Khumar cartrige tested during 7 days and more....

[hongkongfoufou]

What is this cartridge ?

MC Khumar Cartridge is made in India with the Stylus:NUDE shibata III from JAPAN.

This cartridge cost around 2500 US$ or 2300 Euros.

Who has developed this cartridge? Tariq Shafeeque.



Who is Tariq Shafeeque ?

Tariq Shafeeque a structural engineer by profession is the working genie behind this company. The love for music epecially from a turntable never took the down slope and kept on gaining heights. Once Tariq got a chance to restore a Technics SL 23. This provided his hobby a boost and ended up transforming this hoppy to his career as EBI Audio. Tariq is now one of the well known names in the record player community from India. Moreover, this company he established is a sole custom turntable manufacturer in India.



Taken from the website https://www.ebi-audio.com/blank-2



IMPORTANT :

The cartridge was loaned to me by the French importer.

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After tried it, I have bought one….

I hope I respect the rules with WTBF. If not, sorry for that....

Thanks for your comprehension WTBF




MC Khumar Cartridge By EBI-Audio

The Khumar cartridge is supplied in an attractive wooden display case. It is secured with two screws and protected by a plastic cover over the cartridge holder. A screwdriver and four screws are provided. To my surprise, this cartridge does not have a nut for securing it. In fact, the threading to hold the cartridge is included in the cartridge itself. The two holes for attaching the cartridge are not just holes but threaded holes to hold the cartridge in place.

This is very clever and makes it much easier to mount the cartridge on an arm or a headshell.




















I tested this Kumar cartridge with several combinations:



Cartridge holder:

- Yamamoto HS-3

- Yamamoto HS-4

- Ortofon LMH-9000



- Original Yamaha



Cartridge holder cables:

- Furutech Source 101





Turntable:

- Yamaha GT-5000 (new version: belt drive)

- VPI Classic 3

- Technics SL-1000R



Quick comparison: Khumar / ZYX 4D / Nagaoka MP-500 / Audio-Technica ART-9





I tested various combinations of cartridges and cartridge holders with the three turntables to find out which was the best combination between the turntables and cartridges, or rather which had the best synergy.



Technics SL-1000R:

When tested with the Ortofon LH-9000 or Yamamoto HS4 headshell, the sound seems very analytical to me, even though the cartridge digs deep into the grooves and extracts every last bit of information. At first glance, this cartridge extends from the extreme bass to the extreme treble with extreme precision and searches the entire bandwidth to extract every last bit of information.

 

[hongkongfoufou]

Finding the sound analytical, I changed the cartridge holder and chose the Yamamoto HS-3, and indeed the sound is more analog. In both cases, I find that this cartridge has excartridgeent dynamics!




















Finally, after three or four days of testing, the cartridge opened up. The loaned cartridge was new, I mean it was broken in because the one I had barely had 20 hours of break-in time.

So I put the cartridge back on the Ortofon LH 9000 cartridge holder and got a very dynamic sound with very precise and fast bass and sparkling treble, and extremely beautiful midrange: the vocals are superb. The duet between Mariah Carey and Boys II Men is so beautiful: the interplay and transition between Mariah Carey and Boys II Men's voices is reproduced in every subtle detail. Sometimes Mariah Carey sings backup vocals and Boys II Men sings lead... other times it's the other way around.

I had serious doubts when it was new because I thought the piano was poorly interpreted. In fact, the cartridge wasn't broken in.

Once broken in, the piano is extremely well interpreted, very beautiful. You can clearly hear Monty Alexander pressing the piano keys during the concert in Montreux.

Now the piano sounds wonderful. For example, if you listen to Monty Alexander's concert, the live performance in Montreux is truly extraordinary, and the piano is in the room compared to my ZYX Ultimate 4D, which raises the bar much higher in terms of sound because the piano fills the room with the ZYX.

But the ZYX Ultimate 4D is significantly less precise than the Khumer, with less depth in the bass and less range in the high frequencies.

Both are good, but they are completely different. With the Khumar, the soundstage is more realistic: the piano is right in front of you. With the ZYX, the piano is in the room and the sound of the piano fills the room.



Yamaha GT-5000:

The Khumar cartridge works well with the Yamaha GT-5000 turntable, but I find that this cartridge works better on the Technics, but that's just my personal opinion.

 

[hongkongfoufou]

The ZYX Ultimate 4D works very well with the Yamaha GT-5000. The ZYX 4D is at its best with the Technics SL-1000R.

I haven't tried the ZYX on the VPI arm, so I can't comment on that. The Nagaoka MP-500 cartridge that I mounted on the VPI.

On the Technics and Yamaha, strangely enough, the Nagaoka works best on the Technics. I say strangely because I thought it would work much better on the VPI, but in the end, the Khumar is the perfect match for the VPI.

After several somewhat tedious attempts, as you have to redo all the settings for the height of the arms and the tracking force, not to mention the parallelism, and make sure that the tip corresponds to the protractor of the VPI or Yamaha, which is a lot of work.

 

[hongkongfoufou]

Headshell cable supplied by Yamaha are not good !!!

I can enter only one cable nto the cardridge !!!

