy the music,
Raul.

Dear Weisselk: Nice to hear that the cartridge voicing was " extremely " precise and at least at the same level of any one of us at our home audio systems.

So, then the down-sides that the persons heard it at your show room are realy precise on The Voice performance.

Btw, the design of a LOMM/MI cartridge is not a new one but an older one, I own one of that cartridge design sample the: Stanton 981LZ that show high quality performance even that the cartridge signal must pass for additonal gain stages.

Regards and enjoy the music,
Raul.

Dear Pentatonia: I can't agree more with you on those sentences and about MM/MI cartridges:

+++++ " has the most revealing three dimentional and plausible sound I've ever heard from my system. " +++++

+++++ " try to describe with one word the voice I'd say ENERGY. " +++++

" plausible " is a " new " characteristic that IMHO the LOMC cartridges have not and that the MM/MI is one of its sound signature.

ENERGY, that's a " signature " of live music that again the LOMC can't even " imagine ".

+++++ " Have you ever notice the horn loading sound of trombone? " +++++

only through MM/MI cartridges.

+++++ " Don't you believe that is the right time to remove any cryogenicaly treated device/part from our system? " +++++

I can add: " from our brains ".

Live and real music must comes an be again our reference!

Regards and enjoy the music,
Raul.

Now, almost everyone is happy: good.

raul.