My Sonic Lab Ultra Eminent EX MC Stereo Phono Cartridge
The sound of My Sonic Lab cartridges is the result of master cartridge designer Yoshio Matsudaira seeking natural reproduction by minimizing signal loss, internal distortion, and phase distortion. The Eminent EX utilises Matsudaira-san’s unique SH-μX magnetic core. This special core material has a higher permeability and flux density than the core material typically used in MC cartridges.
It allows My Sonic Lab to use fewer coil windings than other moving coil cartridges, minimising distortions that degrade the signal while at the same time not sacrificing signal output. This high efficiency approach results in a wide dynamic range, fast transient response, low distortion and high signal-to-noise ratio. Users around the world have commented on the ability of My Sonic Lab cartridges to communicate tremendous natural detail, clarity and revealing new layers of information from their favourite records.
A key reason for the exalted sound of My Sonic Lab cartridges is the heritage or provenance of the creator. This can often help to explain why something sounds the way it does. Creating cartridges that produce this level of performance is only possible with immense experience and talent. Previous to founding My Sonic Lab, Mr. Matsudaira worked with Yoshiaki Sugano and played a major role in developing the original Koetsu Onyx cartridge. The two had met previously at Supex. Early in his career while Matsudaira-san worked with Sugano, he also designed a cartridge for Luxman, which is how he met Miura-san. They developed a close relationship which many years later led to Matsudaira designing and manufacturing cartridges for Air Tight while he was with Audio Craft. In 2004, after three decades of designing and building MCs for nearly every top Japanese cartridge manufacturer, Matsudaira started My Sonic Lab. He still does OEM/ODM for many of Japan’s top brands.
The Ultra Eminent EX resides in the middle of the My Sonic Lab family. Compared to the Eminent EX and Hyper Eminent EX, the Ultra has much lower internal impedance (and output) and a boron cantilever. These improvements result in a lightning fast transient response and pinpoint precise sound staging. The Ultra Eminent EX has an even more ‘live’ sound, more realism and can reproduce complex music with ease at a master tape level of sound quality.
Reviews
Hi Fi & Records (Issue 4/16)
"My first overall impression: intensive music, always absolutely sovereign and effortless …. is the profound groove selection, which allows an extremely deep immersion in the musical structure of recordings, thereby exposing their emotional components. Everything is there from really hearty music reproduction to filigree fine work – this applies to precisely drawn timbres, as well as to dynamic unfolding. My Sonic Lab’s Ultra Eminent is an excellent pickup that can cope with any musical genre without limitation and also provides the “extra” sound quality you expect…"
Product Specification
Body
Super Duralumin A7075 alloy body
Type
Moving Coil (MC)
Magnet
SH-μX core, Neodymium #50
Cantilever
Boron
Stylus
Semi-Line contact stylus (3µm × 30µm)
Terminal Pins
Polished rhodium-plated
Output Voltage
0.3mV at 1kHz
Internal Impedance
0.6Ω (DCR)
Weight
9.5g
Recommended Tracking Force
1.9–2.2g
Compliance
10 × 10⁻⁶ cm/dyne
Recommended Loading
100–800Ω (ideal around 400Ω)
Frequency Response
10Hz–50kHz
Channel Balance
< 0.5dB (1kHz)
Channel Separation
> 30dB (1kHz)
Tracking Ability
@315Hz at 2g tracking force
Choose options