 

[hongkongfoufou]

VPI Classic 3:


On songs by Mariah Carey, her voice is extremely beautiful, especially on the VPI turntable. The VPI and Khumar combination works wonderfully and perfectly together. I highly recommend the Khumar on the VPI Classic 3.

On the Technics, the Khumar works well, but it doesn't have the velvety quality of the VPI. On the other hand, the dynamics may be more present on the Technics than on the VPI.

 

[hongkongfoufou]

In order of preference, the winning combination is the VPI with Khumar, followed by the Technics with Nagaoka and the Yamaha with ZYX.



That said, I still prefer listening to my Technics with ZYX, but the Yamaha with Nagaoka is significantly worse because this combination does not bring out the music but is a little analytical. So, to get a musical combination, I prefer to make my choices there.

The ZYX 4D on the Yamaha has a 3D sound, but strangely, the sound doesn't fill the room; it stays between the two speakers with a nice soundstage, but nothing more.



Whereas with the ZYX 4D and Technics, the sound fills the entire room and has incredible punch. On Dire Straits' Money for Nothing, the intro gives a realistic drum sound, especially since my speakers are Magnepan... and you find yourself in another dimension. That's how I feel, that's the sensation I get, but perception is not the same for everyone.

What I like about the VPI Classic 3 and Khumar combination is simple: lots of detail, enormous dynamics, but when I say enormous dynamics, it leaves CDs far behind. In addition, the vocals and choirs are distinct, well distributed across the soundstage. All the instruments are really present, well defined without being analytical, with incredible punch.

That's where the difference lies with the Technics SL-1000R and Khumar combination, because the sound is very detailed and very dynamic, but it doesn't have that danceable quality that I get with the VPI. In fact, when I put a disco or funk record on the VPI Classic 3, I want to get up and dance. With your Technics, you tap your feet... I don't leave the sofa.

The ZYX 4D with the Technics is pure joy: with disco or funk, I want to get up and dance.

In fact, it's all a question of combination or pairing. There's no such thing as a bad turntable or a bad cartridge.

The Khumar with the Yamaha GT-5000 works well, but strangely enough, despite all the detail it brings, I find that there is a lack of dynamics in this combination. I prefer to use my ZYX 4D with the Yamaha GT-5000, and I also prefer the ZYX 4D with the Technics.






I should point out that the tests were carried out using Furutech Source 101 cables for the cartridge holder, as I prefer them to the original cables.

I haven't mentioned the Audio-Technica ART-9: it's left behind by the Khumar and the ZYX...

But now, I let the Nagaoka MP-500 with the Technics. I think I will change the Nagaoka by a better ZYX in the future...












The soundstage is very good.

The music plays in a room that is not only open to the rear, but also to the front. Instruments get a body and the vocal voice projected into the room seems to be palpable at once. Instruments gravitate towards the center.

Best combination with the Khumar :

First place : VPI Classic 3
Second place : Technics SL-1000R
Third place : GT-5000


Best combination with the ZYX 4D :

First place : Technics SL-1000R
Second place : GT-5000
and VPI Classic 3 : not tested


Best combination with the Nagaoka MP-500 :

First place : Technics SL-1000R
Second place : VPI Classic 3
Third place : GT-5000

 

[hongkongfoufou]

I should point out that the tests were carried out using Furutech Source 101 cables for the cartridge holder, as I prefer them to the original cables.

I haven't mentioned the Audio-Technica ART-9: it's left behind by the Khumar and the ZYX...

Audio-Technica ART-9 is a good cartrige, but not the same level than the others.

Conclusion :

You know it : I have bought one for my VPI Classic 3 : never listen it like that !!!

 

[hongkongfoufou]

For curious, other test here :

Some comparison with Nagaoka JT-80 - Audio-Technica ART-9 - ZYX 4D ...

Hello, I have done some comparison with Nagaoka JT-80 - Audio-Technica ART-9 - ZYX 4D ... You will say : What to do with ? It is not the same price !!! I agree, but prices do not all... hs I have 3 turntables : - Technics SL-1210 MKII for my 18 year's old...I am not 18 year's old now...LOL -...

www.whatsbestforum.com

 

[hongkongfoufou]

For curiosity, I have tested Audio Technica Art-9 with the Yamaha GT 5000 and it is a good combination.

 

[tima]

That was a lot of work. Thanks for your report.

 

[hongkongfoufou]

That was a lot of work. Thanks for your report.

Thank you.

 

[hongkongfoufou]

Hello,

Best combination with the Khumar :

First place : VPI Classic 3
Second place : Technics SL-1000R
Third place : GT-5000


Best combination with the ZYX 4D :

First place : Technics SL-1000R
Second place : GT-5000
and VPI Classic 3 : not tested


Best combination with the Nagaoka MP-500 :

First place : Technics SL-1000R
Second place : VPI Classic 3
Third place : GT-5000


Best combination with Audio-Technica Art-9

First place : GT-5000
Second place : VPI Classic 3
Third place : Technics SL-1000R - SL-1000R with Audio-Technica ART-9 ( this turntable with this cartridge sounds like a CD !!!! )


Thanks

 

[hongkongfoufou]

I have received my cartridge today.
I can say : there is nothing to have with the demo cartridge.
Everything is better than the demo cartridge....
I will try to explain that this week....