Soundsmith Aida Phono Cartridge (Dual-Coil Mono Version)

True Dual-Coil Mono Version

A triumph of
Soundsmith Engineering, Stereophile Class “A” rated, a rarity at its price
point – and for good reasons.

The
Aida employs a single crystal Ruby Cantilever and our Optimized Contour
Line Contact Stylus; we did this to resolve the challenges of playing the inner
grooves with the same level of confidence as the outer. How did we do this? The
unique stylus shape of our OCL stylus has a “sharper” playing surface on the
faceted diamond, allowing it to ride easily in the groove modulations of even
the most difficult passages and high frequency information that other
cartridges simply cannot trace. The result – a truly superb cartridge,
surpassing top MC designs with air, focus and sound staging no cartridge at
this price should be able to achieve.

Also available in
dual-coil mono.

Made in  the
USA. Rebuild Price? ~  $350 ~ Less Than 20% of
MSRP, as always ! – The Aida features a 1 year warranty to
the original owner.

Warranty

1 Year

Specifications

Cartridge Type
Fixed Coil

Stylus Type
Contact Line

Output
High

Available As Dual
Coil Mono
Yes

Additional
Specifications

Stylus: Contact
Line Nude, 0.100mm SQ
Radius of curvature: OCL (Optimized Contour Contact Line)
Cantilever: Ruby
Recommended tracking force: 1.3 – 1.6 gm (standard medium
Compliance); 1.0 – 1.2 grams for special order High Compliance
Effective tip mass: 0.30 mg
Compliance: 28 μm/mN (high), 22 μm/mN (medium)
Frequency response: 20-20,000 Hz ± 2.5 dB
Channel separation (stereo only): 1000 Hz >30 dB, 50-15,000
>20 dB
Channel difference: <1.0 dB (Stereo), <1.0 dB (Mono)
Output voltage (Aida): 2.12 mV
Cartridge weight: 6.8 grams
Loading (Aida): ≥ 47 kΩ