Soundsmith - Thank you to everyone.

The Cohens or Kohens (pronounced "Co-Hayns") were the rabbis of the first and rebuilt Holy Temple. 
The Levis were the custodians. Back then being a custodian of the Temple was tantamount in status to being a doctor or lawyer. 
I am supposedly a Levi. 
I only ever aspired to pass a KGB test. It is all downhill from here. 

Back on point, Peter Lederman, you are a most fascinating man. I have three of your mid-tier cartridges. You called me once. I had a hum problem and I had sent an email inquiry. You were patient and kind on the phone. You talked me through the process of identifying and eliminating the hum problem. It did not help in my case until I got rid of my VPI deck. But it was a great lesson nonetheless. 

Peter - Sprout is lovely :-) Thank you for the family history. Rose Zimmerman is in my tree

Peace

I wrote this for Rose and Heather

The river

Isar

Polluted for all time

By Nazi ash

Can it ever be

Cleansed ?

Just go ask Heather

She can look directly upon the face of Jesus

For advice

Now

He said

Next time

Don’t play

In the street

Yet you must

Love 

those

Who killed you

For an evil idea

Killed you

Like a dog in the street

Yet you must Love them

As you love

Yourself

Leave cleansing of the river

To me

Wow.  Some of the best of Agon forums...Do I file this under  cartridge retipping? Or History? Amazing story, :-) @retipper Peter. I have an Einstein cartridge fixed/reworked by you. @fsonicsmith thanks for the reference about Ellis; interesting.  My maternal grandfather's family did the same.

Peter, I have read and enjoyed this chain of posts more than anything in Audiogon, ever. I am a longtime owner and lover of Soundsmith cartridges and feel fortunate to get to know you a bit from afar. Stay well.

"My father and family was from Breslau " Wrocław please @retipper

Peter, I can't find the words to express the joy you've brought into my life. I was easily in the digital audiophile camp. Some CDs, but hundreds of files. I still maintained a very modest vinyl rig, but mostly it sat idle. 
I realized that vinyl had something about it that kept drawing me in, but I still resisted the pull. 
I decided to upgrade my table to a VPI, and noticed a significant improvement. But still, I played more files than wax.
As (mis)fortune would have it, I damaged the stylus on my V15VxMR. The replacements are pricey, so I went looking for an upgrade.  One of my friends suggested the Zephyr MIMC☆. I thought to myself "self, are you stupid? Putting a $2k cartridge on a $1800 used table?" Well, I took the plunge and could not be happier! My music playback is now 80% vinyl. My streaming service is for discovering new music to buy on vinyl, and my files are neglected! I'm currently restoring an old Denon dp-35f table, and have both an Otello and another MIMC! I'm looking forward to seeing how much performance I can extract from this 35 year old table!
All because of you, Peter, and the beautiful, wonderful works of art that you produce! 
Thank you, so much!

A couple of years ago, I sent my beloved SONY XL-88 MC CARTRIDGE
to Peter to see if he could repair my cantilever, bent due to the idiotic design of the Sony stylus guard (no...I'm not accepting blame for this 🤪).
After many weeks and unanswered Emails....I requested that he return my cartridge so I could send it to someone else.
It turns out that Peter had suffered a death in his immediate family which required him to travel.
I then received this Email:-

Again, my apologies for the delay due to family emergency that has kept me out of the office and away from work.

 I am in late today (Sunday) and have located your cartridge on my bench – it had been opened by me for initial inspection, and was waiting my return to inform you of my findings and evaluation. These units are often not repairable, which is why I asked that it come directly to my attention, as I have had some success with them.  

 As a report, the stylus has some wear, but not unusable by any means. The suspension is still good, unusual for this model. That is a common failure, as is the coil integrity.  The coils are intact as of now.

 I am still willing to attempt a repair on the cantilever, and would be willing to attempt such at no charge tomorrow, if you are interested. There is no guarantee that I will succeed, or that the cartridge will survive. But I am very accomplished at this delicate work.

The cartridge was sent to me in Australia, fully returned to 'mint' condition.....and at NO CHARGE 🤯

My father and his sister fled in 39; their parents escaped in 42 - a miracle.

More than a miracle Peter......

The Jews in Germany were the 'lucky' Jews......

