Today's new arrival ... Miyajima Shilabe

[montesquieu]

Like you have, I run both an Io and a SPU, admiring and loving the qualities of both, but also a little frustrated that I can't have the two in one .... so I am more than intrigued by your comments! Any particular reason that you didn't go for the Kansui, Tom?

The Kansui is hardly any more expensive, and I did consider it. Having heard the Wazza back to back with the the Io in my system (and also owned no less than three of Miyajima's mono cartridges - Kotetu, Spirit and Premium BE, the latter's sale being a considerable regret, indeed I've begged for it back!), all the reviews of the Shilabe suggested it took the design in presisely the direction I was looking for, whereas the Kansui's main innovation seemed to be mainly in detail and resolution.

Having been down that particular route before and found it a fools errand - more detail is not necessarily more music - it was actually an easy choice. Maybe I've jumped the gun on that one and it would certainly be interesting to hear, but I'm pretty satisfied that the Shilabe has the balance I'm looking for. Even Miyjima himself is equivocal as to which is 'better' in all respects and I think that speaks volumes. Knowing a little bit about marketing too the closeness in price is intriguing (whereas the Bamboo-encased Madake is 50% more again). To me that suggests equivalence, with only the merest hint of a hiererchy to satisfy people who need to conceive of things in this way.

Actually it brings to mind experimentations I got into years ago with Lyra cartridges, where you have variations on a theme, notionally hierarchical but where the attributes are not necessarily distributed as you'd expect. I owned the top end (at the time) Helikon,,having previously also had the Dorian and Dorian Mono as well as an earlier Clavis) but while the Helikon was ultra-detailed, I found the warmer and slightly cheaper Argo i to be the pick of the bunch in terms of musical enjoyment.

Whatever, the Shilabe is a gem, and getting better all the time (about 30-40 sides in now). Was up till 3:30am this morning spinning the black stuff.

[pure sound]

I was fortunate enough to borrow a Shilabe to use at the RMAF show last year. It was that or an Ortofon A90 but the Shilabe was a better sounding cartridge to my ears. Quite different to an Io1 or Io Gold but certainly a valid and enjoyable alternative. I'd actually liken the sound more to one of the higher end Shelter models.

Incidentally I'd say that the UK made AN cartridges have also moved on a good way from the original Japanese Io ii aswell. Certainly better tips now. Probably better made parts all round.

[montesquieu]

I was fortunate enough to borrow a Shilabe to use at the RMAF show last year. It was that or an Ortofon A90 but the Shilabe was a better sounding cartridge to my ears. Quite different to an Io1 or Io Gold but certainly a valid and enjoyable alternative. I'd actually liken the sound more to one of the higher end Shelter models.

Incidentally I'd say that the UK made AN cartridges have also moved on a good way from the original Japanese Io ii aswell. Certainly better tips now. Probably better made parts all round.

That's interesting Guy. My Kondo-era Io had been back to Audio Note UK several times (including while I had it) for rebuilding so not sure how much original Japanese stuff was still in there AN said it had been rebuilt to UK Io ii spec.

Would appreciate any thoughts you have on optimum step-up for the Shilabe? 16 ohms/0.23mV is a funny value to match and while the S&B is working pretty well at 1:20 Miyajima's own step-up for it is 1:27.

[Non-Smoking Man]

I was at Tom's place last week for a listen and was very impressed with his new arrivals.
There were three changes from the system that I'd heard not two weeks previously - the Shilabe, the AN Arm2, and the 100w Radford (replacing a GN MC(?) cart, Jelco 750, and a big SS Japanese stop gap amp).
Its impossible to say what each was contributing but you have to say the Radford drove the Tannoys really well and the arm/cart worked together very well also. There was a gorgeous, unstrained, 'organic' feel to the sound with lots of body. Tom's Toccata in D (Bach organ music), music I have heard before on my system though a different recording, was replayed with awesome aplomb.
I'm tasked with delivering an Audio Note counterweight to Speedysteve for a 'weight-on' mod to replace the 2 pound coins bluetacked to the one Tom was using - Miya-jima advise a massy arm for the Shilabe.
Jack

[User211]

Some dodgy English on how this cartridge works here. The video is worth a watch to gain insight into how it really works. The coil is right in the centre of the fulcrum. That should mean the signal generated is a more accurate representation of what is in the groove, compared to a conventional MC. Seems like a fair argument.

I'd guess this cartridge has less of an inclination to talk BS to you in other words. It won't exaggerate what is in the groove, therefore, it should sound more natural.

[pure sound]

Hmm, the location of the coils are only part of the story. How the magnetic circuit is arranged, the magnets used, the profile of the pole pieces and the material they are made from, the cantilever profile and material, the diamond profile & polishing, the structural integrity of the body, how the lead out wires are taken from the coils to the output pins. All will make a contribution to the sound. It's too simplistic to focus on one aspect & attribute the performance to that. It's undoubtedly a very nice cartridge though.

Tom, I'd have thought anywhere between 1:20 or 1:30 would be fine. Again, how the transformer is made; winding arrangement, core material etc affects the resulting performance with a given cartridge every bit as much as the ratio / load presented to the cartridge.

[montesquieu]

Tom, I'd have thought anywhere between 1:20 or 1:30 would be fine. Again, how the transformer is made; winding arrangement, core material etc affects the resulting performance with a given cartridge every bit as much as the ratio / load presented to the cartridge.

Since I'm in Japan later this month, I'm thinking of tracking down a pair of hashimoto hm7 - 1:15 and 1:30 available. The S&B Tx103 actually works very well at 1:20 but I could do with a shade more gain, I heard a pair in a Choir Audio box into the Vida and was very impressed.