Air Tight Opus 1 arrived

gian60

Well-Known Member
Apr 17, 2016
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Next week i will put on my Bergmann Sindre and i will report the difference with Goldfinger Statement and Coralstone Diamond.
I think will be in the middle.
In future i would like to buy a AF3 or Bergmann Galder with 4 arms and with Goldfinger,Coralstone Diamond,Opus 1 and Atlas sl that i would like to buy in future,besides my Thorens 124 Schopper with
Ortofon SPU A95.
My system is 90% finish,so i love enjoy with different cartridges.
For the arm i have no idea which arm buy,SAT,Durand and Vertere are the best but too expensive.
Regards ti everybody
 

Audiophile Bill

Well-Known Member
Mar 23, 2015
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Wow Gian - you have some delicious cartridges in your armoury. Very jealous. Enjoy!
 

asiufy

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Jul 8, 2011
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Hi Gian!

This is the best cartridge I've ever heard, bar none! I've compared it to the A95 (no comparison) and the top of the line ZYX (again, not even close). Oh, comparisons were done on the Kronos Pro with the Black Beauty tonearm...
It does the "smooth" thing like the ZYX, while still being extremely "alive" and dynamic like the A95.

cheers,
alex
 
Last edited:
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bonzo75

Member Sponsor
Feb 26, 2014
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Next week i will put on my Bergmann Sindre and i will report the difference with Goldfinger Statement and Coralstone Diamond.
I think will be in the middle.
In future i would like to buy a AF3 or Bergmann Galder with 4 arms and with Goldfinger,Coralstone Diamond,Opus 1 and Atlas sl that i would like to buy in future,besides my Thorens 124 Schopper with
Ortofon SPU A95.
My system is 90% finish,so i love enjoy with different cartridges.
For the arm i have no idea which arm buy,SAT,Durand and Vertere are the best but too expensive.
Regards ti everybody

Wow Gian60 hifi show
 

gian60

Well-Known Member
Apr 17, 2016
2,503
1,943
343
Thanks Alex,
i never listen before Opus 1 but i am sure will be great.
 

jfrech

VIP/Donor
Sep 3, 2012
2,152
749
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Austin
Next week i will put on my Bergmann Sindre and i will report the difference with Goldfinger Statement and Coralstone Diamond.
I think will be in the middle.
In future i would like to buy a AF3 or Bergmann Galder with 4 arms and with Goldfinger,Coralstone Diamond,Opus 1 and Atlas sl that i would like to buy in future,besides my Thorens 124 Schopper with
Ortofon SPU A95.
My system is 90% finish,so i love enjoy with different cartridges.
For the arm i have no idea which arm buy,SAT,Durand and Vertere are the best but too expensive.
Regards ti everybody

Curios to your thoughts...I always liked the Air Tight PC1 Supreme I've heard in friends set ups
 

DaveyF

Well-Known Member
Jul 31, 2010
6,129
181
458
La Jolla, Calif USA
I've heard the Opus 1 on a couple of occasions.. as Alex said above, it is really special! Would like to know how it compares to the new My Sonic Lab Platinum Signature, as they are both sourced from the same manufacturer.....and the MSL Platinum Signature is supposed to be his ne plus ultra!!
 

gian60

Well-Known Member
Apr 17, 2016
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After 2 hour of listening,so we see after 100 hours,i can give one small judgment.

Is not simple write in English but i will try.

After listening for 2 months GFS and Coralstone diamond,i can say that Opus 1 is really incredible,seems the sum of the positive things of both Koetsu and GFS with better low frequencies.
The bass is more deeper and dynamic and more real.
Instrument are bigger and image and depht is bigger.
Sound is natural like koestu and fast,open and dynamic like GFS
Voice and instrument are palpable in the room and sound has a good body,more than GFS
About the voice i prefer a little Koetsu,little more natural,but i have to wait 100 hour at least

The sound is open,liquid,fast but with body and very deep low
Koetsu has bass,mid mid/ high fantastic,very very little roll off on high,GFS is explosive and very transparent on mid and high,but with less body,Opus 1 is open,transparent on mid but with body

But at the end are 3 incredible cartridges and which you can buy you don't wrong.
We are crazy and we are talking of small difference and details.
 
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Uk Paul

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Sep 27, 2012
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Gian, What is your phono amplifier?
 

MadFloyd

Member Sponsor
May 30, 2010
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Hi Gian!

