Meanwhile, the CartridgeLab Ebony Titanium is busily unearthing musical gems and layers of musical information from both familiar records and the outer reaches of my record collection. It offers unparallelled musical access at its surprisingly affordable price (at least, affordable for the performance on offer). It is the consummate musical all-rounder – although it’s definitely more Ben Stokes than Freddie Flintoff! If there’s a rub then it’s the limited numbers in which it is available (currently, the wait time stands at two months). Daniele Montebovi has created a mini-masterpiece of micro-engineering, a cartridge that’s as unforced as it is effortlessly even-handed. With each cartridge being personally hand-built, the pace of production is understandably slow. Rest assured, the results are worth the wait. As I’m writing this, I’m also listening to the self-confident musical chemistry captured on The Cure’s album Acoustic Hits (Polydor 572 634). If there’s a better way to enjoy this brilliantly intimate and connected album, I haven’t discovered it yet. Listen to the CartridgeLab Ebony Titanium with an appropriate phono-stage and I suspect that fans of rock, pop and be-bop, in fact, any listener who values musical access, clarity, connection, would be hard-pressed to disagree. In an audio world where so many products seem (and are) seriously over-priced, the Clab ET manages to be at once reassuringly expensive and to punch above its price.
Price and availability
Ebony Titanium Moving-Coil Cartridge – €8,500
1:32 Step-up Transformer – €5,800
Both prices plus local sales tax.
Manufacturer
CartridgeLab
t. +39 393 89 75 083
