I am selling my beloved Transfiguration Temper, serial # 1663. I conservatively rate the cartridge an 8/10 because of age. The Temper was mounted on a Morch DP6 tonearm on a VPI Aries. I loaded it at 300 ohms. I am selling because we are downsizing and entering retirement now that the kids are out of the house.The cartridge comes with its original box, stylus protector and information card. Original retail was $3800. Available now for $1050 USD obo, insured shipping included in the lower 48 US states. The Transfiguration Temper was the first cartridge I heard with not even one weakness, obvious or subtle, compared to any of its known (to me) competitors. I simply love this cartridge. It does everything as well, or better, than anything else I've heard, which is extremely rare in audio. The Temper is still the most neutral-sounding, 'characterless' MC cartridge I've yet encountered. It produces greater dynamic authority, blacker backgrounds, and excellent image dimensionality. It extracts information from LPs like no other cartridge in my experience. It's sound stage is wide and deep with an uncanny ability to outline each musical instrument even during complex musical passages. It is very neutral and gets out of the way letting the music come through. I’ve listened to a lot of high priced cartridges, being a member of several New York audio clubs, and the Transfigurations are definitely my favorites. A true reference cartridge. Transfiguration cartridges are masters of natural musicality. The yokeless ring-magnet generator construction places the moving coil at the focal point of the magnetic flux field leading to a new level of focus and natural resolution due to the reduction of phase errors generated by the magnet-withpole-pieces construction of other cartridges. The relatively low output mandates a quiet, high-gain phono preamp, or a step-up device. Utilizing a ring magnet for a moving coil cartridge has enabled five unique design points:
• Coils inside the magnet
• No yokes
• No magnetic irregularities
• Coils at the crux of the magnetic focus
• Intimate coil/magnet coupling Below is what Stereophile had to say about the Temper:
MF considered the original Temper the best he'd yet heard. MF found it "still the most neutral-sounding, 'characterless' MC cartridge I've yet encountered," noting greater dynamics, punch, and "overall sonic excitement" without edginess or "hi-fi" colorations. Blacker backgrounds and improved image dimensionality too. "You get the outstanding detail of a great MC with the relaxed feel of the finest MM and moving-iron designs." Specifications
Type: Moving Coil
Output Voltage: .2mV
Tracking Force: 1.8g (optimum) 1.7-2.0g (range)
Mass: 7.5g
Compliance: 15 x10-6 cm/dyne
Weight: 7.5 g
Channel Separation: >30db
Channel Balance: <.5db
Internal Impedance: 3 ohms
Load Impedance: >3 ohms
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