Kuzma SAFIR 9

[ationg]

@ationg how long have you had it? my Audio Note ioGold is thrilling on the Safir and it is quite detailed. The wire burnt in and then disappeared as far as I can tell. I am so pleased I was thinking on writing a post about just how good I am finding the Safir to be. I would have about 200 hours of actual playing time on the arm by now.

The arm and cartridge are about 4 months old and so more than 100 hours of playing.

 

[ationg]

You can rest assured that Kondo silver wire is not the culprit and I don’t think Safir is either

Maybe the cartridge isn’t a good match. Just guessing.

 

[SOS]

I may be wrong but it is my guess that highly detailed cartridges may be too much of a good thing with the Kondo-wired SAFIR. My SAFIR is fitted with a diamond cantilever Etsuro. The balance is a bit off.

@ationg you "might" be right. I prefer my SoundSmith Sussurro Gold LE over my MSL Platinum Sig. Seems the MSL is just a bit too detailed, it's also a more "polite" sounding cartridge so I prefer the excitement of the SM. I thought the MSL Gold Signature was the better sounding cartridge on my Safir for my taste. Anyone want to buy a mint MSL Platinum? ( wink wink)

 

[ationg]

@ationg you "might" be right. I prefer my SoundSmith Sussurro Gold LE over my MSL Platinum Sig. Seems the MSL is just a bit too detailed, it's also a more "polite" sounding cartridge so I prefer the excitement of the SM. I thought the MSL Gold Signature was the better sounding cartridge on my Safir for my taste. Anyone want to buy a mint MSL Platinum? ( wink wink)

Oh no .. I sold my MSL gold when I changed my SME arm to Safir and fitted an Etsuro gold. Have been thinking of trying a MSL platinum on the Safir

 

[SOS]

@ationg I owned both the MSL Gold & Platinum and sold the Gold to buy a Platinum. I much prefered the Gold....again on the Safir. I'm not saying the Gold is a better cartridge but for my tatste and both cartridges were used on the Safir arm, I'd go for the Gold.

 

[Wutang-401`]

when you say it is too much of a good thing does it sound hard? what is the aggravation i wonder.

 

[thekong]

I have also auditioned the Safir, Etsuro Gold combo at the dealer’s showroom, and it was not my cup of tea, a bit too bright to my ears. To be fair, the cartridge was brand new, so not run in yet! Anyway, at the time, I and my friends all preferred the EMT VM over the Etsuro Gold on the Safir!

 

[ationg]

when you say it is too much of a good thing does it sound hard? what is the aggravation i wonder.

Not hard. Just more of everything in the high frequencies such that it sounds a bit off balance.

 

[Wutang-401`]

ah. i wonder if this relates to Fremer's comment which was that with the Safir he came to realise alot of music he thought had bass doesn't actually have bass. He repeated this thought many times. I think he was referring to the band the Loving Spoonful specifically.

So following his observation, is it that the presentation you hear has more treble in it relative to bass, and you dislike this?

I have certainly been struck by the treble of the Safir and the relatively lesser amounts of bass (albeit better defined etc - i'm not complaining). I am relatively new to vinyl though, and figured this new presentation was probably more accurate. I certainly find classical more listenable now and I think that is down to how much detail and accuracy there is in the Safir, across spectrum.

 

[ationg]

Not hard. Just more of everything in the high frequencies such that it sounds a bit off balance.

I would add there is a degree of thinness to the sound. OTOH, Safir + Etsuro has the best resolution, soundstaging, and airiness i have ever heard. very exquisite.

 

[thekong]

Not hard. Just more of everything in the high frequencies such that it sounds a bit off balance.

Yes, to my ears a bit too much high, and a bit recessed in the mid bass region, making the sound slightly bright! Just not enough meat on the bones!

 

[Birdwatcher]

How would an Audio Note Kondo IO-XP perform with the Safir? Anyone have heard this pairing?
Or a Dynavector XV-1t?

 

[thekong]

I don’t have the XV- 1t, but my XV-1s pairs very well with the Safir, my favourite cartridge with the Safir after the EMTs .

 

[ationg]

Yes, to my ears a bit too much high, and a bit recessed in the mid bass region, making the sound slightly bright! Just not enough meat on the bones!

agreed.

 

[ationg]

agreed.

Hi thekong, how much did you load the cartridge, if you still recall?

 

[thekong]

Hi thekong, how much did you load the cartridge, if you still recall?

Sorry, I really have no idea, as it was a dealer’s demo session, but it was fed into an EMT JPA66 preamp with phono, so it must have gone through the internal SUT instead of an active MC gain stage.

 

[phoni]

How would an Audio Note Kondo IO-XP perform with the Safir? Anyone have heard this pairing?
Or a Dynavector XV-1t?

Next to the clearaudio Goldfinger V2 the XV-1t is my second favorite cartridge. In my opinion, this Dynavector is an absolute recommendation for this tonearm.

 

[ationg]

Next to the clearaudio Goldfinger V2 the XV-1t is my second favorite cartridge. In my opinion, this Dynavector is an absolute recommendation for this tonearm.

Thank you. I appreciate Safir users share what cartridges have worked well in their experience with this arm.

 

[ationg]

Has anyone tried Audio Technica MC2022 with Safir?

 

[thekong]

Yes, my friend is using the MC2022 with the Safir. To my ears, the combo also tilted slightly to the bright side, but less so than with the Etsuro Gold.