Following Jasmine's turntable and tonearm, we asked Mr. Nagai, the representative of Bakoon Products, to evaluate the cartridge. This is my impression after using it for about 2 months.
There are four types of MC cartridges: the M series, which is an affordable MM cartridge from Jasmine, and the mid-priced Nature series, which has been given the names "wind", "forest", "fire", and "mountain". And the Chinese traditionCeramicThe B&W Ceramic series of high-end MC cartridges with celadon as the body is an ambitious cartridge series modeled on four types of phantom beasts: "Blue Dragon", "White Tiger", "Suzaku", and "Xuanwu", and the manufacturer itself is quite conscious of Chinese tradition and the latest technology.
This time, we asked Mr. Nagai for his impressions of the M2 MM cartridge and the MC cartridge of the Jasmine ceramic series"White Tiger"There are two types of TIGER.
Currently, Bakun Products' listening room is equipped with Jasmine's belt drive turntable and Jasmine's long straight tonearm and air-bearing tonearm for listening and new product research and development. We have also asked people to share their impressions and impressions of using it on Facebook.
jasmine MM Cartridge Series - Click here for M2
https://exclusive-audio.jp/products/jasmine-m2
It is a jasmine MM cartridge. There are three types of MM cartridges from the company: M1, M2 and M0. The M2 is an intermediate level product with a junction elliptical needle mounted on a hard-coated aluminum cantilever. Most joining needles made in Japan are made by joining a diamond tip to a metal titanium, but those made in China have a transparent base and are thought to be sapphires. The recommended needle pressure is 2.5 g. If it were sapphire, its specific gravity would be smaller than that of titanium, so I think it would be advantageous. What impressed me about the Jasmine cartridge was that the signal pinout was 1:1 with the pinout of the headshell, and there was no need to swap the left and right sides or the top and bottom, and it could be connected straight as it was. It weighs 4.8g and is very light, so depending on the tonearm, it may not be balanced. The minimum cartridge weight for Jasmine's Dynamic Balance Tonearm was 5g, so this was less than that, so I was able to balance it by bringing the weight to the center of the arm. If necessary, additional weights may be required. By the way, a 1 yen coin is 1 g, so if you add a 1 yen coin to the shell, the weight will increase by 1 g. The sound is high-resolution and flat, and it plays in all genres without preference.
jasmine Click here for MC cartridge B&W ceramic series "TIGER"
https://exclusive-audio.jp/products/jasmine-tiger
Jasmine has a product group of 2 series of MC cartridges and 1 series of MM cartridges. "White Tiger" is one of the four gods in the high-end series. This series is named after the four gods that protect the four directions, the blue dragon, the white tiger, the vermilion, and the genbu, and comes in a ceramic case with each symbol on it. Each cantilever is made up of boron for the blue dragon, sapphire for the white tiger, solid aluminum for the Suzaku, and aluminum pipe for the genbu. The stylus is made in Japan with microridge diamonds for the blue dragon, shibata needles for the white tiger, and elliptical needles for the Suzaku and Genbu. If you listen to the combination of the company's turntable and the dynamic balance tonearm, you will get a very precise and tight sound. It is not the soft sound of a general analog image, but the impression of applying a high-quality high-resolution source. However, the adjustment of the arm is severe, and if you do not adjust the height of the arm, the tilt of the shell, the adjustment of the overhang, the inside canceller, etc., it will sound distorted. When customers who come to listen to this sound listen to it, they all say that their concept of analog records has changed. The cartridge has that much power, but it will not be able to demonstrate its true value unless the appropriate arm and turntable are properly adjusted.
That's all, but if you access Mr. Nagai's facebook, you will find further impressions, and I am happy to see that all the customers who came to listen to the test seem to be surprised by the performance of Jasmine's products.
Click here for Mr. Nagai's Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/nagai.akira
Kazuma Nishino, who often visits the listening room of Bakun Products, has a blog "Audio Seihou Jodo" that features Jasmine's turntable and White Tiger. The following is an excerpt.
So, let's change the cartridge...
Mr. Nagai replaced the DL-103 with Jasmine's high-end cartridge ceramic series、、、
Click here for details of this ceramic seriesJasmine Audio MC Cartridge B&W Ceramic Series "TURTLE" – ExAUDIO (exclusive-audio.jp)
Let's adjust the needle pressure and listen to it...
Oh! This is a completely different thing! The sound that comes out of the SATRI flat speaker with an adapter with a ceramic cartridge is so vivid that I feel that I have never heard such an analog sound before! The sound is already lively, and it bounces...
Uh ~ While I'm growling, it's time to go home...
Lastly, I would like to ask you to listen to a classic record from a long time ago.
This is a recording from the 50s, but it has a fresh sound, and the sound is so lively that it is hard to believe that it is more than 60 years old. This is a time machine, isn't it?
Click here for Kazuma Nishino's blog "Audio Nishikata Pure Land"https://ameblo.jp/audioniravana/entry-12780795504.html?frm_src=favoritemail&fbclid=IwAR3vWbdSy3-Mk9iNVE-v-mRh5QyCsFjpZxAsABDpbj96SjJwAXuSTpgAJaw
Jasmine Forest Stereo MC Cartridge Nature Series
https://exclusive-audio.jp/products/jasmine-forest
Jasmine Audio offers high-end cartridgesIn addition to the B&W ceramics series, we offer four types of cartridges called the Nature series: "wind", "forest", "fire", and "mountain". This time, Forest is a stereo cartridge that corresponds to the middle range in the series. The body made of copper and aluminum is solid and has a beautiful vapor deposition paint. Forest's wideband and high signal-to-noise ratio do not make you feel that the f range is narrow in the specs. The sound does not distort the sleepy feeling until the aging progresses, but as the aging progresses, you can hear a high-resolution and precise sound. The reproduced sound is pure and natural with no turbidity or distortion in the playback band, no coloring or a sense of coordination. The delicacy and quietness of the weak part of the string instrument are realistically reproduced. The dynamism of the powerful ensemble is also brought out accurately.
It has the ability to bring out the true expression of the music engraved with minute sound grooves.
