Goldbug Ms. Brier moving coil cartridge, Soundsmith rebuilt

Rare Goldbug Ms. Brier low-output, moving coil cartridge - relisted due to failure of buyer (Jackylama) to make payment. The listed original retail price was in 1986, which was a ton of money for a cartridge at that time. A friend of mine gave me this cartridge after his maid accidentally broke off the cantilever while dusting his turntable. I sent it off to Peter Laderman, the cartridge maven of Soundsmith, for repair. He did his top-of-the-line job with the boron cantilever and fine line contact stylus. The cartridge is in essentially new condition. While having this cartridge rebuilt, I picked up a used Miyabe cartridge on a Simon Yorke turntable I purchased. I decided to send the Miyabe off to Japan for rebuilding. It was supposed to come back in two months, however, it took much longer. I got itchy to play my vinyl and ended up mounting the Goldbug cartridge for just a few days, when my Miyabe showed up. Like-new stylus condition is guaranteed. Unlike many moving coil cartridges, the Goldbug cartridges did not have a peak in the response at the high end. They were prized at the time because of this, as well as their exceptional resolution of detail and speed. The Briarwood (although the company spelled it Brier) bodies were hand-carved by the Japanese designer’s (Mr. Imamura) wife, when she wasn’t carving Briarwood tobacco pipes. The original Ms. Brier technical specification are below. Of course, the Soundsmith rebuild changed the cantilever from aluminum to ruby and the stylus shape from oval to fine line contact stylus. It now exceeds the original performance, IMO. It is a medium compliance cartridge that will work well in high to medium mass arms. Original 1986 specs are: Output Sensitivity: 0.22mV (1KHz) Frequency Response: 20Hz to 20KHz Channel Separation: >27dB Channel Balance: 1dB Impedance: 40 ohm Compliance: 17cu (static) and 15cu (1KHz) Optimum Cartridge Tracking: 1.5 grams (+/-0.2) Stylus Profile: Pure Oval Equivalent Mass: 0.26mg Cartridge Weight: 7.0 grams Cantilever: Tapered hollow aluminum Pay Pal adds 3% for U.S. buyer and 4.5% for overseas buyer.