My SMMC 20CL has finally arrived!  It came in a nice wooden box with ample protection with the foam.  The build quality is better than I imagined.  The black cartridge body looks better in real life than pictures.  Although I would still prefer it in silver, black body doesn't look as ugly as I feared.

Now how does it sound?  Two thumbs up!  I can't do a direct comparison between the original MMC 20CL and Sound Smith's any more since my little one broke the cantilever of the original cartridge, but from how I remembered the sound especially in comparison with Rega table with Benz Micro MC cartridge, Sound Smith sounds much more clearer than the original.  There is a lot of treble content with the new cartridge, perhaps a little more than what's considered neutral, but it's a brand new cartridge and I suppose the suspension mechanism will need breaking in and alter the sound before it settles.  Bass extension is also very good.  It sounds distinctly different from the original cartridge which was very warm sounding, and perhaps into muddy sounding territory a little bit.  The Sound Smith cartridge is more crispier and brighter sounding and leaner body.

Sound Smith cartridge also shows good noise rejection.  I was bothered by pops and clicks using old original cartridge, but I don't notice as many pops and clicks with the new cartridge.

Compared to Rega with Benz Micro MC cartridge, it's a close call.  The initial impression with the reference recordings from Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Beethoven 9th symphony is that Beogram 8000 with Sound Smith 20CL cartridge sounds very close to Rega with Benz Micro.  That means a lot, considering the pedigree of Rega and Benz Micro in audiophile worlds, not to mention the price difference.  Add the convenience factor with automatic control and cool styling, now Beogram edges ahead for me.

So you're as happy as I am. Great! 

Once the cartridge has settled a bit, treble becomes really beautiful, defined but not harsh. Don't worry. What a nice cartridge! And I've only got an EN!

I've gotten used to that black body, really... a little price to pay (no pun intended dear friend) considering the leap in sound quality.

I think the new and old cartridges appeal to different people. If comparing to loudspeakers, the SoundSmith cartridges are the ALT type with a bright balance, quite strident even but lots of perceived detail. The B&O cartridges are less in your face but I find the detail there but in an easier to listen way - think Uniphase! It is a little like CD and vinyl - CD is possibly cleaner and quieter but vinyl has a balance that is most attractive. I am aware that SoundSmith can tune the cartridges to suit one's preferences so maybe they can offer something to everyone.

I am eagerly anticipating a 20CL+ which is being lent to me by a friend and will be doing another comparison myself. Will also be doing some photos of the styluses.

That's right Peter.  Two cartridges are decidedly different and there will be a preference towards one or the other.  I wouldn't say Sound Smith cartridge sounds strident, but definitely sounds brighter than the stock cartridge.  The stock cartridge is very mellow sounding, so sounding brighter than the stock cartridge is not necessarily a bad thing.  :)

At the moment I'm leading A-B comparisons between CD and LP.

On the CD side, a Beogram CD-3300, a Pioneer DV-717, a Philips CD-720 (heavily modified), a Micromega (CDM4/TDA 1541A).

On the LP side, the '8000 courtesy of SMMC20EN.

Grace Jones's Nightclubbing.

Oh my god! CD seems sluggish, little bass, flat treble with less detail. It seems to run slower! Of course it doesn't. Maybe the B&O (Philips CD 160, really!) does sound better than the others. 

The Police, ditto.

Pink Floyd, Dave Brubeck, Rachmaninov...

Recording on my A77 mkIV confirms this.

With the SL-1200/RB 300 CD and LP sound even, but the cartridge is different (1022GX).

I've just found a double test in an old Revue du Son (June 1981) which confirms that the B&O cartridges (MMC20E, 20CL) have a falling response, -2-3 dB at 20kHz or so (see below). They say they are very detailed but rather soft sounding (tested on an SP-10, not a B&O deck).

Don't think much of their 20CL! My ones measure better! Even Hi-Fi choice had a better one than that! I attach the review!

It is noted that below 22 degrees, the CL tends to lose top end and at 19 degrees with too high a capacitance (you need to think arm as well as amplifier) the frequency response can dip by as much as 10 dB.

Both the graphs from chartz and Peter show recess of 2-3dB in a wide spectrum between 1KHz and 15KHz.  That'll definitely be audible, and should explain soft and mellow sound.

The loading capacitance is another interesting point.  Typical MM phono stages don't offer offer adjustment in loading capacitance.  My EAR 834P certainly doesn't offer any adjustment.  Some phono stages do, as Camelot Lancelot that was loaned from a friend had two levels of adjustment, one for ~50pf and a second one for ~500pf.  If the loading capacitance is not closely matched then the sound could be affected by it.

True.

The resistive load also affects the response of MMs. I settled for 56k a long time ago. I felt it gave a more dynamic sound with many cartridges, especially Shures (I had a V15IV for many years). Perhaps I should now try other values. B&O do use 47k in their RIAA preamps.