Soundsmith Zephyr VPI vs. Zephyr MIMC Star SE???

[Janotoro]

I hope the cumulative wisdom of Audio Karma can help to find thr answer I cant find online... it may require for someone to have the experience owning or listening to both, the Soundsmith Zephyr VPI and the Soundsmith Zephyr MIMC Star SE. I have the Zephyr VPI and so far has been a great cart, however have lately upgraded my TT to the VPI Prime Signature and it seems like I should be also upgrading the cart. That said, I just got my Zephyr VPI retipped (by Peter Lenderman!) and I could trade it in for the MIMC Star SE… and this is my dilemma, to upgrade or not to upgrade? How much more superior the MIMC Star is over the VPI? Is the improvement on tonearm resonance, trackability, channel separation, musicality, bass, mids, speed or any of their combinations?
Since I would have to pay more than twice what I paid for the Zephyr VPI for the upgrade, do you think the improvement is worth the investment?
The rest of the system:
-VPI Prime Signature
-VPI Voyager Phono Stage
-VPI 299D Integrated Amp
-Cambridge Audio Aeromax 6
-Chord Clearway Interconnects
-QED XT40 Speaker cables

 

[gmc]

What turntable are you upgrading from? Maybe ask Peter Ledermann about the magnitude of differences you can expect between the two cartridges.
I have an original Zephyr MIMC Star on my VPI Aries, which I am very content with, but have never heard the Zephyr VPI or the SE version of the MIMC Star.

 

[Janotoro]

What turntable are you upgrading from? Maybe ask Peter Ledermann about the magnitude of differences you can expect between the two cartridges.
I have an original Zephyr MIMC Star on my VPI Aries, which I am very content with, but have never heard the Zephyr VPI or the SE version of the MIMC Star.

I went from a Prime to the Prime Signature. I talked with Peter Green at Soundsmith and he was helpful but I also want to hear from fellow users.
How would you describe the sound of your MIMC Star?

 

[gmc]

That's a tough question for me. I don't consider myself an audiophile, just somebody who wants the music, I listen to, to sound as good (to my ears) as possible. I can say is that I have no desire, whatsoever, to upgrade my cartridge.

Prior to the Soundsmith, I had a ZYX Airy3 and a Denon DL-301 mkII. I enjoyed both cartridges, despite the relatively early demise of the Denon (failed suspension), but, in my admittedly deteriorating memory, the MIMC Star bests the Denon and loses nothing to the ZYX. I never A/Bd any of the cartridges, so I'm just going by perceived memory. Both previous cartridges were replaced after suspension failure. Tracking force was double checked and within tolerance. The ZYX came, used, with the turntable, but had some life left in it and sounded great for a year or so.

If it were me, I would run the Zephyr VPI until you notice signs of degradation, then decide if you want to retip/rebuild through Soundsmith's attractive 20%, of cost, rebuild offer, or step up in the line.

 

[Janotoro]

Thanks GMC, the thing with the Zephyr VPI is that it is just been retipped and I can get a lot better trade-in value for it before I open it (Soundsmith seals it every time it is retipped)... I guess the dilemma is to restart another cycle with the Zephyr VPI or to make the jump to the MIMC Star ES, provided there is sufficient performance improvement.
It seems like you really like the MIMC Star and I would presume the ES would sound even better... the question is, once again, how much better compared to the Zephyr VPI.