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2023 Editors’ Choice: Best Phono Cartridges $10,000 & Up

Air Tight PC-1 Supreme

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

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

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

Read the full review: Van den Hul Crimson XGW Stradivarius and Colibri XGW Signature Stradivarius
HiFiction X-Quisite ST

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

Read the full review: HiFiction X-quisite ST Cartridge
DS Audio Grand Master

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

Read the full review: DS Audio Grand Master Cartridge and Grand Master Equalizer
Air Tight Opus-1

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

Read the full review: Air Tight Opus-1 Ermitage Moving-Coil Cartridge
Clearaudio Goldfinger Statement V2

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

Lyra Atlas Lambda

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