Air Tight Opus 1 arrived

[Tango]

Hello Gian,

I understand your Coralstone has diamond cantiliver. How s the sound different from boron cantiliver. Is the price difference big?

Kind regards,
Tang

 

[gian60]

Dear Tang,
my Coralstone has Diamond cantilever.
In Italy the difference in Price is 7.200 euro but has good discount

I compare one time with the coralstone with boron cantilever of my friend on the same tonearm Graham Phantom Supreme,and Diamond is little more transparent and natural
but difference in price is high

For 2/3000 euro difference you can do,but for more is waste money

 

[Tango]

Have only little work today so I have much time listening.

I listened to Belafonte Carnegie with Opus. Just love the cart more and more. The hall ambient and the depth were just deceiving. His vocal energy just kept me listening what he would do next..very involving performance. And that bass..is so down to the ground. This 33 is somehow very very quiet too.

Tang

 

[PeterA]

Have only little work today so I have much time listening.

I listened to Belafonte Carnegie with Opus. Just love the cart more and more. The hall ambient and the depth were just deceiving. His vocal energy just kept me listening what he would do next..very involving performance. And that bass..is so down to the ground. This 33 is somehow very very quiet too.

Tang

Yes, I know this LP and it sounds great with my AirTight Supreme and MSL Sig Gold. The vinyl is very quiet. It is a great live album.

 

[RaceDoc]

...

Now i have Coralstone diamond,Opus 1,GFS,Ortofon A95,Ortofon SPU 95 and SPU Synergy,Colibri,Audiotekne,Audio Tecnica mono anniversary.

...

Hello Gian,

wow... what a beautiful line-up!

I am positively surprised that you own 2 Ortofon SPUs as well. How would you describe their sonical characteristics
in comparison to the other cartridges and especially in comparison to each other.

Thanks in advance!

 

[RaceDoc]

Gian? ;-)

 

[cdk84]

Hi Gian,

Thank you for sharing your observations on the Opus cartridge and the comparison to the Koetsu Coralstone Diamond.

I know Peter's system, and have the PC1 Supreme in the same arm as Peter, the SME V-12, but on a different turntable.

I agree with Peter's comparison of the MSL and AirTight cartridges: in his system, the MSL sounded better --to my ears-- immediately, even though it wasn't broken in. It's the PC-1 Supreme, but with more of what makes the PC1 Supreme a great cartridge, and done better.

May I ask how you align your cartridge? What tracking force do you like best for the Opus? Do you change your VTA for each LP?

Thank you again for doing the work to help us understand what this cartridge offers. I look forward to hearing from you.

Best Wishes,

David

 

[gian60]

@RaceDoc
I have 2 spu because i bought 3 years ago a td 124 schopper with ortofon tonearm and SPU Synergy and then i sold ortofon tonearm to buy in future Schopper tonearm and i was surprised for the good quality of Synergy.Is not in the league of others but their sound is musical and agreeable.Little dark sound,but good mid and bass.
Then i bought spu A95 to see the difference thinking can be the best spu never made

@cdk84
For the Opus i put 2 gr and i don't change VTA for each LP
I have a Bergmann turntable with linear air tracking arm that i put parallel
I love all this cartridges,now i bought also 5 days ago a Atlas sl,because are different but all very special

 

[RaceDoc]

@gian60

Thanks for your thoughts. This is what I have heard so far. The Synergy has a very warm and relaxed sound without hiding
too much details... very agreeable. In my system which is a high resolution one it should be a good match.

With the SPU 95 you are right. This is together with the Shindo-SPU the best SPU ever made.

But of course in your outstanding collection of cartridges you will find the perfect match for every record ;-)

 

[Bso]

Do any of these cartridges come with an actual test response curve? This would document the frequency response, the channel separation and uniformity, distortion, the HF and LF resonance. The test environment would be specified: arm, load, test record, temperature, tracking force, and so on. Do any high end cartridges today come with this?

The reason I ask is because when you see the actual tests/measurements, eg., HFN/RR by PM, of cartridges they often are far different than what their specs say they are. If I buy a custom suit I don't want the sleeves to be too long.

 

[Tango]

It takes two to tango.

 

[bonzo75]

Lol

 

[gian60]

Hi tang
Why 2?
You could try
MSL platinim

 

[Tango]

Hi tang
Why 2?
You could try
MSL platinim

1)I really like the sound of opus. My best favorite.
2)I already have two exact arms. I need two exact carts to compare my tts and really hear differences between tts.
3) MSL and opus come from the same designer. The sounds likely have more similarities than differences. I rather pay a bit moe for top ZYX.

Tang

 

[PeterA]

Hi tang
Why 2?
You could try
MSL platinim

Has anyone directly compared the Opus 1 to the MSL platinum? I have done the comparison between the two models directly below these, the Supreme and the Sig. Gold. They are different.

 

[gian60]

Hi Tang,

I am agree with you,also for me the best cartridge i have is Opus 1,also others i have i like a lot,but opus is what i prefer

 

[gian60]

In Italy only i have Opus 1,and no one bought Platinum,distributors told me.

I will push Tango that is buying all the best cartridges to buy it and do test for us

 

[Ron Resnick]

Hello Gian, Tango,

Is each of you now saying officially that you prefer the Air Tight Opus over your Koetsu(s)?

 

[gian60]

I like my Koetsu because sound more natural than Atlas sl and GFS,that are very transparent,dynamic and GFS is explosive,but in my system are little light on mid bass and i listen a very little electric sound while Koetsu seems more natural with mid,voices and chamber music very impressive

Opus 1 has same natural sound like Koetsu,with controlled and very deep bass,high more open and near same Atlas,with very wide and deep scene
and sound very well with everything,from chamber music,jazz to Kraftwerk
And dynamic cover all the range,while GFS and Atlas seems more dynamic in mid high

Tang that write in English much better than me can explain better

This in my system,could be other system has different result

 

[PeterA]

I like my Koetsu because sound more natural than Atlas sl and GFS,that are very transparent,dynamic and GFS is explosive,but in my system are little light on mid bass and i listen a very little electric sound while Koetsu seems more natural with mid,voices and chamber music very impressive

Opus 1 has same natural sound like Koetsu,with controlled and very deep bass,high more open and near same Atlas,with very wide and deep scene
and sound very well with everything,from chamber music,jazz to Kraftwerk
And dynamic cover all the range,while GFS and Atlas seems more dynamic in mid high

Tang that write in English much better than me can explain better

This in my system,could be other system has different result

Thank you for this description, Gian. It seems that you think the Opus 1 combines the best of both the Koetsu and the Atlas/GFS in one all around balanced cartridge. The Airtight must also be very well matched with your arm. Congratulations.