This is the best cartridge I've ever heard, bar none! I've compared it to the A95 (no comparison) and the top of the line ZYX (again, not even close). Oh, comparisons were done on the Kronos Pro with the Black Beauty tonearm...
It does the "smooth" thing like the ZYX, while still being extremely "alive" and dynamic like the A95.
We had one briefly here in the store, but it sold so fast...


cheers,
alex

Not even close, huh?
 

gian60

Well-Known Member
Apr 17, 2016
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I never listen Universum premium,but one my friend has the ZYX Diamond and is the best cartridge i listen in my life,together with Audio Note IO limited 6 litz
now i cannot compare with Coralstone and Opus because you need to listen in the same system,but ZYS are also fantastic.
 

PeterA

Well-Known Member
Dec 6, 2011
12,521
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I've heard the Opus 1 on a couple of occasions.. as Alex said above, it is really special! Would like to know how it compares to the new My Sonic Lab Platinum Signature, as they are both sourced from the same manufacturer.....and the MSL Platinum Signature is supposed to be his ne plus ultra!!

I am very curious about these two new super cartridges. I own the former top of the line of each: AirTight Supreme and MSL Signature Gold. I slightly prefer the MSL. The Opus 1 and Plat. Sig must be incredible. If they are anything like my two cartridges, they will sound different from each other, even though they are designed by the same guy as the top cartridge for each brand.

I think AirTight has a more active US distributor. MSL used to be distributed by AJ Conti of Basis. I don't know who the current distributor is.
 

gian60

Well-Known Member
Apr 17, 2016
2,503
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Italian distributor of Air tight told me Opus 1 could be better than MSL platinum because being 30 anniversary of Air Tight they ask to do something very special,while MSL platinum change only the body and the stylus,but until you don't listen both nobody knows.

This opus 1 has an incredible bass and body,very clean,fast and deep and i think dear Peter,is perfect with your Magico Mini that i know very well because i listen many times from Italian distributor and i like a lot.
 

asiufy

Industry Expert/VIP Donor
Jul 8, 2011
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almaaudio.com
Not even close, huh?

Yep, not even close.
After many years in this hobby, it's harder and harder for a component to leapfrog what was there before him. And this was such case. And mind you, the A95 isn't bad, AT ALL.
Every time the customer who bought it comes to the store he thanks us for that Opus... Sometimes he just complains that we had him buy the A95 first, while he wish he could've had the Opus from the start on his Kronos :)
But, like everybody else, we were a little hesitant to go for a $15k cartridge. But successive exposures at shows and in GTT's place in NJ made us believers... And what do you know, this thing really rocks!
 

PeterA

Well-Known Member
Dec 6, 2011
12,521
10,687
3,515
USA
Italian distributor of Air tight told me Opus 1 could be better than MSL platinum because being 30 anniversary of Air Tight they ask to do something very special,while MSL platinum change only the body and the stylus,but until you don't listen both nobody knows.

This opus 1 has an incredible bass and body,very clean,fast and deep and i think dear Peter,is perfect with your Magico Mini that i know very well because i listen many times from Italian distributor and i like a lot.

Thank you gian60. Of course I am very interested in hearing it. One hurdle for me is getting over the high price of both of these new flagship cartridges. I am completely satisfied with what I currently have, but curiosity is always around the corner. I remember how much better the Supreme is than my former standard PC-1, for instance.

Congratulations again. You have an incredible collection of cartridges.
 

PeterA

Well-Known Member
Dec 6, 2011
12,521
10,687
3,515
USA
Yep, not even close.
After many years in this hobby, it's harder and harder for a component to leapfrog what was there before him. And this was such case. And mind you, the A95 isn't bad, AT ALL.
Every time the customer who bought it comes to the store he thanks us for that Opus... Sometimes he just complains that we had him buy the A95 first, while he wish he could've had the Opus from the start on his Kronos :)
But, like everybody else, we were a little hesitant to go for a $15k cartridge. But successive exposures at shows and in GTT's place in NJ made us believers... And what do you know, this thing really rocks!

asiufy, How would you describe the differences between the Opus, the A95, and the Zyx Premium on the same Kronos/Black Beauty table/arm.
 

bonzo75

Member Sponsor
Feb 26, 2014
22,434
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I never listen Universum premium,but one my friend has the ZYX Diamond and is the best cartridge i listen in my life,together with Audio Note IO limited 6 litz
now i cannot compare with Coralstone and Opus because you need to listen in the same system,but ZYS are also fantastic.

That Zyx Diamond system is this one http://zero-distortion.org/yamamura-horns/
 

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