Cartridge Reviews

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Cartridge Reviews
Is This Oyster Worth $300 Clams?
Michael Fremer  |  Aug 23, 2018  |  18 comments
Sumiko has been shucking these Oyster moving magnet cartridges for many years. They've mostly been entry level products aimed at getting one started in the analog world, placed on a budget turntable and priced accordingly. The least costly $79 Oyster sported a spherical stylus that didn't deliver much in the way of detail but made set up easy and got the job done.

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Cartridge Reviews
Looks Good Enough to E.A.T. JO Nº 5 Moving Coil Cartridge
Michael Fremer  |  Aug 16, 2018  |  13 comments
This revolutionary cartridge comes in two flavors: plain and peanut. When the stylus wears out instead of having the cartridge re-tipped, you eat it. It melts in your mouth, not in your hands. Best for “mint” LPs, etc.

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Cartridge Reviews
Which $10,000+ Cartridge Do You Prefer?
Michael Fremer  |  Mar 11, 2018  |  30 comments
In a recent issue of Stereophile, Analog Corner covered a number of products including two very expensive cartridges: the Transfiguration Proteus D ($10,500) and the Kuzma CAR-60 ($12,995). Both feature diamond cantilevers but that doesn't mean they sound at all alike.

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Cartridge Reviews
Which file is Hana SL and Which File is Ortofon Quintet Black "S"?
Michael Fremer  |  Oct 25, 2017  |  29 comments
File 1 is the Hana SL. File 2 is the Ortofon Quintet Black "S".

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Cartridge Reviews
The Hana SL MC ($750) Versus The Ortofon Quintet Black S MC ($999)
Michael Fremer  |  Oct 20, 2017  |  65 comments
Here are two great, "reasonably" priced, superbly built cartridges that I've chosen to review together while giving you the opportunity to "hear" both!

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Analog Gear NewsCartridge Reviews
Soundsmith’s new Zephyr MIMC Star Cartridge: Luxury You Can Afford
Michael Fremer  |  Apr 28, 2016  |  30 comments
Soundsmith’s Peter Ledermann has been designing and building “fixed coil” cartridges for many years, beginning when he was asked by customers to “back engineer” a B&O design used in that company’s “plug in” cartridge tone arms.

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Cartridge Reviews
Triangle ART Zeus MC Cartridge: The Best For Less?
Michael Fremer  |  Feb 19, 2015  |  4 comments
California-based Triangle ART manufactures five gleaming chrome and gold plated high mass turntables as well as its own tone arm. The 'tables weigh from 40 to 850 pounds. Recently, Triangle ART introduced the Zeus MC phono cartridge, thus completing mechanical part of the analog playback.

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Cartridge Reviews
Ortofon Quintet Black Moving Coil Cartridge: Fast, Clean, Nimble and Detailed
Michael Fremer  |  Nov 01, 2014  |  36 comments
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Cartridge Reviews
Lyra Parnassus D.C.t phono cartridge
Michael Fremer  |  Jun 11, 2006  |  0 comments
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Cartridge Reviews
Koetsu Urushi MC phono cartridge
Michael Fremer  |  May 07, 2006  |  0 comments
What makes a phono cartridge worth $3500 or $4000? Pride of ownership? Snob appeal? Sound? Tracking ability? Exotic materials? Styling? Labor cost for skilled artisans? Special ether? Cool wooden box? All of the above?
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Cartridge Reviews
Lyra Skala moving-coil phono cartridge
Michael Fremer  |  Mar 18, 2007  |  1 comments
Back in 2000, when Lyra introduced the Helikon moving-coil cartridge, which replaced the then six-year-old Clavis D.C., the company inexplicably retained the Clavis D.C.'s retail price of $2000. This was inexplicable because the Helikon's revolutionary design was new from the ground up, and because audiophiles—like most, if not all, consumers—perceive price to be a reflection of quality and performance.
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Cartridge Reviews
Lyra Clavis Da Capo moving-coil phono cartridge
Michael Fremer  |  Sep 02, 2007  |  0 comments
Scan-Tech builds low-output moving-coil cartridges for a number of companies, including AudioQuest, Linn, and Spectral (footnote 1). It also markets its own line, under the Lyra brand name (Lydian, Clavis, Parnassus), which is imported and distributed by Immedia out of Berkeley, CA.
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Cartridge Reviews
Allaerts MC2 Finish Gold phono cartridge
Michael Fremer  |  Sep 30, 2007  |  0 comments
These are great times for analog, and I'm happy to have played a small part in the revival, but recently the demand for some products has outstripped supply; getting review samples has been next to impossible. I've requested an Audio Research PH7 phono preamplifier for literally years now, but ARC can't build them fast enough, so they don't need a review. The more they sell, the greater the buzz, and the greater the buzz, the more e-mails I get from readers asking for a review. It's not nice to not be needed.
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Cartridge Reviews
AudioQuest 7000 Fe5 MC phono cartridge
Michael Fremer  |  Dec 02, 2007  |  0 comments
You know what's the first thing they teach you in dental school? Don't ever say "Oops!" Even if you stick one of those hooked teeth scrapers through the patient's cheek, you don't say "Oops!" "Don't move!"? Yes. "Oops!"? No. That's the big day-one lesson—and given the cost of medical malpractice insurance today, a damn good one.
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Cartridge Reviews
Soundsmith SMMC1 moving-iron phono cartridge
Michael Fremer  |  Apr 25, 2008  |  11 comments
The audio industry may have lost a legend and a prolific innovator in Henry Kloss a few years back, but it still has another affable, creative eccentric in Peter Ledermann. In the mid-1970s, Ledermann was director of engineering at Bozak, where, with Rudy Bozak, he helped develop a miniature bookshelf speaker and a miniature powered subwoofer. Before that, Ledermann was a design engineer at RAM Audio Systems, working with Richard Majestic on the designs of everything from high-power, minimal-feedback power amplifiers and preamplifiers to phono cartridge systems. He was also an award-winning senior research engineer at IBM, and the primary inventor of 11 IBM patents.

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