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Audio Concept
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981 Posts |
 Posted - 2008/03/05 : 18:32:04
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Följande information är hämtad från Soundsmiths hemsida. Kontakta oss gärna för ytterligare information, prisuppgifter mm.
Features:
- One gram tracking with extreme precision
- Compatible with any 1/2" mount headshell
- Frequency response DC-50kHz with only 10° of phase shift in the audio band (rumble filter built in @ 12 Hz - passive type before single flat gain stage
- Front panel displays for tracking force (digital readout), AC component of the vertical tracking force, force balance per groove wall, and record eccentricity! (on models 810, 610,and 600 only)
- Fixed and variable, balanced and unbalanced outputs via RCA jacks. Our variable output will provide up to +10dB level, and may be used DIRECTLY into any amplifer, balanced or unbalanced inputs.
- Automatic Cue -Up muting (works with any turntable, and is user defeatable), manual muting control, and fault-sensing auto-mute to allow "hot plugging" of the tone arm or cartridge with the volume up, thus eliminating buzz or transients (allows stylus cleaning, adjustments, etc....)
- User replaceable styli available in varied compliance and configurations (Ruby & Aluminum cantilever, Nude Contact Line &, Elliptical Styli - 78 Styli)
- IR Hand Held Remote controls volume, mute, power (and input switching) on the SG-810 model
- All models feature front panel finger "light-touch" control switches for power, manual muting and front panel lighting control (on models 810,610 &600) allowing adjustable front panel lights from "automatic room lighting level" to variable intensity - full bright to off. Our lucite volume knob changes color to indicate the state of operation: RED (standby); Yellow (auto-mute); flashing yellow (manual mute); Blue (unmuted - playing)
- Our Strain Gauge cartridge requires specialized preamp circuitry, and is sold with any of five models of Soundsmith's preamplifiers:
- All models are line output - can be used directly into an "aux" input on your preamp, or used DIRECTLY into any power amplifier.
- All models have identical sonic characteristics and vary only in features:
SG-810 - Full function preamp system featuring the SG input plus 4 line inputs & tape monitor, Front panel "touch" & Remote control input switching, volume, mute and power with full Strain Gauge performance displays and lighting intensity control (auto room adjust or manual "linear control" from lights off to full bright))
SG-610 - Dedicated Preamp for Strain gauge - as 810 but without input switching
SG-600 - Dedicated Preamp for Strain Gauge - Same as 610, no remote
SG-410 - Dedicated SG Preamp only - Remote & Manual control for Volume, mute & power - without performance displays and auto/touch lighting control
SG-400 - Dedicated SG Preamp only - Manual Volume, mute & power - without remote, performance displays and auto/touch lighting control
Technical Information
The Strain Gauge cartridge is not at all like any other cartridge. All other cartridges, whether moving magnet, moving coil, or moving iron, are "generators" - that is, you put motion in, and you get energy out.....a tiny voltage that you amplify and send to your speakers. The key here in describing all other cartridges is in the word MOVING. All other cartridges need to move a mass around - a magnet, and iron core with wires (moving "coil") or moving iron. They are all magnetic generating systems, which require a mass to be constantly moved to generate a voltage.
When you move any mass, it has stored energy, just like your car when you get it going. When you need to turn, or slow down, the mass tries to keep you from doing so. Imagine a stylus in the groove of a record that must make lots of changes in direction to follow the groove walls. Imagine how the mass of the generating parts must restrain the stylus as it tries to move.
Now, imagine driving a car where you and the car have NO MASS. If you can, then you can understand only one reason why the Strain Gauge is so exciting; it has almost no "stored energy" in the moving system - there IS no large amount of "mass" to move around - it does NOT have to move around a magnet, or wire coils, or iron. This means that the stylus stays in much better statistical contact with the groove walls of your records because there is no large mass trying to keep it from doing so. Imagine how different that sounds.
Inertia (the law by which mass tends to stay at rest or continue in the direction in which it was moving) makes all styli "jitter" or jump about in the groove of the record, and not stay in intimate contact with the groove wall. If a stylus can't follow the groove wall, you cant hear what's on the record. Its that simple.
So how does it work if it doesn't generate a voltage???
The SG cartridge has two Strain Gauge elements, pieces of silicon crystal that when compressed or expanded by tiny amounts, change resistance. The cantilever suspension, a necessary part of any cartridge, is coupled to these elements. The energy that is usually always "lost" into the suspension of all cartridges is used to create the signal in our Strain Gauge cartridge. It is also a purely "resistive" system, with no coils of wire to alter the high frequency performance, or pick up hum, noise or radio stations! Our preamp supplies it a flow of electricity, which it varies, and that gets amplified.
Because it has ultra-low moving mass, and because it uses no wire coils, it has a high frequency performance to beyond 50 Khz. Because it goes all the way down to DC, we can use that DC information to display tracking forces, forces on each groove wall, record eccentricity and "AC" component of the tracking force (record warp). Because it does NOT have to move around a large mass, and has little stored energy, it can track at one gram without "jittering" or chattering down the groove walls, and therefore stays in intimate contact with the record groove. And because we engineered it carefully, our Strain Gauge has user replaceable styli, a first for high end cartridges.
That's a lot of "because's". And there's more.
I will be glad to consult with those who are seriously interested in owning this system. All cartridges are individually hand-made by me, and I take great care in doing so.
Below is some anecdotal and additional technical information on our Strain Gauge Cartridge and preamp systems......