Strange isn't it 🥴 But from 1933 to 1939, all of Germany's 500,000 Jews were permitted to leave the country (leaving property, bank deposits, art and possessions behind) by paying the Government for the privilege.

All who could afford to do so and leave Europe entirely....escaped the War, the Concentration Camps, the 'Death' Camps and The Holocaust.

The 50,000 remaining German Jews (together with the 50,000 remaining Austrian Jews) were sent to Lithuania in Dec 1941 where they were immediately executed by the SS Einsatzgruppen (with the help of the Lithuanian Police).

To be a Jew, remaining in Germany in 1942 would have been extraordinary let alone appearing as an Advocate in a Court of Law as did your grandfather Adolphe Solomon.....😱

Thank you for sharing your story and for being a true mensche....

 

I knew three out of four grandparents.

I knew NONE of my grandparents.....

Keep well and safe Peter.

Kind Regards

Henry

Mr. Ledermann,
I have been quite impressed by your informative videos, and the dedication you have to your craft and associates surrounding it

I was wondering . . . I have an Aida cartridge that you personally built and adjusted for my use . . . now that it has been updated with a new body -- could my cartridge be upgraded with a new body . . . or do I have to purchase an entirely new cartridge to obtain the benefits?

Thank you . . . and thank you for your contributions to an oftentimes either abused or overinflated industry. I am glad you are there for the affirmative side. Be well,    -- John 3:16

Dear John;

It has long been part of my audio faith tradition to never tell anyone what they are going to, or are capable of hearing. That is in part why my responses are sometimes possibly not understood or appreciated if one does not consider the position I speak from.

That said, you will hopefully understand that I cannot tell if you will notice a difference from the ES series to the Aida you currently have. I have a customer who has bought much from me (Strain Gauge and more) who insists that I am the absolute worst salesman in the world. I am not sure if he appreciates that I take that as a compliment. It’s sort of like feeling good about failing the test to become an insurance salesman. That said, I pray you are NOT an insurance salesman or I have lost you forever or longer.

Do we rebuild from one design into the other? No - too many changes. Too much to do to "convert". If you love your Aida, enjoy it. And then get it fully rebuilt by me for 20% when it wears out or breaks.
What is MY personal philosophy (not for everyone) when I find something I enjoy, whether it’s an audio design, dinner dessert or woman? Don’t look around too much. It runs the risk of taking the joy out of what you hold in your hand.

Peter Ledermann

What is MY personal philosophy (not for everyone) is when I find something I enjoy, whether it’s an audio design, dinner dessert or woman? Don’t look around too much. It runs the risk of taking the joy out of what you hold in your hand.

Well said Peter. I have a Grace F9e and bought one of your ruby stylus replacements for it and have been very satisfied.

At some point you made some changes and updated your website, but if I recall, at one time you had Soundsmith versions for the B&O MMC series cartridges. Instead of numbering them though, you gave them names (again if I recall the Boheme was one of them). Can you tell me which of your designs is closest to the MMC2 and MMC1? Thank you for all you have done for this industry and for this wonderful thread.

It is a sad story about the Boheme. That cartridge punched so far above its weight class for performance that it confused the entire lineup of models we make. So under great duress (from my marketing manager at the time) we discontinued it.

That would have been the closest thing to the original SMMC2 we made. Right now, there really is no equivalent in our lineup. Maybe the Aida now, for the SMMC2, and now, absolutely the Voice for the SMMC1.

But bear in mind that these B&O models we make are high compliance and very tricky to use with medium mass or especially high mass arms. One would have to pay VERY VERY close attention to anti-skating (directions on our website), avoid eccentric records and beware of rumble/low frequency sources to use them with our 1/2" adapter on NON-B&O tables with medium or high mass arms. .

Peter Ledermann

Thanks for the explanation Peter. In going through my things many years ago I stumbled across a NOS B&O MMC2. I purchased the Soundsmith acrylic adapter for it and to this day still use it on a Denon DA-401 tonearm which is mounted on a completely refurbished Denon DP-3000 table. I notice some of your dealers still have the Boheme in stock so I will get one and enjoy it.

The Soundsmith Haiku

focused discipline
he teases out the magic
violence to grace


Hi Peter,
Your building me a Paua.
Thank you sir.
Mike Rubey

as things go...I picked up an immaculate TX today, it has a serviceable MMC4 but......so Peter I shall be in touch...