Головки звукоснимателя — Clearaudio CHARISMA V2

Clearaudio Electronic GmbH of Erlangen, Germany, builds the CHARISMA V2 as a moving-magnet phono cartridge. Its body is made of hand-selected ebony wood, hand-polished and fitted with a German silver inlay, and it shares its boron cantilever and Gyger S stylus assembly method with the Clearaudio Goldfinger Statement. The price was quoted at EUR 1,500, and the manufacturer grants two years of warranty cover on it.

Key specs that matter

Clearaudio rates the output voltage at about 3.6 mV at 1 kHz and 5 cm/s, and the frequency response covers 20 Hz to 20 kHz. Channel separation is 30 dB and channel balance is 0.2 dB, both at 1 kHz. Compliance is 17 um/mN and tracking ability is 90 um. The recommended tracking force is 2.4 g, give or take 0.3 g. Coil impedance at 1 kHz is 0.66 kOhm and coil inductance is 400 mH. Clearaudio specifies a load resistance of 47 kOhm together with a load capacitance of 100 pF, and the cartridge has a total mass of 9.0 g, within plus or minus 1 g.

Engineering and use context

The stylus is a Clearaudio Prime Line diamond of the Gyger S shape, double-polished, and it is fixed into the boron cantilever tube by precision pressing with a minimal amount of adhesive. The boron cantilever carries a diamond coating. The generator uses paired magnets that Clearaudio describes as 100% identical, a selection made to achieve the high output voltage. Clearaudio describes these highly efficient magnets as giving an output high enough for most phono preamplifiers, and states that the double-polished diamond stylus was chosen for frequency response and channel separation. The same diamond-coated boron cantilever is used in the Goldfinger Statement, a moving-coil cartridge in the Clearaudio range. Clearaudio calls the German silver a precious-metal-bearing inlay. The cartridge is made in Germany, and replacement units are also offered on an exchange basis.

Pairing

As a moving-magnet design with high output, the CHARISMA V2 connects to the MM input of a phono stage or integrated amplifier and does not need a step-up transformer or MC gain. Phono stages that offer adjustable input capacitance can be set to the recommended value alongside the standard resistance. Given its moderate weight and medium compliance, the cartridge suits tonearms of medium effective mass that can carry the recommended force.

Alternatives

Clearaudio also makes the Maestro V2 moving-magnet cartridge.