Would Like To Hear From Strain Gauge Owners


I would like to hear from owners of Strain Gauge cartridges (particularly Soundsmith owners)as to how you like the strain gauge system compared to previous cartridges you have owned. Is there any drawbacks to the Soundsmith Strain Gauge system?

I am located in the Cincinnati, Ohio area. Is there any Soundsmith Strain Gauge owners in the Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana area?

I read the review of the Strain Gauge system on Audiogon by Vac man. It was a very good review and answered many questions for me. I would like to hear from others who also own strain gauge cartridges.

Thanks in advance for any info that you can give me.
slowhand

Showing 3 responses by peterayer

I do not own a strain gauge cartridge and know very little about the technology, but I'm interested in the product because it has received some good reviews and I've read comments from many happy owners. I'm considering replacing/upgrading my Sumiko Celebration cartridge.

In my opinion, Raul raises an important question and that is: does or should a particular piece of equipment conform to certain agreed upon standards. In this case the RIAA curve which is necessary/essential for the proper/accurate reproduction of music played back on an LP. Some phono stages even offer different curves (selectabe by the user)for a more accurate reproduction of certain recordings.

Could we hear from the designer on this simple point?
Vetterone,
Please let us know where we can read what really happened in your listening room. I, for one, am now quite interested. Having kept up with this post over the last few days, my thoughts about the SG have gone back and forth. I've never heard one, but now, I would really like to. I see validity to both Raul and Peter's points. The debate about how much the SG is off the RIAA curve seems to be in dispute and the range of the measurement (20-20khz or 50-12khz)is not consistent. Perhaps it really should be settled by listening to the device.
I agree with Lewm. Raul has his opinions, but he is also very experienced. He has always answered my e-mails to him regarding specific cartridge/table/arm combinations and offered me good advice. Thanks Raul. I appreciate his contributions. Sorry to go off topic here.