Zephyr MIMC Star is Soundsmith’s entry point into its high end, low output lineup. The Zephyr Star, which weighs 10.27 grams, features a Sapphire cantilever .....laser drilled to accept the Selected Contact Line low mass nude stylus, and borrows much of its internal technology from the $4800 Sussurro cartridge. The Zephyr Star’s compliance is suitably low at 10µm/mN, its rated channel separation at 1K is rated at greater than 28dB and 25dB between 50Hz and 15kHz. The name is an acronym for “Moving Iron for Moving Coil preamps). In other words, with its .4mV output, the MIMC should be used with a moving coil phono preamp capable of producing between 58-64dBs of gain.
At the under $2000 price point, the new low output Soundsmith Zephyr MIMIC Star is an overachiever that gives you a glimpse of the best in terms of non-mechanical, artifact-free performance, for a small percentage of the state of the art asking price. With measured 36dB chancel separation the Zephyr Star’s spatial performance is up there with the best at any price, as is its smooth, reasonably fast and non-mechanical overall demeanor.
If you crave more tightly drawn, solid and compacted images, sharper, faster, better focused transients and blacker backgrounds they can be found, but at a far higher price-point. Soundsmith’s new Zephyr Star is a star.
Type: | Fixed Coil / Moving Iron |
Mount: | Standard ½” |
Stylus: | Selected Contact Line low mass Nude Stylus |
Radius of Curvature: | 6 x 17 µm |
Cantilever: | Laser Drilled Sapphire |
Recommended Tracking Force: | 1.8 - 2.2 g |
Effective Tip Mass: | 0.32 mg |
Compliance: | 10 µm/mN |
Frequence Response: | 15 - 45,000 Hz ± 2.0 dB |
Channel Separation @ 1000 Hz: | > 28 dB N/A (Mono version) |
Channel Separation @ 50 - 15,000 Hz: | > 25 dB N/A (Mono version) |
Channel Difference: | < 1.0 dB < 0.5 dB (Dual Mono w/optimal VTF setting) |
Output Voltage @ 5cm/sec: | > 0.40 mV (LOW) |
DC Resistance (DCR): | 10Ω |
Coil Inductance per channel: | 2.75 mH |
Suggested Preamp Gain: | 58 - 64 dB |
Cartridge Weight: | 12.2 g (ES series) |
Recommended Load Resistance: | ≥ 470Ω |
Recommended Load Capacitance: | n/a |