Slowhand, I've been running a Soundsmith Straingauge, Mk 2 version, with entry level SG-200 energiser.
What can I say? It's an amazing cart, easily besting all my prev incumbents (Roksan Shiraz, Lyra Skala and Parnassus, Transfiguration Temper and Orpheus, ESCCo modded Zu Denon 103).
It has a natural warmth thru the bass region, but not the euphonic colouration that makes other carts sound eartbound by comparison. Mids are clear and accurate. Treble esp really soars.
It deals brilliantly with surface noise, and it tracks like a bloodhound, nothing seems to shake it's resolve.
I'm running it on a direct rim drive tt w/ air bearing linear tracking arm, and the synergy is uncanny.
One major caveat - it really needs to be set up precisely esp wrt azimuth, or it can sound thin and bass light.
But get it right, and you're in for a treat. My keeper for life, after 20 yrs of struggling to find "the sound".
What can I say? It's an amazing cart, easily besting all my prev incumbents (Roksan Shiraz, Lyra Skala and Parnassus, Transfiguration Temper and Orpheus, ESCCo modded Zu Denon 103).
It has a natural warmth thru the bass region, but not the euphonic colouration that makes other carts sound eartbound by comparison. Mids are clear and accurate. Treble esp really soars.
It deals brilliantly with surface noise, and it tracks like a bloodhound, nothing seems to shake it's resolve.
I'm running it on a direct rim drive tt w/ air bearing linear tracking arm, and the synergy is uncanny.
One major caveat - it really needs to be set up precisely esp wrt azimuth, or it can sound thin and bass light.
But get it right, and you're in for a treat. My keeper for life, after 20 yrs of struggling to find "the sound".