Thanks for your interest - Peter Ledermann/President & Chief Engineer
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The Soundsmith had the pleasure of introducing our prototype high-end Strain Gauge Phono Cartridge System at the January 2006 CES Show in Las Vegas. Through the graciousness of both Jeff Joseph, (Joseph Audio), and Jeff Rowland (Jeff Rowland Audio) who, sound unheard, agreed to demonstrate it in their rooms, we had the opportunity to allow many visitors to listen and comment on our new Strain Gauge cartridge/Preamp system. My gratitude is with them both; thankfully their faith in my design was not misplaced.
We received many compliments and positive comments, the best of which occurred on the last day, when a well known tone arm designer who after hearing the cartridge for 60 seconds said "I have to go get some "Vinyl"...and returned with three rare library reference recordings that he said were "unplayable"....The Strain Gauge reproduced each track without distortion, demonstrating wonderful imaging and clarity. He stood up, mouth agape, shook my hand, and said "I wish I would have known I was going to have this experience this morning.....I wouldn't have had any coffee!" .....the whole roomful of folks laughed, and it was one of those great moments (for a design engineer) that one never forgets.....and the sound??? "It gives me GOOSEBUMPS the vinyl sounds so real!" was the most often heard comment by folks who visited the rooms.
For those who are interested, I have been working with Strain Gauge cartridge designs for 30 years, as well as many other product designs and inventions, some of which you can see on our website. We are in production of our new body design shown above with the associated current source-preamps, required to to be used with the cartridge. The new body design allows the user to easily adjust the VTA (vertical tracking angle) and Stylus Azimuth via screwdriver slots in the side of the cartridge body. The cartridge has user replaceable styli, and will be available in varying compliance (for varied mass tone arms), cantilever materials and styli shapes.
Let me say a few things about the design of any electro-mechanical audio device. Nothing is perfect. Rudy Bozak, with whom I worked many years ago, once said to me: "When you're designing electro-mechanical audio devices, there are 10 things you'd like to do. You're only going to get to do about three of them, so you'd better pick the right ones". I agree wholeheartedly. I will readily admit that the Strain Gauge is not perfect. Neither is anything else. But in my opinion, the things it does right far out shadow the things it does wrong, and therein lies the joy of art and science combined for both the engineer, and music lover.
All of our associated current source preamps we designed for our SG cartridge have fault-sensing; a new concept for SG cartridges, and a must for any strain gauge system. This allows protection against transients for any intermittent in the turntable wiring & cabling, or for turntables that have muting switches. As such, it also means that the cartridge is "hot pluggable", not a term one hears used with phono cartridges. Yes, you can remove the headshell, or unplug the tone arm without turning down the volume. There will be no damage or loud transients to your system, should you wish to inspect, clean or change styli by unplugging headshell or tone arm.
The additional circuit for "automatic muting" which senses when a record is being played also protects against an "accident" that might otherwise cause a large transient to occur if the stylus is dropped on the record ....Our logo goes from yellow to blue when the system senses a record being played, unmuting in .5 seconds.
The Soundsmith SG preamps are line output devices, and feature both balanced and unbalanced outputs. They do not require RIAA, and will work directly into an amplifier, or any line input. Our three top models will display: force per groove wall, record eccentricity, downward tracking force, record warp and arm/cartridge resonant frquency with a test record.
It is an unfortunate fact that most all high end cartridges do not have user replaceable styli and must be sent back to the manufacturer. That is not the case with our cartridge design as it does have user replaceable styli - one of the very important aspects of our cartridge. We feel that way because a critical part of an expensive system that is a normal wear-out item, or one that is easily breakable, should not necessitate a call one's tharapist when it needs to be replaced due to damage or wear. It also allows us to provide a stylus for the "kids" as well as ones with selectable compliance, cantilever/diamond shapes, including a 78 stylus! It also allows one to "fully restore" the cartridge as the suspension for the stylus is replaced when the stylus is relpaced.
This freedom allows us to design varied configurations of cantilever materials and diamond shapes, as well as stylus assemblies with varied compliance. This means our cartridge system can be used on any tone arm mass, high, medium or low. It also means that the suspension (a part that does age and is normally not replaceable) is also replaced with the new stylus assembly - creating a "new condition" for your SG cartridge for years to come. We will also produce 78 styli, and a low cost rugged stylus for the "kids"....
So....Why go to all this trouble???
What is so special and different about the Strain Gauge Cartridge? Everything. It doesn't use coils or magnets or iron like all other cartridges do. It does NOT have the typical MASS that needs to be moved about rapidly as in all other cartridges. That is one of the most important keys to its sonic ability. Ultra-low moving mass. Imagine a diamond stylus moving back and forth in a wiggling groove, up to 20,000 times per second. Inertia (the law by which mass tends to stay at rest or continue in the direction in which it was moving) makes all styli "jitter" or jump about in the groove of the record, and not stay in intimate contact with the groove wall. If a stylus can't follow the groove wall, you cant hear what's on the record. Its that simple. Lower the mass by a large amount, you get much better statistical contact with the groove wall. Basic physics. Now, that coupled with extremely good bandwidth (it plays out to 50,000 Hz.), excellent "time" characteristics (phase response) and no electrical problems (no inductance, no hum, no RF interference) and you wind up with one dandy sounding cartridge. The internal parts are also extremely rugged - it is virtually impossible to break. The new cartridge body is precision machined out of a solid block of high strength aircraft aluminum, as are most all the internal parts. Built in lights indicate that each channel is powered up, and ready to play. Once you hear one.....once the performers appear in your living room, you will want them to visit you again and again....
Peter Ledermann/President/Chief Engineer
Mvh, Audio Concept |
mötesplatsen för verkligt musikintresserade... - sveriges största och ledande specialbutik för hifi och high-end
www: www.audioconcept.se butik: Södra Agnegatan 29, 112 29 Stockholm tel: 08 6507250 --- Följ oss på Twitter - Bli ett fan på Facebook - Få vårt Nyhetsbrev |
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