This is a Mini Review: short term audition, impressions below, no rating.
A broken-in My Sonic Labs Signature Platinum moving coil phono cartridge recently visited my listening room for a couple of weeks. In that time, there were opportunities to audition the cartridge on both an Acoustic Signature TA-7000 Neo tonearm and an Origin Live Agile tonearm. Both tonearms and the cartridge were well served on an Acoustic Signature Montana Neo turntable which delivered the musical signal to a CH Precision P1 phono stage with its X1 power supply.
The MSL Signature Platinum enjoys top billing in product line of five cartridges priced from $3,995 to the Signature Platinum at $10,995. The Signature Platinum is a high compliance cartridge making it a good match for the light weight TA-7000 Neo tonearm. The cartridge sports a black ion titanium body and a semi-line contact stylus mounted on a boron cantilever. The internal impedance is 1.4 Ohms, the output voltage is a hefty 0.5 mV, and the cartridge weighs 13 grams. The high output voltage together with the low impedance suggests a powerful magnet in the SH-uX core system.
From the Website:
“The Signature Platinum is the ultimate expression of designer Yoshio Matsudaira’s goals. Pure transparency without distortion or coloration. Building upon the design of Signature Gold, the Platinum eliminates the final percentages of cartridge coloration by utilizing a Black Ion Hardened Titanium body that is completely free of any audible resonance. The Signature Platinum is only the 2nd model in the My Sonic Lab line to use a Boron pipe, which is lighter, more rigid and faster than the aluminum cantilevers. Signature Platinum is Matsudaira’s masterpiece.”
Following the manufacturers recommend loading of 400 Ohms, with the P1’s voltage gain set at 65 dB, the Signature Platinum is a soundstage champion! It creates 3-D space that is very large and precisely defined. Images of performers are full-bodied and occupy their own personal space.
Music with the Signature Platinum is presented as a dense, colorful tapestry on a large – in every direction – sound stage. The stage often extends wider than the speaker positions. The depth and forward projection create the sense that you could reach out and touch the performers.
Connecting the Origin Live Silver Hybrid 2-S cables, or a prototype cable using Mogami copper wire, to the P1’s current input seems to accentuate the upper mids/lower treble. Although this gives the impression of added transparency and clarity, the small discrepancy can become distracting. The comparison cartridge, a ZYX UNIverse Optimum, 1 Ohm and 0.15 mV output, at $18,000, has a more organic and involving sound when connected to the P1’s current input.
The My Sonic Labs Signature Platinum cartridge is very dynamic and fast sounding. From a small tap on a drumhead to the bombastic explosion from a tympani drum, the dynamic performance is perfection. There is a strong feeling that the Signature Platinum is delivering everything recorded in the vinyl groove.