Soundsmith Cartridges are Hand-Made upon order and are ready to ship in approximately 30 Days!
An Unparalleled Warranty! Retip is only $650 and is guaranteed for 2 Full Years!
The Soundsmith Mezzo, Italian for middle or medium (output not performance that is) is based on the Sussurro Moving Iron Cartridge.
Soundsmith is pleased to announce the Mezzo Medium Output cartridge designed to fill the need for audiophiles that have moderate gain preamplifiers from such esteemed manufacturers as Conrad-Johnson and Audio Research among many others!
Peter Ledermann designed the Mezzo cartridge to perform flawlessly in preamps that utilize a FIXED 48dB-54dB gain structure. No longer is there any fear of overloading with a high output MM cartridge or having to ramp up the volume with a low output MC type.
Based on PeterÂ’s now classic Sussurro Moving Iron design, the Mezzo moderate output cartridge gives the same level of performance as its sibling. Without any tradeoffs, this new medium output cartridge will breathe new life and alter expectations from audio system front-ends with moderate gain!
Frank Schroder is not only a highly gifted tonearm designer and builder but also one of the most insightful audio engineers alive today. In an informal meeting with Frank and Soundsmith's Peter Ledermann at an audio show, Frank suggested to Peter that he work on a low output moving iron cartridge design. Frank's reasoning was impeccable and the seed for a new product was sown. Frank has been testing the Mezzo's prototypes throughout the development phase, providing his insightful and invaluable feedback along the way. But the real story of The Soundsmith Mezzo is that it is a cartridge designed to specifically deal with the most critical issues of cartridge design. All cartridges must adhere to first principles, and do it carefully - to get sublime results.
The Soundsmith Mezzo has an unbelievably low effective moving mass. The damping system has been critically tuned - so that ALL primary resonances are absolutely eliminated. Then, all critical stationary parts are fixed rigidly within its tiny magnetic structure and the fully shielded magnetic case is engineered to be far more rigid than any other cartridge. Finally, an innovative energy distribution system to dissipate the mechanical energy from the cantilever through the cartridge body into the tone arm properly.
Soundsmith is very pleased with the Mezzo and you will be too - but be cautioned - when you first cue down to the first track, you will wind up playing the complete side and be very late for your meeting. Guaranteed! Once you've heard your new Mezzo cartridge, you'll never go back.
Some have asked... "Moving Iron Cartridges better?? I thought that moving COIL types are the best??"
Soundsmith cartridges overturn the myth that moving coil cartridges are the only path towards perfection. After all, what is the accepted "advantage" of moving coil cartridges? Low effective moving mass, right? Well, Soundsmith cartridges have got less. Much less. And if you understand EFFECTIVE moving mass, Less IS more. Why is that good? Because when you lower the moving system mass, it's easier to control. If it's easier to control, the stylus can stay in better contact with the groove walls. That's good, because if you can't stay in contact with the groove walls, you can't hear what's on the record.
An Unparalleled Warranty:
The Mezzo Cartridge is covered for a full 2 years. Retip is less than 14% of the retail ($650). An absolutely unheard of warranty for cartridges. Made in the USA, the Soundsmith cartridges are the best long term values around!
Features:
• Ultra low effective moving mass resulting in superlative transient and micro detail performance
• Single Crystal Ruby Cantilever
• Selected “Optimized Contour” nude Contact Line diamond stylus
• Azimuth/SRA adjustable at cartridge body
• Virtually hum-free operation due to six sided magnetic shielding
• 2 Year Warranty
Specifications:
Stylus: Contact Line Nude, 0.100mm SQ
Radius of curvature: Optimized Contour Contact Line
Cantilever: Ruby
Recommended Tracking Force: 1.8 to 2.2 grams
Tip Mass: 0.30 mg
Compliance: 10 um/mN (low compliance)
Frequency Response: 20-20,000 Hz +/- 1.0 dB
Channel Separation: 1000 Hz Greater Than 34 dB, 50-15,000 Hz Greater Than 25 dB
Channel difference: Less Than 0.5 dB
Output voltage: 1.1mV
Cartridge weight: 8.79 grams
Load: 1500 Ohms or greater
Retip: $650
An Unparalleled Warranty! Retip is only $650 and is guaranteed for 2 Full Years!
