Review: Miyabi 47 Labs MC Cartridge Cartridge

Category: Analog

Miyabi/47 Labs Moving Coil Cartridge Review

Introduction: Having lived with this cartridge now for several months I thought I would write a short review with some comparisons and contrasts with my other two most recent cartridges the Benz LP and Transfiguration Temper Supreme. The Miyabi is a very musical MC cartridge taking some of the best elements of the Temper Supreme and the Benz LP creating a hypothetical blend of both.

Construction: The Miyabi/47 labs version has a .3 mv output with a very short aluminum alloy cantilever. Its appearance is rather non assuming in fact compared to my much more polished looking Benz LP the Miyabi looks rather cheap with its black plastic body lacking a fine fit and finish one would expect from a $3950 retail price moving coil cartridge. It does not have a threaded top plate to secure to two screws to the head shell of my Basis Vector tonearm instead two long screws with very small nuts create a side mount feature that is some what more time consuming to install but otherwise poised no problems.

The Sound: Any reservations I had because of the Miyabi appearance were quickly dissipated once the stylus hit the vinyl. After a 100 hour breakin process and going back and fourth between my benz LP and Miyabi/47 labs cartridge I can say with total confidence that both are very fine examples of what is possible today in vinyl playback and represent the top of the quality pyramid in MC technology. My Temper Supreme I sold several months ago had the best transparency, resolution and bottom end bass extension of any cartridge I tried but has somewhat of a "leanish" character to it which I do not find in live music so I would therefore place it slightly behind both the Miyabi and Benz LP in total sound quality but still a very fine cartridge indeed. The Miyabi takes most of the tempers speed, resolution and extension while also taking some of what I call the "swell effect" of the Benz Lp, that is to say more midrange fullness and body for which the Benz can do so well. The Miyabi/47 labs version cartridge has a much fuller and richer sound than the Temper Supreme but has improved resolution and greater clarity compared to the Benz products. When I played Norah Jones "Don't' know why" record on by basis Debut Vacuum turntable with the Miyabi cartridge her voice sounded so clear, clean and natural I could swear she was in the room. When I played the same record with the Benz LP cartridge the music swelled even more from left to right providing a fatter and richer sound with a very high level of intimacy and musicality although it lacked the pristine clarity and transparency of the miyabi. I have gone back and fourth over the last several months between the two and it is so close I believe its more of a matter of preference than saying one is better that the other. The Miyabi strikes a very good balance between the Temper Supreme and the fine Benz lp. The Miyabi had grater speed and tempo compared to the Benz so with complex jazz material the Miyabi probably has a slight advantage. The Benz LP with vocal material sounds so dynamic with such great presence I believe it has the slight edge in this regard to the Miyabi. Despite their differences the two cartridges actually have so much more in common than not that in side by side comparisons with excellent source material it really is quite close.

Conclusion: If I had to pick one cartridge to take with me on a desert island today I would probably choose the Miyabi/47 labs for its overall balance and greater resolution although I could also be very happy with the Benz LP also. The Miyabi has the rare ability to combine the strengths the the top Japanese cartridges (speed, inner detail, bottom end extension, great resolution) with "body and soul" so often sadly lacking with other German and Japanese products on the market today. I suspect only the Dynavector XV1s also has these great qualities and tonal balance to match the Miyabi. It is fun to listen to music with the Miyabi and Benz Lp cartridges and both would be given a letter grade of "A" in my view.

Associated gear
Basis Debut Vacuum turntable, Basis vector Tonear, Hovland HP-100 preamp with Dynavector Headamp, Convergent Audio JL2 Amp, Merlin VSM speakers with Rel Stentor III subwoffer

Similar products
Benz LP