My Sonic Lab – Ultra Eminent Bc

My Sonic Lab cartridges are designed by Mr Yoshio Matsudaira, a young gentleman who initiated his audio career in 1959 as a Tokyo Sound Co. engineer where he was already designing phono cartridges, phono stage, tonearms. He then moved on to Supex and Audiocraf but also participated to the development of different high end analog related products such as Koetsu, Miyabi, Air-Tight, Accuphase, etc.

Matsudaira-San launched My Sonic Lab in 2003. The aim of his company is to develop non compromised MC cartridges which relies on the following principles :

• super low impedance with high energy output
• proprietary SH-µX core material maximizes energy without loss as a result of its ultra high initial permeability and flux density
• minimum coil windings for high resolution sound yet a three to five times higher output due to SH-µX core
• carefully selected and processed metals to control body and cantilever resonances
• carefully selected and processed metals to control body and cantilever resonances
• precise and genuinely transparent sonic signature

The Ultra Eminent Bc cartridge is certainly the model which demonstrates  to its full extent the design philosophy of  Matsudaira san.

• Astonishing 0.6 ohms of coil impedance it is still able to deliver 0.3mV/5cm/s. You have to keep in mind that for such output most competitors have to build coils from 4 to 40 ohms(and more). Light coils allow a lighter effective mass moving assembly allowing thus better transient response and tracking. It also permit a higher frequency range of resonances inherent to any the moving ensemble and thus preventing any kind of harmonic artefacts in the audible range that are perceived as sound colorations
• Boron cantilever with bonded semi-elliptical tip ensures a balanced frequency response, excellent tracking abilities and low background noises
• Two pieces silicon damper for smooth and low friction coils and coil former movements for excellent soundstage and extension of bandwidth
• Neodym magnet  in combination SH-μX soft iron core for high output
• Rhodium plated pins to prevent oxidation and insure optimal electric contact
• Medium compliance allowing compatibility with most modern tonearms

Much more could be said in terms of building design, like the use of a 100% titanium body or the set of screws provided with the cartridge which are in brass… an attention to every detail in order to achieve extraordinary sonic results.

Easiest way to enjoy the Ultra Eminent Bc ? Set it up properly in your system, adjust the vertical tracking force at 2.0g for a start and play it through your usual phonostage. No need to worry about the 0.6 ohms and how it should be loaded properly. Just enjoy the cartridge presentation and than adjust the settings of your phono stage to your ears expectation. But settings should start around 6 ohms and gain from 22dB with a MM phono stage of standard gain of 40 dB. You can also use the My Sonic Lab Stage 1030 step-up transformer which is the perfect companion any My Sonic Lab cartridges (and not only…).

The Ultra Eminent Bc delivers a clean sound with no colorations. It has realistic dynamics and homogeneous bandwidth response. It is certainly one of the most neutral cartridge we know. Neutral does not mean boring, quite the opposite in fact as this cartridge is able to describe all the subtleties of the records you play with a global precision which makes you feel the music as a coherent all and not only a spotlight on one section of the bandwidth only.

In our Parisian showroom we like to compare the Ultra Eminent Bc against serious cartridges like the Audio Technica ART-1000 or the Jan Allaerts MC2 Finish. To choose between these three is up to the tastes of the listener and will lead certainly to long discussions, but differences are there and will make you fall for one of them even though having all three of them is the ideal situation of course ! 😉

 

Specifications :

Body : Titanium

Cantilever : Boron.

Stylus : bonded Ogura Semi-line contact (3μmx 30μm)

Magnet : Neodymium magnet with special pure copper polar pieces (SH-μX) and coils

Terminal pins:  Polished Rhodium-plated

Weight : 9.5g

Output Voltage : 0.3mV at 1kHz

Internal Impedance : 0.6 ohm (DCR)

Frequency Response : 10 ~ 50kHz

Channel Balance : < 0.5dB (1kHz)

Channel Separation : > 30dB (1kHz) (our measures on Schröder CB ebony + Audio Union Helix Two + Thrax Orpheus + My Sonic Lab Stage 1030 step up and Analog Magic software gives us -31.5dB of crosstalk…)

Vertical tracking ability : >100μ@315Hz at 2g tracking force (our laboratory measures)

Dynamic Compliance : 10 μm / mN

Recommended loading: 6 ~ 800Ω (specifically, about 400Ω is recommended)

Recommended tracking force: 1.9 ~ 2.2g