The Soundsmith Mezzo, Italian for middle or medium (output not performance that is) is based on the Sussurro Moving Iron Cartridge.
Soundsmith is pleased to announce the Mezzo Medium Output cartridge designed to fill the need for audiophiles that have moderate gain preamplifiers from such esteemed manufacturers as Conrad-Johnson and Audio Research among many others!
Peter Ledermann designed the Mezzo cartridge to perform flawlessly in preamps that utilize a FIXED 48dB-54dB gain structure. No longer is there any fear of overloading with a high output MM cartridge or having to ramp up the volume with a low output MC type.
Based on PeterÂ’s now classic Sussurro Moving Iron design, the Mezzo moderate output cartridge gives the same level of performance as its sibling. Without any tradeoffs, this new medium output cartridge will breathe new life and alter expectations from audio system front-ends with moderate gain!
Frank Schroder is not only a highly gifted tonearm designer and builder but also one of the most insightful audio engineers alive today. In an informal meeting with Frank and Soundsmith's Peter Ledermann at an audio show, Frank suggested to Peter that he work on a low output moving iron cartridge design. Frank's reasoning was impeccable and the seed for a new product was sown. Frank has been testing the Mezzo's prototypes throughout the development phase, providing his insightful and invaluable feedback along the way. But the real story of The Soundsmith Mezzo is that it is a cartridge designed to specifically deal with the most critical issues of cartridge design. All cartridges must adhere to first principles, and do it carefully - to get sublime results.
The Soundsmith Mezzo has an unbelievably low effective moving mass. The damping system has been critically tuned - so that ALL primary resonances are absolutely eliminated. Then, all critical stationary parts are fixed rigidly within its tiny magnetic structure and the fully shielded magnetic case is engineered to be far more rigid than any other cartridge. Finally, an innovative energy distribution system to dissipate the mechanical energy from the cantilever through the cartridge body into the tone arm properly.
Soundsmith is very pleased with the Mezzo and you will be too - but be cautioned - when you first cue down to the first track, you will wind up playing the complete side and be very late for your meeting. Guaranteed! Once you've heard your new Mezzo cartridge, you'll never go back.
Some have asked... "Moving Iron Cartridges better?? I thought that moving COIL types are the best??"
Soundsmith cartridges overturn the myth that moving coil cartridges are the only path towards perfection. After all, what is the accepted "advantage" of moving coil cartridges? Low effective moving mass, right? Well, Soundsmith cartridges have got less. Much less. And if you understand EFFECTIVE moving mass, Less IS more. Why is that good? Because when you lower the moving system mass, it's easier to control. If it's easier to control, the stylus can stay in better contact with the groove walls. That's good, because if you can't stay in contact with the groove walls, you can't hear what's on the record.
An Unparalleled Warranty:
The Mezzo Cartridge is covered for a full 2 years. Retip is less than 14% of the retail ($650). An absolutely unheard of warranty for cartridges. Made in the USA, the Soundsmith cartridges are the best long term values around!
Features:
• Ultra low effective moving mass resulting in superlative transient and micro detail performance
• Single Crystal Ruby Cantilever
• Selected “Optimized Contour” nude Contact Line diamond stylus
• Azimuth/SRA adjustable at cartridge body
• Virtually hum-free operation due to six sided magnetic shielding
• 2 Year Warranty
Specifications:
Stylus: Contact Line Nude, 0.100mm SQ
Radius of curvature: Optimized Contour Contact Line
Cantilever: Ruby
Recommended Tracking Force: 1.8 to 2.2 grams
Tip Mass: 0.30 mg
Compliance: 10 um/mN (low compliance)
Frequency Response: 20-20,000 Hz +/- 1.0 dB
Channel Separation: 1000 Hz Greater Than 34 dB, 50-15,000 Hz Greater Than 25 dB
Channel difference: Less Than 0.5 dB
Output voltage: 1.1mV
Cartridge weight: 8.79 grams
Load: 1500 Ohms or greater
Retip: $650
