My Sonic Lab Eminent Ex MC Cartridge
Overview
MY SONIC LAB – Eminent EX
Founded by master cartridge maker Mr. Yoshio Matsudaira in 2004, the goal was to pursue and develop the ultimate dream range of cartridges. Mr. Matsudaira has been a highly sought after designer of high performance cartridges, with a client list that has included respected brands such as Koetsu, Air Tight, Miyabi, Luxman, Supex and Audio Craft. His unique SH-μX high flux / high permeability core material is one of the few genuine breakthroughs in cartridge design in the last fifty years. Only with the development of SH-μX was it possible to achieve a previously unseen level of performance with the lowest internal impedance (i.e. the least number of coil windings)and the highest output.
Historically there has been a trade off between higher output cartridges (e.g. 0.3mV to 0.7mV) which yield less resolution and low level detail, compared to those with an output of 0.1mV to 0.25mV. With the limitations of most of today’s phono stages the trend has been to use higher output MC cartridges at the expense of ultimate resolution.
Utilising Mr. Matsudaira’s vast experience, MSL has solved this problem by producing a cartridge with minimal coil windings (for high resolution) yet with high output gains of 0.3mV to 0.5mV, thus unleashing the musical energy during playback, yet retaining the subtle nuances and resolution. Neodymium magnets have improved this situation but MSL have also designed a high efficiency magnetic circuit, achieving their goal in the MSL Eminent EX with it’s very low internal impedance of 0.9 Ω yet with a higher output of 0.4mV.
THIS EX MODEL IS A HIGHER GRADE THAN THE REGULAR EMINENT (WITHOUT THE EX) AND IS ONLY SOLD OUTSIDE OF JAPAN.
The My Sonic Lab Eminent EX has a 0.4mv output, 0.9 Ω internal impedance whereas the regular Eminent has a 0.5mv output with 1.8 Ω internal impedance
Specifications
My Sonic Lab Eminent Ex MC cartridge
Physical
Body: Aluminium
Cantilever: Super duralumin
Stylus: Semi-line contact (3μmx 30μm) Coils/Core: Magnet: Neodymium # 50
Terminal pins: Polished Rhodium-plated
Weight: 10.5g
Electrical:
Output Voltage: 0.4 mV / 1 kHz / 5cm / sec DC resistance 1 ohm (DCR)
Internal Impedance: 0.9 ohm (DCR)
Frequency Response: 10 ~ 50kHz
Channel Balance: < 0.5dB (1kHz)
Channel Separation: > 30dB (1kHz)
Dynamic:
Tracking ability: @315Hz at 2g tracking force
Dynamic Compliance: 10 μm / mN
Set Up:
Recommended loading: > 100 ohms
Recommended tracking force: 1.9 ~ 2.2g
Optimum working temperature:
Reviews
Stereophile Analogue Corner Review
MSL Eminent Review Audio Asylum My Sonic Lab Eminent EX
The Eminent EX features an ultra low internal impedance of 1 ohm and a relatively high output of 0.4mV. It weighs 9.5gm, has a semi–line-contact stylus, and is designed to track at a vertical tracking force of 1.9–2.2gm. The Eminent EX sacrificed resolution of detail, speed, and snap in favour of a more “groove-friendly, real-world performance,” said Mikey. It combined deep, powerful bass with rich mids and refined highs that, while lacking air and sparkle, made bright recordings sound ideal. “Among the finest, most skilfully balanced cartridges I’ve heard,” concluded MF. (Vol.33 No.6)
Read more at https://www.stereophile.com/content/2012-recommended-components-turntables-tonearms-cartridges-etc#gKxKqvAGrflzAVX2.99
Hifi+ Issue No. 37 by Jason Hector
“This is a powerful MC with impressive low-level resolution and a sense of speed that is quite rare.”
“It’s crisp and clear yet also muscular and hard hitting …”
“… the guitar and bass portrayed with a chunkiness that makes them seem all the more real.”
“There’s no shortage of power and weight”
“There’s no denying the strong sense of pace that the Eminent brings to the party and the degree to which it responds to each recording. This is a first class moving coil that deserves to be a front-runner for any one with this sort of budget.”
HP’s Workshop: The Third Generation of Moving Coils — Part 1 (TAS 206)
Equipment report by Harry Pearson Oct 11th, 2010
The My Sonic Labs Eminent
If Mercury Records had designed a cartridge that captured the Living Presence sound, it would have been the My Sonic Labs. From the moment the needle hits the groove, things sound “alive!” Not only does this playback device have more zap and dynamics, it also has a more liquid sound, and is so genuinely seductive you might well buy it on first listen.
And it will let you hear some things you haven’t heard before. For instance, if you have the original cover of The Weavers at Carnegie Hall you’ll see Ronnie Gilbert and Pete Seeger situated at the centre stage mike. Hadn’t paid any attention to the photo until I heard the Eminent, which makes it clear (somehow) that both are sharing that mike, an effect I hadn’t heard on any other unit in this test. Back to Chicago for a sec—not only is the timbral definition of the orchestral choirs rendered with greater harmonic complexity, but also that symphonic bass drum cuts through the fortes, a wowser (!) of a sound.
Listen on a bit and you’ll begin to notice things, such as the woodwinds sounding more forward here than elsewhere (an accent mike?), but then you’ll note there is less front-to-back depth than there should be, even on Chicago’s concavely shaped stage. And the solo sax sounds further downstage (toward the audience) than it should. And in Carnegie, we hear the dynamic shadings of Ronnie’s voice and get a rather exact idea of her un-sylph-like chest size—a big voice capable of the big moments, but a perfect, so perfect and gradated, one, capable of great delicacy. It is the kind of delicacy that can be heard when she is singing backup in the “big” moments, it doesn’t get lost in a larger ensemble.
I had hoped to make an earlier version of the My Sonic Labs a reference standard, so struck was I by its immediacy, presence, and the kind of ineffable “thereness” that music has. The Eminent EX sounds less like the unit I had on a very short-term loan. I wonder if the forthcoming Ultra version of the cartridge might not, in fact, be the one I heard then, or maybe even the ultimate moving coil.