Origin Live Aladdin MK2 Cartridge
The Aladdin MK II is manufactured by renowned cartridge manufacturer Soundsmith. Not only is this cartridge exceptional in it’s performance but it follows the Soundsmith tradition of a high value investment with full restoration and stylus rebuilding at 20% of its price when renewal is required. This can be carried out many times over for you.
The Aladdin MK II enjoys a great heritage, starting with the well loved Zephyr original, which evolved into the well known Zephyr MKII. In Soundsmith’s effort to bring even higher definition with high value for money, they’ve introduced the NEW Aladdin MK II. It features a newly developed aluminum alloy – the same one now used in the Soundsmith Paua MKII, just released. This new metal alloy has unique dualistic properties, providing stiffness in the ranges required as well as damping exactly where its needed – and by the proper amount – in the most critical parts of the sonic spectrum. The result is a cartridge that will slam your Rock and Roll while providing a new level of linearity and clarity for the most complex classical and jazz passages.
Attached to the new cantilever material is a tiny new super low mass “High Profile” Contact Line diamond developed for the new Aladdin MK II. This stylus traces more of the groove walls than a standard contact line, but avoids some of the alignment pitfalls that can occur with a high profile contact line design, allowing more azimuth alignment forgiveness than is normally possible with such designs.
These improvements are paired with technology borrowed from Soundsmith’s higher end line; “Trickle Down” technology from a unique Dynamic Energy Management System (DEMS) developed by Soundsmith that moves the damped energy and propagates it properly within the cartridge body. This is a similar system employ in the Soundsmith’s well received and reviewed high end Sussurro Cartridge.
The new Aladdin MK II is capable of truly remarkable separation and sound stage imaging at a level not previously achievable in a modestly priced design. The composite body and unique DEMS design work in tandem contribute to the Aladdin MK2’s ability to produce high-end performance from a moderately priced cartridge. Be prepared to sit back and realize……you may have never really heard your record collection before.
The Alladin MK II will provide a level of clarity and beauty that will make you take out your record collection and listen to it all over again.
For the price, the Aladdin performs brilliantly, offering the ear detail and lucidity but doing so with a craft that can be quite stunning. Even when you remove the price as a factor the Aladdin is a real threat to the competition, even to more expensive moving coil designs.
