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Gonna have to ditch the Soundsmith Carmen II

I've given this cart the benefit of the doubt and then some, but it's going to have to go. 

the sibilance on s's is just to much. The sound isn't distorted, just way louder than the rest of the vocals. This happens to one degree or the other on all records with vocals. Sometimes it's barely noticeable sometimes it hard to bare. other than the sibilance I love the sound, I love the live nature of the music.  so I hate getting rid of it. 

So so the things I've done and made sure are dead on:

alighnment - that means SRA, VTA, TF, Azimuth, anti skate (per,SS), platter level, checked mounting hardware, checked tunntable . . .etc

my Denon 2x20L doesn't do this.

it may be there is a bad combo with some piece of equipment or loudspeaker and it just doesn't jive with the rest of the rig. 

My system:

VPI prime
Parasound JC3+ Phono pre
PAD phono cables
Decware integrated SET tube amp
Zu Omen Def MKII with Radian tweeter upgrade. 

So the question is what cart, around $1k will give that live dynamic sound, tracks well, but does emphasize the S's?

ones I'im interested in but have no way of hearing:

Ortofon Quintet Black
Audio Technica ART 9
???


last_lemming
helomech
1,489 posts
 
I also own the Soundsmith Carmen II. I don't experience the same problem with vocals or sibilance, but I use Stevenson alignment which mitigates these issues IME. 

If you want a comparable cart in terms of presentation, I think the Shure M97xe with a Jico SAS stylus would fit the bill. 
Ag insider logo xs@2x
cleeds
5,642 posts
 
This sounds like an alignment issue. What tools are you using to confirm the accuracy of your tangency, azimuth and VTA/SRA settings?
tzh21y
1,654 posts
 
I think siblance is a result of many things.  Could be your diamond on the end of the cartridge.
noromance's avatar
noromance
9,404 posts
 
Reach out to Peter at Soundsmith.

anovak
60 posts
 
What noromance said......give Peter a call at Soundsmith and see what he has to say about the issue.  Also, yogiboy makes a very good point, and perhaps you have already done so but lowering (or even raising) the VTA in my experience can really alter the presentation to the point that the sibilance may be tamed to within the parameters you seek.  Try it and let us know, really interested in what you find.....
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