Головки звукоснимателя — Clearaudio Titanium V2

The Titanium V2 is an MC pickup made by Clearaudio, built around a solid titanium body with a twelve-finger shape and a generator that uses coils of pure gold. The current production version carries the v2.1 generator, which Clearaudio describes as mechanically, magnetically and electrically symmetrical.

Key specs that matter

The boron cantilever carries a Micro HD diamond tip with a contact profile of 0.008 x 0.040 mm. Output is 0.6 mV at 1 kHz and 5 cm/s, and the coils have an impedance of 50 ohm. Clearaudio quotes a frequency response from 20 Hz to 100 kHz, channel balance within 0.5 dB and channel separation above 30 dB at 1 kHz, along with a dynamic range of 95 dB. Compliance is 15 µ/mN in both planes, the recommended tracking force is 2.8 g and the recommended load resistance is 300 ohm. The cartridge weighs 9.0 g, and almost all of that mass is the titanium housing itself.

Engineering and use context

Titanium was chosen for the housing because the heavy metal body damps and suppresses resonances, and the twelve-finger design breaks up the surfaces of the body to reduce them further. The generator places 24-karat gold air-core coils inside a ring of eight neodymium magnets, and this ring arrangement is what gives the symmetrical magnetic field that Clearaudio stresses for the v2.1 version. Air-core coils have no iron former, so the moving assembly carries no ferromagnetic material. Boron is used for the cantilever for its stiffness at low weight, and the Micro HD tip is a line-contact diamond profile with a very small scanning radius. The moderate compliance and mass suit medium-mass tonearms, which matches the recommended arm class for this model. The quoted range extends far above the audio band, and the dynamic range figure describes the span between the noise floor of the generator and its maximum undistorted output.

Pairing

Being a low-output design, the Titanium V2 calls for an MC-capable preamplifier, or a transformer ahead of an MM input, to reach line level. The recommended load is well above the internal impedance, so a stage with switchable resistive loading, or one with a fixed high MC load near that value, makes matching simple. Clearaudio's own electronics include MC stages with stepped loading, and the brand's turntables with medium-mass arms fit the tracking force and compliance figures of this cartridge.

Alternatives

Further down the Clearaudio range sits the Clearaudio Concept MC Signature, a moving-coil model with a boron cantilever and Micro Line stylus in an aluminium-magnesium body.