Soundsmith Zephyr MIMC Star ES Low-Output Phono Cartridge Offers Exceptional Channel Separation and Three-Dimensional Detail Soundsmith lowers the cost barrier to outstanding high-end analog performance with the stunning-sounding Zephyr MIMC Star ES low-output phono cartridge.

An audiophile design that can be rebuilt for a fraction of the original cost, Zephyr MIMC Star ES is anchored by a laser-drilled Sapphire cantilever custom-made to accept a selected contact-line low-mass nude stylus.

Featuring trickle-down technology taken from the manufacturer's more than twice-as-costly Sussuro mk II ES model, Zephyr MIMC Star ES offers exceptionally quiet operation, premium channel separation, and canyon-wide soundstages.

Visually defined by a new, sleek body that resists the uncontrolled vibrations of traditional "boxy" cartridges, Soundsmith's ES line features a significant evolution of its DEMS (Dynamic Energy Management System) design.

ES cartridges direct internal vibrational forces without reflection and disperse them properly to the tonearm. Such absence of reflections enables the stylus to stay in far greater statistical contact with the groove walls, leading to increased liquidity, reduced "grain," and preservation of valuable detail.

Azimuth adjustment is also built into each model, along with the option for electrical isolation for hum-prone systems.

The U.S.A.-built Zephyr MIMC Star ES not only offers the distinctive advantages wrought by moving-iron models (for more, see below) but spoils you with reference-quality sonics previously only available from cartridges with much higher price points.

Its tracking abilities, microdynamic information retrieval, transient responsiveness, and smoothness put it into a class of its own given the cost. Add in robust bottom-end presence, airy highs, and fantastic tonal balance, and the cutting-edge Zephyr MIMC Star ES lives up to its name – and then some.

"As the measurements predicted, the Zephyr Star produced as wide a soundstage as I've experienced in my room: wide, deep, stable, and three-dimensional. Images on the stage were three-dimensional and satisfyingly solid.

More impressive was the presentation's liquidity and complete freedom from mechanical artifacts." – Michael Fremer, Analog Planet A Sound Investment: Zephyr MIMC Star ES Can Be Rebuilt at Less Than 20% of the Original Cost Zephyr MIMC Star ES benefits from infallible customer support and a wonderful safety net.

Soundsmith is the only high-end cartridge company that rebuilds its own products at a fraction of the original price – no matter what the issue. Equally important, moving-iron cartridges can always be rebuilt, unlike MC designs sometimes damaged beyond possible repair.

Advantages of Soundsmith Moving-Iron Cartridges Enjoy the best of both worlds: Soundsmith's moving-iron cartridges encompass the advantages of moving-coil and moving-magnet designs while simultaneously lessening or eliminating the respective approaches' deficiencies.

Boasting extraordinary tracking abilities that let them effortlessly sail through complex musical passages, a warm and detailed character, exceptional transient response, and a full sound that completes entire notes and finishes instrumental structures, Soundsmith models exude natural musicality and high-end design.