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Has anyone listened to the soundsmith Paua cart

I was in the market for a new cartridge for my classic 1. I originally wanted a soundsmith zephyr. I then found a soundsmith sussurro Paua with low hours on the classifieds. I went ahead and purchased the Paua because it wasn't that much more than a new zephyr.. It seems the Paua and the zephyr have nearly identical weight and compliance. I talked with Peter at soundsmith and he said the Paua will be a good match on the classic 1 arm. He also said my phono loading must be 1000 ohm minimum as this is a low output .3 mv cart. The only differences I can see between the zephyr and the paua is the output and the stylus shape. I have been using a soundsmith boheme with good results. The boheme has a contact line stylus like the paua. I have always wanted to try a low output cartridge so, I opted for this used paua over a new zephyr. I haven't seen much talk about the paua on the forums here. I just wanted to know if anyone has listened to one. What cartridges would you compare it to? If anyone else owns one, what loading are you using? Thanks a lot.

Andy
andyprice44
andyprice44 OP
133 posts
 
I was just going by what peter told me. He said the loading needs to be 1K ohm minimum and not to be more than 5K maximum. One review I have found said the reviewer preferred it at 2800 ohm which made it a bit brighter. My system is a bit bright so, I plan on trying my phono loaded at 1100 ohm. If it doesn't suit me then I am going to send my phono back to the manufacturer to have the loading altered to allow a higher setting. I will hopefully have the cartridge on friday. I will make a new thread with my impressions when I get it up and running.

Andy
intactaudio
84 posts
 
Peter was referring to the value of the load. I was referring to the magnitude.

Again. While 1K represents a "minimum value" it the absolute sense, it is the maximum load.

dave
bifwynne
2,069 posts
 
Andy . . . so did you get the Paua??? If so, how does it sound? Btw, teh re-tip charge is a bargain compared to the retip/exchange prices of other high end carties.
john_tracy
341 posts
 
I bought Peter's prototype Sussurro at RMAF. I mounted it up yesterday and listened all evening. I still have some tweaking to do, but the results so far are very promising. I can post more when it's more dialed in and I've had time to listen to more records.
andyprice44 OP
133 posts
 
I did end up purchasing the paua. I have started another post where you can read my thoughts about it. In short, it is a great cartridge. It really exceeded my expectations.
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