Soundsmith Carmen MkII Phono Cartridge
Created out of the desire to make a very high performance design at an affordable price, the Carmen mk II was crafted to have unparalleled purity of tone and ultra-smooth presentation. Just slightly lush with a well-developed midrange, the Carmen is surprisingly pleasing and will seduce you into long, late listening sessions.
The stylus used is a large part of what makes it special; an ultra-low mass occlusion free nude diamond cut and polished into a true hyper-elliptical shape. The combination of low tip mass and the Fixed Coil design gives the Carmen a tremendous resolution advantage over MC designs selling for more than twice the price. Housed in a handmade solid Ebony case, the Carmen delivers.
Also available in dual-coil mono.
Specifications
Cartridge Type
Fixed Coil
Stylus Type
Elliptical
Output
High
Available As Dual Coil Mono
Yes
Type: • Fixed Coil / Moving Iron
Mount: • Standard ½”
Stylus: • Elliptical Nude, 0.12 mm square
Radius of Curvature: • 6 x 17 µm
Cantilever: • Aluminum Alloy
Recommended Tracking Force: • 1.3 - 1.6 g Standard (Medium Compliance)
• 1.0 - 1.2 g (Special Order High Compliance)
Effective Tip Mass: • 0.35 mg
Compliance: • 22 µm/mN (Medium Compliance)
• 28 µm/mN (High Compliance)
Frequence Response: • 15 - 45,000 Hz ± 2.0 dB
Channel Separation @ 1000 Hz: • > 26 dB
• N/A (Mono version)
Channel Separation @ 50 - 15,000 Hz: • > 20 dB
• N/A (Mono version)
Channel Difference: • < 1.6 dB
• < 1.0 dB (Mono version)
Output Voltage @ 5cm/sec: • > 2.12 mV (HIGH)
DC Resistance (DCR): • 680Ω
Coil Inductance per channel: • 190 mH
Suggested Preamp Gain: • 38 - 44 dB
Cartridge Weight: • 9.20 g (ES series)
Recommended Load Resistance: • ≥ 47kΩ
Recommended Load Capacitance: • n/a
