Intro
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Back in the day, when your’s truly was just an avid reader of this platform, Chief Editor Jaap’s response when asked if turntables and cartridges could be reviewed was, “I’m sorry, at Alpha-Audio we only do digital audio. No vinyl.”
Not only did Bob Dylan sing that times they are a-changing, but you can also see it on our platform; vinyl is gaining an increasingly permanent residency here, not only in reviews but also in Alpha-Audio’s listening room.
Autumn 2024, we audtioned with great pleasure Le Son’s high output MC cartridge, the SL1. Consequently, we asked if we could test the le Son LS10, the top model moving coil element. Well, we were allowed to, and we were also given the new cartridge holder for the SL1200. Would this element surprise us again?
Le Son
The company is a co-production of Gregory de Richemond and Dr. Ted Tsai. The former is the founder of Le Son. Company and restorer of reel-to-reel recorders, turntables and other vintage hi-fi. Ted Tsai is a well-known name in audio design; he is an electrical engineer and has worked for numerous audio brands.
LS10: eddy current and Shibata
The Le Son LS10 cartridge was designed by Ted Tsai in 2018. The low output moving coil element is characterized by two features that the manufacturer says are distinctive to the product: the countering of electronic eddy current (eddy current) and the shape of the needle (Shibata).
The first deals with the unwanted magnetic fields created by the electromagnetic fields in the element. Tsai has developed a technique that eliminates these eddy currents; a kind of active noise cancellation in a complex electric scatter field. It should lead to tighter and richer reproduction.
Then the shape of the needle. Most are cut elliptically or spherically, while the Shibata method largely follows the contours of the groove. This should benefit the positioning of the needle in the groove (tracking), and also lead to less wear on the needle and the record. The playing life of this element has been estimated at 1,000-1,500 hours. The owner of a Le Son element can have it “re-tipped” by the manufacturer. The cost of this needle replacement is approximately € 150.
Hello Yung, I’m a fan of Alpha-audio a long time and greatfull that you introduced vinyl as a valuable audio source a while ago. The question on this Le Son LS10 review is what Technics SL1200 was used? A vintage SL1200 model? If so I would be suprised a little because specially the arm and arm-wiring are not great enough i.m.o to use the full potential of this cartridge and I modified quite some SL1200’s with improved result. Your earlier test with the Le Son LS1 was executed using the STD 305D record player with SME 3009 series III tonearm, why not also used this platform next to the Technics to make a better compare.
Thank you Yung I had much pleasure reading your review. It is refreshing to read about something else than digital audio (which I’m a big fan of). One day I want a vinyl setup at home, this must be an amazing experience. Also I feel like the 1k€ territory for an MC cartridge is the sweet spot for very refined audio for a somewhat reasonable price.