Would Like To Hear From Strain Gauge Owners

Hi Slowhand,

First, I have heard the Soundsmith Strain Gauge in a show setting, and also in the private residencies of a couple of people. In all cases, I found it to be very engaging. Would you like it? I believe so, but somehow you are going to have to find a way to hear it for yourself. Online opinion is like face-to face opinion, but you know that.

Second, it brings up a larger point. There will always be people with agendas of some sort or another, and there are always those who are experienced enough in a given area to voice a valid opinion. Sometimes the two traits go hand in hand, but sometimes not. Even those who know a great deal about one area of our hobby may know nothing about some other area, even if they purport that they do. For example, I know a little about turntables, but what I know about solid state amplifiers could be poured into a teacup. There are those, however, who would have us believe they know everything. It just isn't true simply because we all tend to know most about the specific area of our interests, and less about passings fancies on the periphery. The moral here is that you need to take most opinions with a grain of salt.

You need to actually hear the cartridge, even if it requires some travel to do it. I believe it will be worth the time and effort.

My two cents, for whatever that's worth.

Raul,

I don't know about the speed of the table that Chris builds, but mine sends a signal that is accurate to around one part per billion, and the idler wheel tracks within its theoretical limits, but that isn't the point. The point is that there is a lot going on in a turntable, wires, tonearms, cartridges, preamps, etc. We can talk about RIAA till the cows come home, but that isn't what definitively makes the music anymore than the speed. It is a culmination of things, and those things differ a little bit with each design. Nonetheless, guys design things that sound great, even if they choose different paths to do it. There are workarounds for some obstacles, and there are also unforeseen pitfalls, yet to be pursued. Also, there are quantities that cannot be measured. Still, pleasing results are often delivered. If that were not so, anything that perfectly hits your implementation of RIAA would sound exactly the same as the next product that met that same criteria. I'm not saying that the RIAA topic is a moot one, but the overall picture is what counts at the end of the day. Chis and I can build speed accurate turntables, but the real mettle is to be found in the overall implementation of our work, not just in a single parameter of it. The same goes for Peter's Strain Gauge cartridge. It sounds good simply because it sounds good. He made sure of that by carefully voicing it every step of the way. You may find a $35 moving magnet out there someplace which meets the RIAA sniff test to your satisfaction, but do you really want one? I think not. The reason I don't think so is because of the other aspects, and those are the same attributes that puts such a product on the market for such a cheap price. There are few free rides, but there are even fewer 100% perfect products. I will go so far as to say there are none in existence. If there were, we'd be done here, right? Everyone would have a perfect system, and the only discussion on Audiogon would be the passion of music. Maybe one day.