Aidas Cartridges arrive at Solypsa

[Solypsa]

I am happy to announce that Solypsa Audio has taken on North American distribution for Aidas Svazas' wonderful cartridges. Hand made by the maestro in Lithuania.

These carts are all 'MK2 - 22' latest versions.

First to arrive is the highest and best model, the Mammoth Gold mk2 with 24kt gold generator windings.

 

[Solypsa]

24kt gold series sibling: the Gala Gold mk2

 

[Kingrex]

Nice looking. Did you get any of the Rainbow series yet?

What is the cantilever. Can you safely use a magic eraser to keep it clean?

 

[Solypsa]

Rainbow models coming in very soon.

Aidas carts feature Boron cantilever with Micro Ridge stylus. I use ME on mine ( and on many Ogura and Namiki Boron assemblies, as used on many carts, for some time now, with good results ). YMMV

 

[Uk Paul]

Hey Erik; welcome aboard! It is great to hear that you have got NA distributorship for these wonderful cartridges, they certainly deserve to be considered in the upper echelon's of MC pick up's, such is their 'rightness of sound'..

 

[Solypsa]

One step below the 24kt Gold series is the Black Sound series using gold clad copper generator windings. Comes in Ebony, Purpleheart or 'gold web' body

 

[gian60]

My friend was distributor in Italy of these cartridges,i listen from him a medium model,i dont remember which,and was a very natural cartridges,a little on warm side,and i listened the Mammouth,i dont know if was mk II or not and this was very excellent,natural and a rich sound with very good details,a kind of sound similar to the top Mijiaima

 

[Mike Lavigne]

i've had the Aidas Mammoth Gold Mk2 cartridge (on loan) in my system for a week now, courtesy of Eric of (WBF member) Solypsa, the N.A. distributor. thank you Eric.

the Mammoth is mounted on my Durand Tosca/Saskia, tracking at 1.9gms, playing through the CS Port phono and EM/IA SUT. it's just started breaking in and only has 6-7 hours on it. the Mammoth tusk ivory body is really a thing of beauty to look at, and has a wonderful solid 'right' feel to hold.

i am enjoying what i'm hearing. early impressions include a nice balance and 'rightness', notably powerful bottom octaves and bass articulation. this is a 'serious' level cartridge. Tuesday my CS Port phono is being sent to it's new owner, and my EM/IA phono is arriving by week's end, so i will need to navigate those changes before more time on the Mammoth.

 

[Solypsa]

A few comments from a new owner of the Gala Gold cart, made over first week of use, after replacing Benz LP-S MR ( Gala is ~12% more costly vs LPS ):

'I'm really enjoying this Aidas Gold! There's a kiss of midrange magic and sustain that is especially noticeable on acoustic guitars. I played "Friday Night in San Francisco" on 45 RPM and was almost mesmerized by the rich timbre and sustain of the acoustics. This is not a knock on the Benz, it did very well, but guitars seem to have more body with the Aidas.'

'It's amazing how much more treble is coming through vs when I first mounted the Aidas, the initial treble sparkle has filled out (ride cymbals decay more wholesomely) Overall, there is just a bit more detail vs the LPS, but in no way does the Aidas come across as"clinical" or boring. It's really a seductive listen One trait is that is is LESS forgiving than the Benz, which is more than fine by me. Benz tends to homogenize sound somewhat, and impart its qualities over recordings. The Gala, even with its midrange magic that deviates just a hair from neutral, does get more out of the way. The Gala is just a lovely cart.'

'With the Aidas, loading at 300 ohms sounds fantastic, just a bit of sparkle with a creamy midrange. Bass is better than the LPS, which was no slouch. Loving it!'

 

[Solypsa]

Mammoth Gold at Munich this weekend:

Taking a ride on a J Sikora, room f217. Unfortunately I am not there

 

[Solypsa]

Kind of reminiscent of the shou sugi ban method, this is the Aidas CU Durawood 'bee'.

 

[Solypsa]

Baby Mammoth Gold - both a little lighter and smaller in size. Aidas designed this one for air bearing tonearms

 

[Solypsa]

Announcement from Aidas Cartridges:

Regarding customers of Aidas Cartridges that purchased a cartridge prior to 2020 and now need repairs or service, they must visit the official Lithuania factory website and find an authorized dealer.

Announcement here

This is, I am told, in response to reports of cartridge owners having trouble when using prior distribution network agents to properly facilitate repair services.

 

[Solypsa]

CU Durawood Multicolor on Clearaudio

 

[Solypsa]

A happy repair story ( as far as that sort of thing can be happy ) -

My client accidentally damaged his AU series cart and on inspection the coil lead out wires had been damaged and the coils needed to be rewound.

* Turnaround time under two weeks
* Cost to rewind ( gold wire ) generator, test and return 2 day air under $500

I feel that this type of service is very important when investing in a great cartridge and really proud to stand with a company like Aidas Cartridges that feels same.

 

[Kingrex]

Just installed my brand new Durawood copper. Set the VTF, then aligned and put it into the groove. Eric said I need at least 6 hours minimum to start hearing it. 200 hours is much better.

Once it has 200 hour I'm sending it to JR at WAM engineering to get the zenith. Then I will dial it in and really listen.

 

[Kingrex]

I have about 10 album sides on it. I'm very happy so far. It shows real promise. The very first thing that struck me is the sound is further into the corners.

 

[Kingrex]

The cart is doing well. It has about 30 album sides through it. It already lets a good pressing shine. Bad pressings are more noteable as bad.

 

[shakti]

some pics of a rare, but nice set up:

Kuzma Safir 9 and Aidas Mammoth Gold MKII

 

[Mike Lavigne]

some pics of a rare, but nice set up:

Kuzma Safir 9 and Aidas Mammoth Gold MKII


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has to be sweet sounding!!!

congrats!