
Air Tight PC-1 Supreme
$11,600
Type
Ultra-low impedance MC cartridge
Output Voltage
0.4mV/1kHz
Magnet
Neodymium #50
Channel balance
within 0.5dB (1kHz)
Weight
12g
Frequency response
10-50.000Hz
Inner impedance
1 ohms (DCR)
Stylus pressure
1.9-2.2g
Crosstalk
more than 30dB (1kHz)
Plating
Gold
As good as the AT PC-1 is, this considerably pricier moving-coil from Air Tight is substantially better in every way. Like the PC-1, the Supreme is a model of low internal impedance and high energy. Killer good on transients top to bottom, with phenomenal grip and definition in the low bass, it is also exceptionally lifelike in the midband, with even more of the gorgeous density of tone color, high resolution, and superior soundstaging that made the PC-1 such a breakthrough. RH’s reference. JV, 190

Lyra Atlas Lambda/Atlas Lambda SL
$11,995/$12,995
If you’re in the market for a top-end cartridge, Lyra offers not one but two versions of its signature Atlas. The first has 0.56mV output, the second 0.25mV. Which one to choose? The regular Atlas offers a bit more slam and sizzle than the super-low-output version. But the lower-output Atlas provides more finesse and lower noise. Rock aficionados will probably gravitate to the regular Atlas, but for classical the higher-priced cartridge is probably the better match. But both are superlative cartridges that will provide a spellbinding presentation of well-nigh any LP. JHb, 276, 284 (Lambda version not yet reviewed)

Van den Hul Colibri XGW Signature Stradivarius
$11,995
Type
Moving-coil
Output voltage
5.6cm/sec.: 0.75mV
Stylus type
VDH Type 1s on solid boron cantilever
Stylus tip radius
r/R 2/85µm
Tracking force range
1.35–1.5 grams
Optimal load impedance
50–600 ohms
Load impedance
50–47k ohms
Cartridge body material
Koa Wood with Stradivarius-type lacquer
Price
$11,995
The top-of-the line Colibri XGW Signature Stradivarius (0.75mV output) features a Koa wood body with triple Stradivarius-type lacquer coating, 24-karat gold coils, solid boron cantilever, and VDH Type 1s stylus. It is characterized by a clarity and lucidity in the presence region, coupled with a smoothness and sweetness in the treble. It is also dynamically authoritative, with lively and propulsive transient reproduction. AJ, 279

HiFiction X-Quisite ST
$13,160
The X-Quisite cartridge is constructed in Switzerland with horological precision. Right off the bat, the translucency and transient accuracy of this 0.3mV moving coil are abundantly apparent. There may, in fact, be no other cartridge that quite manages to duplicate its lock on the transient note, a quality that provides a kind of window into the performer’s intention that is difficult to forget. The X-Quisite revels in disinterring previously obscured detail but is in no way astringent. The finest shadings, the most delicate filigree, are presented with aplomb. JHb, 317

DS Audio Grand Master
$15,000 ($45,000 for Grand Master equalizer and PS)
The DS Audio Grand Master optical transducer comes closer to the sound of R2R tape than any other phono cartridge on the market. Yes, it is expensive, though you don’t have to buy the dedicated Grand Master EQ/PS units to get your sonic money’s worth. (Any DS Audio EQ device will work with it—and there is a wide variety of them at a wide variety of prices, starting below $2k.) Unlike every other phono cartridge and phonostage on the market, the Grand Master and its EQ units are dead quiet—without a trace of the hum, buzz, RF, and self-noise that we’ve simply learned to live with. The elimination of the usual background racket, coupled to an optical system’s inherently deeper and fuller presentation of the bass and lower midrange, rich, supremely detailed midband, and sweet, airy, ribbon-like treble, makes for the most “complete” and (given a great LP) most realistic reproduction of the music and musicians on LPs JV has yet heard. A Grand Masterpiece. JV, 317

Air Tight Opus-1
$15,800
Air Tight’s top-line moving-coil cartridge adds even more resolution, dimensionality, and energy to the beautiful reproduction of tone color and superior soundstaging that the PC-1 Supreme is justly famous for. Though not quite the non-stop thrill-machine and sonic vacuum cleaner that the Clearaudio Goldfinger Statement is, the Opus has a smoother, better-behaved upper midrange and treble and (building on one of the strengths of the Supreme) phenomenally deep-reaching, superbly defined, extraordinarily quick and powerful bass. Quite neutral in balance, it has the speed and resolution of über-cartridges, without any trace of the analytic. One of JV’s and RH’s references. JV, 261

Clearaudio Goldfinger Statement V2
$16,000
Simply the best—which is to say, the most sonically complete—moving-coil cartridge JV has heard. Peter Suchy has here managed to combine all the virtues of past Goldfingers (their phenomenal low-level resolution, their tremendous energy, their vast soundstaging) with a previously unattained richness of tone color to produce a cartridge unlike any other. Like a cross between a Koetsu and a Clearaudio, the Statement will appeal to just about any kind of listener (provided he’s got enough do-re-mi). JV’s reference mc. JV, forthcoming
By TAS Staff
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