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Any Members Tried the Audio Interface CST-80 SUT?

My curiosity got the better of me and I just bought this SUT from Japan and wondered if anyone else had any experience with it. The very little I could find seemed to indicate it is a respectable unit and has even been likened to the highly acclaimed Cotter SUT.

It was made in the US around 1982 and came in two varieties. There was a 3 Ohm version with 30dB of gain and a 40 Ohm version with 20dB of gain.

I currently use a Fidelity Research FRT-4 which is excellent and has 4 different taps 100 Ohms, 30 Ohms, 10 Ohms and 3 Ohms + Pass Through for MM.  It will be interesting to see how it compares the FRT-4.

I will use it with my 1.0 mV / 60 Ohms Shinon Boron Red which currently uses the 100 Ohm tap on my FRT-4.

 

ateal
bimasta's avatar
bimasta
158 posts
 
I’ve had the CST-80 for twenty years. I don’t know any specs on mine, they’re impossible to find. The website http://www.high-endaudio.com (which is very controversial and justly so) prefers it to the Cotter.

I already had the Cotter Verion SUT at the time I bought the AI, and was able to compare them in the identical system without relying on ‘audio memory’: it only took a second to switch back and forth. I also had a ‘Jury of Golden Ear Friends’ who helped me assess and choose whenever I got new components. Two were musicians, one a sound engineer, and we used recordings they performed on and knew intimately, or were present at the sessions.

I heard NO difference. But all three of them preferred the CST-80. One, a violist with the Berlin Philharmonic for over a decade, preferred it by a wide margin: he thought it captured instrumental timbre better, especially important to him.

I decided to part with the Cotter, but as I mentioned I heard no difference. My friends’ judgments swung it for me, plus the AI is only one-third the size, fits under my turntable, and is considerably more attractive. It also allows you to try different cables (eg copper vs silver, floating shield, etc) whereas the Cotter has captive leads of older design.

I’ve used it with many cartridges over the years. It has no loading options (neither did the Cotter) so you must look to your preamp for that. Sometimes I switch to a head amp (Thorens/EMT) but always return to the AI.

I look forward to your ‘review’ when you receive it, and how it compares to your FR.



ateal OP
95 posts
 
bimasta, thanks for the great info. Can I ask which version you had, 3 Ohm or 40 Ohm and which selection of carts did you use.

Whilst I initially plan to use it on the Shinon Boron Red first, which seems to be a good match, I will ultimately want to use it with my Spectral Reference which may not be as ideal a match. The Spectral has a low output of 0.2mV and a very low impedance of 2 Ohm. 

I am hoping the low output and low impedance will not be too much of an issue with a quality unit like this. If it is an issue I can just revert back to the FRT-4.

Thanks again for the input.

bimasta's avatar
bimasta
158 posts
 
All I know is the model — CST–80/II H. Maybe that tells you something, but H is a bit ambiguous. After reading your post about 3- and 40-ohm versions, I inserted my ohm-meter probes into the RCA females, but got no readings at all, so I can’t help there either.

I’m searching memory back 20 years as to cartridges I used. It included — Accuphase AC2, VDH MC10, Linn Asak, Coral (aka GAS Sleeping Beauty), Blue Oasis, Audio Technica OC-9, Madrigal Carnegie One, Dynavector 23 Ruby, Ortofon MC20 Super and MC30 Super, Audioquest 909, Fidelity Research MC 201 and FR1Mk3F — that’s all I can recall now.

All sounded lovely, within their own limits. A couple were irritatingly strident in the highs, and I blamed either the cartridge or the CST-80 — but they may have been innocent, I didn’t know much about loading then. It is the mythical “straight wire with gain”, though of course it’s wound wire. (Or possibly wound foil; such a shame so little info is available.)

I mentioned a Thorens/EMT head-amp last time. I like it a lot, it’s dead-silent and has better dynamics when I’m using a passive preamp. But I invariably move back to the CST when using active preamplification, either tube or SS — its transparency and purity is utterly beguiling.

Remember, I’m expecting your review...



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