Made in the USA.
Trade-Up Pricing: Receive a credit valued at 30% of the original retail price of a Soundsmith moving iron cartridge towards the purchase of a new Soundsmith moving iron cartridge of equal or greater value.
All original owners of this cartridge are eligible for a rebuild done by Soundsmith directly!
$850 ~ Only 20% (or less) of MSRP!
Click here to fill out Soundsmith's Cartridge Rebuild Form
2 year warranty to the original owner.
The HYPERION is the cartridge of choice for the most esteemed audio equipment manufacturers. Why? Because when they exhibit their gear at Hi-Fi shows, they want their turntable, amplifier or speaker systems to sound the very best that they can! Peter Ledermann's radical design utilizes an actual "cactus spine" for the cantilever. The naturally tapered shape, stacked columnar fibers and desiccated resin damping fit the exact parameters of the perfect cantilever: Low mass, extreme rigidity, internal damping, and tremendous strength. Also available in a Dual Compliance Design for older Linear Tracking turntables as the HYPERION LT. The Hyperions are offered with a choice of CL or OC-CL stylus. Each one is hand-crafted by Peter Ledermann. The Hyperion features an industry first: A 10 year free retipping service for stylus wear to the original owner.
Also available in dual-coil mono.
New ES Series DEMS Design
2018's RMAF show was the official launch of Soundsmith's new ES series of cartridges, where the attendees experienced the latest exploration into overlooked areas of cartridge design and solutions from Soundsmith.
The ES line features not only a dramatic new look, but is a significant evolution of the DEMS system design (Dynamic Energy Management System). The new Soundsmith ES cartridge designs are a significant advancement in cartridge performance due to their ability to direct internal vibrational forces without reflection and disperse them properly to the tone arm. The absence of reflections enables the stylus to stay in far greater statistical contact with the groove walls -- a critically important technical refinement. Increased liquidity and reduced "grain," without loss of detail are some of the immediately discernible advantages of Soundsmith's new ES models.
The new line also features Azimuth adjustment built-in to each cartridge, as well as the option for electrical isolation for hum-prone systems.
Every cartridge in Soundsmith's lineup will now feature their sleek new ES body design. The upgrade is far more than cosmetic; the new shape is a departure from the reflective and "boxy" design of many cartridges whose internal construction contribute to uncontrolled vibrational issues adversely affecting performance. Peter says, "Think of how singing in an open field compares with singing in a shower." Soundsmith has always challenged conventions, looking deeper into nuances of cartridge design that dramatically affect immediate and long term performance. These have included extreme reductions of moving mass and the use of novel materials and designs. The new ES lineup is a continuation of that research and development.
Technical Specifications
| Type | Fixed Coil / Moving Iron |
|---|---|
| Mount | Standard ½" |
| Stylus | Contact Line, Nude, 0.10 mm square |
| Radius of Curvature | Contact Line or Optimized Contact Line |
| Cantilever | Hand formed/treated selected Cactus "Spine" |
| Recommended Tracking Force | 1.8 - 2.2 g |
| Effective Tip Mass | 0.30 mg |
| Compliance | 12 μm/mN vertical, 7 μm/mN horizontal
10 μm/mN (LT version) |
| Frequence Response | 20 - 20,000 Hz ± 1.0 dB |
| Channel Separation @ 1000 Hz | > 36 dB
> 34 dB (LT version) N/A (Mono version) |
| Channel Separation @ 50 - 15,000 Hz | > 25 dB
N/A (Mono version) |
| Channel Difference | < 0.5 dB
< 1.0 dB (Mono version) |
| Output Voltage @ 5cm/sec | > 0.40 mV |
| DC Resistance (DCR) | 10Ω |
| Coil Inductance per channel | 2.75 mH |
| Suggested Preamp Gain | 58 - 64 dB |
| Cartridge Weight | 12.2 g (ES series) |
| Recommended Load Resistance | ≥ 470Ω |
| Recommended Load Capacitance | n/a |
