In no way am I affiliated with SS. While at the Rocky mountain audio fest last october I had a chance to meet with the soundsmith guys in there booth/room. I was very impressed with their setup and their williness to anwser questions regarding B&O TT's. I secretly hoped that they had a few B&O SMMC for sale, unfortunatly they did not. However one employee in particular was very cool. I asked him about the difference between NOS B&O carts and the ones they sold. I mentioned that I herd a SMMC4 and that I was very pleased with the sound. He chuckled and said that more than likly what I was hearing was the difference between a new cartridge and one that was 15yrs old or more, and nothing else. He said that they reproduce the original B&o's to the same specs and that the MMC 2,3,4 should sound exacly like the SMMC 2,3,4, if you were able to get a brand new one from B&O, which is no longer possible. He said that while he was flattered at the response SS has got from customers, they did notwant to misslead buyers by indulging the possibility that the SMMC is a more refined and perfected unit. He did mention that all the SMMC's are hand built and go through a strenous QC process to ensure that the buys does not get a piece of junk.

I was extreamly impressed by his honesty, he could have easily said the opisite and I would have been non the wiser. We talked a bit about the posibility of going the rega route. He said that I had a great TT and that unless it was suffering serious mechanical issues that I should continue to enjoy it. I sat for awhile and listened to some great tunes on some rather impressive equipment. Just wanted to throw this out here as I'm sure many have asked. I for one have asked this question before. He did not mention the SMMC1 or voice during any of this conversation.

Interesting, though I don't agree! I find the Soundsmith cartridges do sound quite a bit different to the original B&O cartridges. I know some of it will be age related, but I do have cartridges that still test flat and the sound is quite different to the equivalent Soundsmith. The Soundsmith cartridges offer a crisper sound - some would say more detailed - but this can be a little wearing to listen to. It is very much horses for courses and some will prefer one sound over the other. I am just happy to have the choice.

True, he may have dulled down the conversation for me. I did hear a distinct difference between the two. I look forward to mine arriving this week. I think the jist was that the originals are great and so are the SMMC's. I will report back as I am very familiar with my current cart. It just seems like the high side is dull, and the low is somewhat lacking. Could very well be age.I just found it odd that he didn't say something like "Oh god, get a new smmc2 from us and you will be in heaven." Most of the other vendors there were pretty pushy and one even laughed when I told him what TT I had. Of course I laughed as I'd never spend 20k on a TT.

Hey,

You (deliberately?) forgot to tell us what deck you use!

Here you know you won't be laughed at by $500 cable guys!!

I've done some comparisons between cartridges, and Peter has a lot of experience with them. 

Does anyone know whether Soundsmith are now also officially offering the warmer voicing?

As to $500 cables (which I suspect is low these days, I've listened to $50.000 worth ...): My trump in cable discussions is that B&O is well known for being able to charge quite well for their A/V. Among audiophiles the term "overpriced" has some currency when it comes to Bang & Olufsen, particularly among those unable to listen without prejudice. When I point out how modestly priced B&O's cables are they get something to think about.

Says something about B&O integrity, actually.

Axel from Schallplattenadln says that SS uses another type of rubber for the suspension, whilst he is using a rubber type which has properties closer to original B&O suspension rubber.

-Søren