SoundsmithZephyr MIMC StarusedSoundsmith Zephyr MIMC StarHello! I am selling my analog rig. Please check for other listings in the coming days as I will also be selling a VPI Prime Turntable with upgrades (Symposium Research Prime Footer Damping Insert...899.99

Soundsmith Zephyr MIMC Star

Listing ID: lisa92e1 Classified 
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Condition
9/10
Payment methods
Ships fromAltadena, CA, 91001
Ships toUnited States
Package dimensionsunspecified
Shipping carrierUSPS
Shipping cost$20.00
Original accessoriesBox
AverageResearch Pricing

Hello! 
I am selling my analog rig.  Please check for other listings in the coming
days as I will also be selling a VPI Prime Turntable with upgrades
(Symposium Research Prime Footer Damping Insert Kit ($250)
and HRX 3 belt pully ($70) with 3 belts), a VPI ADS with low hours, Transparent Ultra Phono MM 1m
interconnect and a Gingko Audio VPI Prime Turntable Table Top ClaraVu Dust
Cover ($399).  I am offering each of
these items separately but if you buy a package I will consider a discount.

                        SOUNDSMITH ZEPHYR MIMC STAR

I purchased this new in early 2018 from Music Direct - I am the only owner,.  Approximately 600 hours of use.  NOTE: THIS IS THE "STAR" - NOT THE NORMAL ZEPHYR.  IT'S THE IMPROVED VERSION. Will ship well packed in original box with stylus guard and screws. One of the great things about this cartridge (aside from the fact that it sounds incredible and has low hours) is that you can have it rebuilt by Soundsmith for $350.  Crazy.   

Luxurious
High-End Analog Performance and Premium Value: Soundsmith Zephyr Star MIMC
Phono Cartridge Offers Exceptional Channel Separation, Ultra-Wide Soundstaging,
Three-Dimensional Detail

The Zephyr Star, which weighs 10.27 grams, features a Sapphire cantilever (says “Boron” on the company’s website) laser drilled to accept the Selected Contact Line low mass nude stylus, and borrows much of its internal technology from the $4800 Sussurro cartridge that I reviewed some time ago in Stereophile. The Zephyr Star’s compliance is suitably low at 10µm/mN, its rated channel separation at 1K is rated at greater than 28dB and 25dB between 50Hz and 15kHz.

The name is an acronym for “Moving Iron for Moving Coil preamps). In other words, with its .4mV output, the MIMC should be used with a moving coil phono preamp capable of producing between 58-64dBs of gain.

Recommended tracking force is between 1.8-1.9 grams. So far this sounds like standard MC fare but because of the design, it is particularly sensitive to loading and its loading requirements are different from those of a typical MC cartridge. Soundsmith recommends loading to 470 ohms or more to avoid high frequency roll-off. A Soundsmith spokesperson recommends closer to 1000 ohms, but this is a personal choice. However, once you get below 470ohms you’ll easily hear the top end roll off. You can try 47kOhms too but you’ll probably hear an undamped resonant peak.


Soundsmith lowers the cost
barrier to outstanding high-end analog performance with the stunning-sounding Zephyr
Star MIMC phono cartridge
. A low-output audiophile design that can be rebuilt for a
fraction of the original cost, Zephyr Star is anchored by a laser-drilled Sapphire cantilever
custom-made to accept a selected contact-line low-mass nude stylus. Featuring
trickle-down technology taken from the manufacturer's $4,800 Sussuro cartridge, Zephyr
Star
 offers
exceptionally quiet operation, premium channel separation, and canyon-wide
soundstages. This U.S.A.-built cartridge not only offers the distinctive
advantages wrought by moving-iron models (for more, see below) – but spoils you
with reference-quality sonics previously only available from cartridges with
much higher price points. Its tracking abilities, microdynamic information
retrieval, transient responsiveness, and smoothness put it into a class of its
own given the cost. Add in robust bottom-end presence, airy highs, and
fantastic tonal balance, and the cutting-edge Zephyr
Star
 lives
up to its name – and then some.

"As
the measurements predicted, the Zephyr Star produced as wide a soundstage as
I've experienced in my room: wide, deep, stable, and three-dimensional. Images
on the stage were three-dimensional and satisfyingly solid. More impressive was
the presentation's liquidity and complete freedom from mechanical artifacts."


– Michael Fremer, Analog Planet


A
Sound Investment: Zephyr Star Can Be Rebuilt at a Fraction of the Original Cost


Zephyr Star benefits from infallible customer support and a wonderful safety
net. Soundsmith is the only high-end cartridge company that rebuilds its own
products at a fraction of the original price – no matter what the issue.
Equally important, moving-iron cartridges can always be rebuilt, unlike MC
designs sometimes damaged beyond possible repair.

Advantages
of Soundsmith Moving-Iron Cartridges


Enjoy the best of both worlds: Soundsmith's moving-iron cartridges encompass
the advantages of moving-coil and moving-magnet designs while simultaneously
lessening or eliminating the respective approaches' deficiencies. Boasting
extraordinary tracking abilities that let them effortlessly sail through
complex musical passages, a warm and detailed character, exceptional transient
response, and a full sound that completes entire notes and finishes
instrumental structures, Soundsmith models exude natural musicality and
high-end design. Built here in the U.S., and outfitted with either aluminum or
ruby cantilevers, we guarantee you'll love your new Soundsmith the moment it
hits your favorite records' grooves.

Buyer
pays actual shipping and insurance costs (including any additional boxes for “double”
boxing if requested).  Buyer pays
additional 2% to cover Pay Pal/Credit Card processing costs.  Pick up in Pasadena area is possible with
prepayment. Delivery possible in Los Angeles Metro area for larger items – cost
varies – will be much higher for turntable and dust cover, for instance. 

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