Chinese moving coils

[loudnoises]

This question only matters if you are someone that believes that the only decent stylus profiles are some sort of ML.

I'm not one of these believers.

Our SHELTER 501 II with Boron/Alloy Cantilever and Elliptical Stylus is a superb cartridge.

Having lived with a SKYANALOG P-1G (Green) for 3-months - and a DENON DL-110 rebuilt with the identical imported Boron Cantilever and 5/15um Elliptical Stylus - for over a year now - I feel qualified to say so.

Which I'm not, i love me my conicals.

But I can also appreciate a finer stylus, and like to digest the perspective of others with different toys at their disposal. I will not justify 1k on a cartridge anytime soon.

But if an offering of a $300 mc with a microline showed up I would snag it quickly. Seems denon comes close...

 

[Iansaudio]

Wow, that is pricey coming from Chine. One would think that with still dead cheap (hand) labor in the PRC, especially items like MC phono carts would be way lower priced. Even an entry level / price point / handmade in Holland Van Den Hul MC cart is more affordable starting at €999,- retail.

Addendum; I'm no MC know it all. Not even close! I haven't owned a MC cart in my entire life, but I have heard several MC doing their thing.
But these MC prices coming from the PRC, surprises me also.

I'd believe that any MC cartridge regardless of cost or origin would require EXTREMELY skilled craftsmen, even in the PRC you'd need to train these individuals. MC cart manufacturing also cannot take place in any random factory which can pump out things for cheap because of production volume. Skyanalog probably does not have veteran craftsman like ortofon, denon etc nor very specialized machinery. The marketshare is also lower contributing to cost

I have no doubt they sound nice. But, they need to significantly lower prices to become competitive here. For cheaper than the P1G you can pick up a entry model Sumiko, Ortofon, Denon or AT that has a much better stylus.

 

[SONDEKNZ]

Which I'm not, i love me my conicals.

But I can also appreciate a finer stylus, and like to digest the perspective of others with different toys at their disposal. I will not justify 1k on a cartridge anytime soon.

But if an offering of a $300 mc with a microline showed up I would snag it quickly. Seems denon comes close...

I'm with you... Me too!

So much so, I am thinking of trying one on our SHELTER 501 II - when the time comes!

Also, the little AUDIO TECHNICA AT-VM95C conical is surprisingly capable after (a massive) 30-hours of play.

Of course the conical DENON DL-103/103R needs no introduction - but it does need the right Impedance Load!

 

[cafe latte]

Apparently not....
Skyanalog only puts Microline stylii on their two top models, and they are not exactly cheap:
Skyanalog Reference MC is €3k
Skyanalog Diamond 25th MC is €6k

With these prices they compete with top tier western and japanese cartridge makers like VdH, BMS, Clearaudio, Dynavector, Zyx you name it. Brands who have proven track records and service going back decades (and some of these brands are even consideren wildly expensive). Together with that pretty much everything else in their portfolio is fitted out with a cheap mediocre elliptical diamond.... That brand just doesn't make any sense to me.
I mean, imho an MC with elliptical diamond shouldn't cost more than €400 or so (and for that you should also expect local service and warranty, so dealer prices, not some ebayer halfway across the world), especially as an elliptical diamond has a very limited stylus life and performs audibly less than the more complicated grinds.
I mean, an BMS MC silver/gold (with nude rectangle shank elliptical diamond) is €400 dealer price and then you have a BMS cartridge, a proven brand, not some chinese newcomer.
Next step up is the BMS ACE, and that already has a microridge stylus on boron cantilever. Thats €1k (dealer price, so local, with local warranty/service etc). For sure not as cheap as lots of AT MC's with microridge on boron cantilever, but BMS is a Swiss manufacturer and that has it's costs....
So how in the world can a chinese manufacturer charge €3k for that? That brand is just way overpriced for all of their models.

Exactly

 

[cafe latte]

I'd believe that any MC cartridge regardless of cost or origin would require EXTREMELY skilled craftsmen, even in the PRC you'd need to train these individuals. MC cart manufacturing also cannot take place in any random factory which can pump out things for cheap because of production volume. Skyanalog probably does not have veteran craftsman like ortofon, denon etc nor very specialized machinery. The marketshare is also lower contributing to cost

I have no doubt they sound nice. But, they need to significantly lower prices to become competitive here. For cheaper than the P1G you can pick up a entry model Sumiko, Ortofon, Denon or AT that has a much better stylus.

From what I understand Skyanalog does have a very skilled craftsman but I still think they are way too expensive for what they are. For 5k there are a lot of stunning cartridges out there.
Chris

 

[cafe latte]

This question only matters if you are someone that believes that the only decent stylus profiles are some sort of ML.

I'm not one of these believers.

Our SHELTER 501 II with Boron/Alloy Cantilever and Elliptical Stylus is a superb cartridge.

Having lived with a SKYANALOG P-1G (Green) for 3-months - and a DENON DL-110 rebuilt with the identical imported Boron Cantilever and 5/15um Elliptical Stylus - for over a year now - I feel qualified to say so.

If you want no inner groove distortion and low groove wear line contact profiles like micro ridge are the only way to go.
Chris

 

[cafe latte]

Why such a discrepancy? Seems the Chinese mc makers could put a better stylus on it and hit a sweet spot price wise.

I dont know who makes the cheap 200 dollar ebay ones but the cartridge itself us very good, I really dont know why they fit such a garbage stylus on them. My retipped one sound amazing and has stunning separation.
Unfortunately stock standard without a retip thry are terrible.
Chris

 

[Big_T]

I don’t think Skyanalog and Zhige share hardware. If you look at the generators they appear different.

Zhige has multiple LOMC lines and variations within each line: Many of the Zhige variations seem to have the same basic generator just with different bodies, stylus, windings and cantilevers.

For those looking for advanced profiles, mostly line contact on Low output moving Coil, Zhige has plenty around the $350 - $400 range.

A while ago I bought a Zhige MC-301 Nightingale (Open body, Line contact, boron rod, 0.3V 20ohm) for about $375USD shipped. The sound was astounding for the money. Extremely smooth highs with incredible detail and presence. It became damaged due to an accident. The break in time was long and not subtle, probably about 20 - 30 hours for the sibilance on modern recordings to disappear and to fully bloom, but when it finally blossomed, oh my what a soundstage.

Missing my 301 dearly I recently snagged a MC-301S Nightingale, for $401USD shipped (back to school sale). It is a slightly different body version (0.4v 7ohm) with Silver windings on a square armature, Line Contact stylus / Boron rod. It feels like it needs much less break in time, I’m at about 6 hours in and it already sounds fantastic.

The Value Proposition is insane and these 301 nightingales are easily the best audiophile purchase dollar for dollar that I have made. The sound is so engaging and the over all presentation is vivid and smooth at the same time with wonderful separation. I prefer it to my AT20SLA limited with nos Shibata (which is a highly regarded AT MM) and also the SAE 1000e HOMC which is no slouch either.

T