Sussurro MkII and surface noise?


I know there are a bunch of folks here using the SoundSmith Susurro MkII. I just finished setting mine up on my VPI Avenger and really the first thing I noticed is how much more surface noise it picks up off my records. I mean, by a lot. My previous go to cart has been a Benz Wood SL, one of the later ones with the MR stylus. I found that to be relatively quiet. The SS uses a O.C. Line Contact type stylus - not quite the same as a MR, but if anything I'd have thought it would be contacting areas of the groove not as heavily traveled as with the MR stylus, thinking it might be either the same or quieter. Not the case by a long shot. Anyone else experience higher surface noise with the Sussurro MkII?
tonyptony
Hi @dhite71. At the moment I have no update for you. I was running a Benz LP-S nicely until I packed up my house for my retirement move. At the moment now, only the digital side of my system is set up in the new house. I need to get the room painted, the rug installed, the electrical done, before I unpack that behemoth of a VPI Avenger and set it up. I don’t want to do that more than once! :-) I do plan to hook the Sussurro back up, though. 
@tonyptony,

Good luck on your retirement move and congratulations on your retirement. I can’t wait to make our last move to our retirement house, wherever that may be.



I have a Benz Ruby Z, Benz LP, and Benz LPS to compare to the Sussaro MKII that I acquired a few years ago. The Sussaro MKII did not have any noticeable surface noise, whatsoever. The only time I hear noise, is when I am playing loud, and it is when the cartridge tracking is in between tracks on the record. These are used on SME V tonearms and Transrotor Apollon turntable. In bound is the new  Transrotor TRA 9 tonearm in gold finish to complete the three ring tonearm circle. 

This noise is what I would call groove noise due to the amplification levels being higher than normal. If your system is quiet and the noise you hear in the record when loud playback levels are induced, it is more than likely groove noise (my novice explanation is that you are playing louder than normal). The Sussaro holds itself very well compared with the upper tier Benz line up. 

I also have a Hyperion that is on one of my other tonearms and same thing, no noise. If you don’t hear noise constantly when playing the record, then I would suggest it is groove noise. If your hearing static noise at all loudness levels and during playback and in between tracks, then yes, probably something is not right. Double check settings, but that is going have to wait when you settle into your new house and get the room ready. Good luck.
@audioquest4life , I’d love to get your thoughts on how the LPS and the Sussurro MKII compare to each other. 
I packed up all my stuff a year ago June. With all the crazy stuff going on it took me until July of THIS year to get everything here. But those delays resulted in me getting a tremendous price for my house, so I won’t complain. I moved all the audio gear myself, of course. :-)
@tonyptony,

If you do a search for Sussaro MKII in this forum, you will find my impressions of the Sussaro MKII compared to the Benz LPS and Ruby Z. 


What I enjoy with the BenzLP, LPS, and Ruby Z are the beautiful, natural, and organic sound each present. The one thing that I felt that the top tier Benz could have I improved on was the mid range. It seemed as if the midrange lacked just a tad too much warmth, giving me the impression of a slight recessed vocal range. Otherwise, the bass and upper frequencies were excellent. My recollection of The Sussaro MKII out of the box seemed that it was a pretty even keel cartridge with great frequency response and not lacking anything. The sound is great with a very noticeable wide stereo image. The Sussaro MKII is an outstanding cartridge for its price class and is very pleasing. 


Don’t misconstrue what I stated about the Benz LP, LPS, or Ruby Z, as a fault, they are also excellent cartridges, it just seemed to me that on my system, the vocals were just a tad, hint, smidgen laid back. The Sussaro is more fleshed out in this regard and after listening to the Benzs for a few years, this main difference I described is noticeable to me. I would not toss the Benz out based on what I say…I have happily lived with the Benz LP and Ruby Z series since the mid 2000s and they ride shotgun in my other tonearm.