EMT JSD 6 Moving Coil Cartridge
My goal for this column was not to compare the not-free EMT tonearm to the not-very-expensive Jelco or Schick arms. Those comparisons would be interesting but difficult to make. As of this writing, I have only listened to the 912-HI tonearm with EMT's own JSD 6 cartridge, and I have only listened to that cartridge with this tonearm. So I cannot separate the sonic impact of the tonearm from that of the cartridge. If the creek don't rise, in Dreams to come, I will report how a few of my favorite cartridges responded to the 912-HI. In this column, I'll…
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Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Bluetooth sources: iPhone 14 Pro Max, LG V30, Samsung Galaxy S10e, iPad Pro (2016), 16" MacBook Pro M1.
Digital sources: Musical Fidelity V90 DAC, Auralic Vega DAC, Bluesound Node 2i streamer.
Headphones: Apple AirPods Pro 2, Even H2, HiFiMAN HE1000se, Audeze LCD-4.
Headphone amplifiers: McIntosh MHA-100, Benchmark HPA4, Primaluna EVO400i.—Rogier van Bakel
In 1985, I visited what was then known as Soviet Estonia with my family. My paternal grandparents, Mimi and Pop, had emigrated to the US from this small Baltic country in 1929. Fifty-six years later, after more than a decade of rejection, the family was granted permission by the Soviet authorities to visit our ancestral homeland, and the whole family, including Mimi, made the trek. (Pop died in 1962.)
Once we were there, we were more or less free to move around in the capital city Tallinn, but leaving the city was strictly forbidden, except as part of a planned group excursion with our…
Remember: both these cartridges have the same MicroRidge stylus, boron cantilever, double suspension (hence the same 1.9gm tracking force and 12µm/mN lateral compliance), the same 0.3mV output voltage, the same 0.03mm wire thickness, and the same 5 ohm internal resistance. The only parameter that varies (other than the body and wire materials) is the cartridge weight: Tru-Stone is heavier than wood, and the Malachite Silver is specified as weighing 1.8gm more than the Durawood. According to my measurements, however, the weight difference between the two cartridges was closer to 3gm because my…
Wilson Audio's new Sasha V loudspeaker (that's "V" as in victory, not "five") extends the line that began in 2009 with the debut of the Sasha 1 model. The installation manual includes a page titled "Sasha Evolution," with elegant line drawings of the various versions of the Sasha loudspeaker—now four—which were preceded by the two-box WATT/Puppy combo, which dates from 1989. The Wilson Audio Specialties Sasha V ($48,900/pair) replaces the prior Sasha model, the Sasha DAW, in the Wilson lineup.
The hefty, floorstanding Sasha V maintains a close family resemblance. The new Sasha's width and…
First order of business was swapping out the casters the woofer cabinets had been shipped with and replacing them with the Acoustic Diode footers. First used in the Wilson Alexx V, these footers are conelike pieces assembled from stainless steel and a dollop of Wilson's newer V-material. Daryl Wilson explained to me, "There is coupling, and decoupling, designed into the Acoustic Diodes. Spikes are for coupling, to keep the cabinet from moving front to back, which causes blurring. The V-material is brilliant at decoupling: taking vibration, converting it to heat, ... just for damping."…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Three-way, bass-reflex, floorstanding loudspeaker. Drive units: 1" Wilson Convergent Synergy Carbon doped-silk fabric tweeter in a sealed carbon-fiber enclosure; one 7" QuadraMag alnico-doped paper-pulp composite midrange driver in a rear-slotted enclosure; two 8" paper-pulp composite woofers in rear-ported X- and V-material enclosure. Sensitivity: 88dB/W/m at 1kHz. Nominal impedance: 4 ohms. Minimum impedance: 2.36 ohms @ 82Hz. Minimum amplifier power: 20Wpc. Frequency response: 20Hz–32kHz ±3dB room average response.
Dimensions: 45.1" (1145mm) H…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog sources: VPI HW-40 turntable, VPI 12" Fatboy tonearm, Pro-Ject Classic EVO turntable, Lyra Etna λ Lambda cartridge, Ortofon Bronze Cadenza cartridge, Sumiko Amethyst cartridge.
Digital sources: MacBook Air running Tidal, Roon, Qobuz. Bricasti M1 Series II. DAC, Musical Fidelity M1 CDT transport, Pro-Ject CD Box RS2 T.
Preamplification: McIntosh C12000.
Power amplifiers: McIntosh MC462 Quad Balanced Stereo Amplifier, McIntosh MA252 Integrated Amplifier.
Loudspeaker: Harbeth C7ES-3XD, Wilson Audio Specialties Sasha DAW.
Cables:…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
As I had done for the Wilson Sasha DAW, which Sasha Matson reviewed in January 2020, I measured one of the Sasha V speakers, serial number 0127, in Sasha's listening room. We lifted the speaker onto a small dolly so that we could rotate it for the off-axis response measurements. The inevitable reflection of the speaker's sound from the floor reduces the accuracy of the measurements in the midrange. All the measurements were performed without the grilles.
Wilson specifies the Sasha V's sensitivity as 88dB/W/1m. My estimate, in different units, was 91dB(B)/2.…
I can roll out of bed and install a $10,000 phono cartridge while finishing my coffee, but I postpone DAC installations until I am in the exact right mood to handle the potential stress—especially DACs with a touch screen and a complex menu. To my delight, Ferrum Audio's new Wandla digital converter was completely stress-free to install. It took only minutes to connect the USB-C cable, the Cardas Audio Clear Beyond interconnects, and 24V DC power adapter.
Connecting the power adapter caused a power-switch symbol to appear on the front panel touch screen. The moment I touched it, I smiled…