Vinyl Asylum: REVIEW: Clearaudio Aurum Beta Phono Cartridge by Jonathan B

Model:	Aurum Beta
Category:	Phono Cartridge
Suggested Retail Price:	$300
Description:	Moving Magnet Cartridge
Manufacturer URL:	Not Available
Manufacturer URL:	Not Available

Review by Jonathan B ( A ) on October 29, 2002 at 15:20:04
IP Address: 155.57.254.1

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for the Aurum Beta

I have used this cartridge on and off for about 2 years, putting maybe 400 hours on it. My original system when I installed it was:
Wilson Benesch Circle Turntable/Act 0.5 tonearm
Musical Fidelity Nuvista Preamp (MM phono section)
Threshold T-100 amp
Epos ES-22 speakers
CEC TL-5100z speakers
Over time, I sold off the preamp, amp and CD player and replaced them with:
Mistral LE integrated
Sony SCD 333ES SACD/CD player
Monolithic phono stage with upgraded power supply
Similar cartridges used include a tired Blue Point Special that was my only cartridge for ~10 years, and a Dynavector 10x Gold low output moving coil that replaced the Aurum Beta in my system. I have not used any of the more expensive cartridges out there.
First off, the Aurum Beta is a really good cartridge. It was a big step up from the BPS. The midrange of the Aurum was more detailed, more lifelike and just plain sounded more like music. The treble seemed to lack some air, some sparkle in comparison to the BPS, but I learned later that that had as much to do with the Nuvista's phono stage as anything else. In the bass, the quantity seemed similar, but the Aurum Beta was more defined, and seemded to move things along better. Both felt a little lightweight compared to CDs of the same music. One thing I did not like about the Aurum was that it seemed to accentuate surface noise a bit in comparison to the BPS.
I then decided to evaluate a Monolithic phono stage, since I knew I wanted to move to an integrated. I was very surprised at how much more I liked the Monolithic vs. the built in Nuvista phono stage. Livelier, a bit more in your face, much better and more taut bass.
The new phono preamp changed my POV on cartridges a bit. 1st, I realized why so many people considered the BPS bright - through the Monolithic it is. 2nd, The Aurum Beta no longer seemed a tad closed in - this bought the high frequencies into balance. However, the bass still seemed a bit light weight.
The one issue I could never solve is that, especially through headphones (Sennheise 580s, MF X-Cans amplifier), surface noise was accentuated to a point that it was annoying. Through the regular system, surface noise was more noticeable than with the BPS, but it was a very small difference. Maybe my 'phones/amp combo has a response peak at just the wrong frequency?
I played around with VTA,and found that the cartridge did not seem overly sensitive to changes within reason, and was best just a tad tail down. However, I did not feel any need to change VTA with 180g records (which of course made it even more tail down). The Aurum Beta is the best tracker I've had in my system, by a small margin over the Dynavector and a large margin over the BPS. I never managed to get the BPS to track even the 3rd track on the HiFi News test record (I used the BPS in a AQ PT5 tonearm prior to the WB combo). The Dyna and the Aurum Beta both tracked the 3rd track fine, and the Aurum Beta was noticeably lower in distortion on the 4th than the Dyna.
One small factor - the Aurum Beta is on the heavy side - I could get it to track at the recommended 2 - 2.2 grams, but the counterweight is way out on the end of the stub. I wondered about adding some weight to the counterweight to bring it in closer to the pivot, but never got around to trying it.
In the end, since I listen mostly through headphones (with small children, most of my listening is late at night), I decided to try the Dyna. List price was $450 (I don't think it is available anymore - this was a special edition of the high output 10x4), but I picked it up for $380. The Dyna has more bass (maybe just a bit too much?) - actually more than my CD player now. Midrange is real close - the Dyna is a bit more forward, and just a touch more detailed. Both are real good and head and shoulders above the BPS. Treble is a bit hotter than the Aurum Beta, but not unpleasantly so. Surface noise is much lower - this is the quietest cartridge in the groove of the 3. Unfortunately, since the Dyna is low output, and Monolithic only has 54db of gain, I now find that my system can be susceptible to some background hum (I really have to crank the volume control compared to where I need it with CD or with the Aurum and the Monolithic on its low gain setting).
Overall, I think the Aurum Beta is a really good cartridge, especially compared to the BPS at a similar price point. If not for the surface noise/headphone issue, I think it would be a better match for my system than the low output Dyna. However, for me, the Dyna does everything just a little bit better, and lets me enjoy listening through my headphones.
JB

Product Weakness: surface noise (exaggerated by my headphones?)
Product Strengths: midrange, definition in bass, detail

Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	Threshold T100/Mistral Integrated LE
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	Musical Fidelity NuVista/Monolithic Phono pre
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Wilson Benesch Circle/Dynavector 10x Gold/Blue Point Special/Sony SCD 333 ES/CEC TL 5100Z
Speakers:	Epos ES22
Cables/Interconnects:	various
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Mostly Classic Rock/Jazz
Room Size (LxWxH):	32 x 15 x 18
Room Comments/Treatments:	none - room sounded really good without them
Time Period/Length of Audition:	2 years
Other (Power Conditioner etc.):	Audioprism Foundation
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner

Product Weakness:	surface noise (exaggerated by my headphones?)
Product Strengths:	midrange, definition in bass, detail