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Contact Us The Vessel A3SE cartridge
THEVESSELA3SE
The 2017 Sound Advice Product of the Year - Don Lindich, Sound Advice syndicated newspaper column and website
"LP Gear's The Vessel A3SE cartridge is an absolute world-beater at $99. To say I was wowed is a huge understatement, and I very clearly preferred The Vessel A3SE to a lot of $400 cartridges I have tried before. The presentation is slightly forward in perspective, with sound that is silky-smooth, rich, clean, precise and detailed, with beautiful tonality from deepest bass to highest treble. The superlatives just flow when describing it,
just as beautiful music flows from this exceptional cartridge."1
"I have this cart on my KAB modified SL1200 M5G and it sounds amazing for a $99. In fact, I no longer listen to my AT-OC9ML/II. I run this through a Schitt Mani with a Swagman PSU. I'm keen to try the model with the ruby cantilever and microcline
stylus who some claim beats out a 2M Black.2
"Experiencing the Vessel A3SE and its performance at the price is probably the most shocking experience I have had in 15 years of reviewing audio. There is a complete line of The Vessel cartridges and they can also be upgraded
by changing the stylus, so it can grow with you when you upgrade to a new turntable. Given how great the A3SE sounds, I can only imagine what the more expensive models are like!"3
"The A3SE is incredible for $99. If I heard this and was told $350, I'd believe it."4
"Once again, I don't stop listening to my dear old vinyls (and I've got many 100s). The quality of sound with this cartridge is UNSURMOUNTED! (That is not English, is it?). Anyway, you catch my drift.
I am 62 and have been through more than a few record players in my life, but this is "unheard of" (sorry for the silly pun). In short: WOW!"5
"The Vessel sounds better than the stock AT95E and with the AT95E Jico hyperelliptical in my opinion."6
"Sounds quite sweet and pleasant" 7
- Product Info
THE VESSEL A3SE CARTRIDGE
- Much more than music.The creative brief for The Vessel™ cartridge series is simple: "Play with musical naturalness the sound of live unamplified voice and acoustical instruments as recorded in the grooves." It was a risk because it would be unpopular and lost on a growing segment of audiophiles who, unfamiliar with the sounds of live unamplified acoustical instruments, are incapable of recognizing it when they hear it. Nevetheless, I undertook this risk because I believed then, and more so now, that natural music is the only true standard of sound — certainly not artifically manipulated and digitally deficient sound! This is a legacy that cannot be lost due to inconvenience or ignorance.
In this manner, the Vessel A3SE by design is a wonderfully disruptive cartridge. Its generous, organic and natural Full Spectra Sound complements any type of music on your list.6 The beautiful, natural tonal balance, richly harmonic presentation and spatial resolution convey sentience™ — the human element, tension and energy beyond hearing, beyond listening ensconced in the grooves of your vinyl. It's more than just the sound, The Vessel cartridge communicates the emotional content in the groove. You'll hear it, you'll feel it and experience it. The A3SE features a beautifully-made Super Elliptical diamond and uprated parts and materials handcrafted in Japan. Upgrading is as simple as swapping the stylus.
The Vessel A3SE Cartridge Specifications
- Type: Moving Magnet
- Frequency range: 20-25,000 Hz
- Output voltage @ 1kHz: 3.0 mV
- Channel balance @ 1kHz: <1.5dB
- Channel separation @ 1kHz: 22dB
- Dynamic compliance (100Hz): 8 × 108 cm/dyne
- Tracking ability at 2.0g : 60 µm
- Cantilever: Special type aluminum pipe
- Stylus type: Super elliptical
- Stylus tip radius: 7.6µm × 15.5µm
- Tracking force: 2.0 g
- Internal impedance @ 1kHz: 670 ohms
- Internal inductance: 270 mH
- Recommended load resistance: 47 kOhm
- Recommended load capacitance: 100-300pF
- Cartridge color, body/stylus: Black/Gold/Sky Blue
- Weight: 6.0 g
- Dimensions: H18mm x L26.95mm (28.2 w/ plugs) x W17.00
- Mounting hardware included: 4 × Screws, 2 × Nuts
- Stylus replacement: A3SE stylus____________________________________
Footnote 1: Don Lindich, "Sound Advice Q&A Newspaper Column", Sound Advice, February 3, 2017.
Footnote 2: Michael Fremer, "You Would Pay $99 For This Cartridge", Analogplanet, Apr 28, 2019..
Footnote 3: Ibid.
Footnote 4: HiFi Guy, LP Gear "Vessel" Cartridges.
Footnote 5: Customer e-mail Feb 12, 2017.
Footnote 5: Read more info and thoughful comments at: Michael Fremer, "You Would Pay $99 For This Cartridge".
Footnote 6: Read more info and thoughful comments at: Michael Fremer, "Ibid.
Footnote 6: Full Spectra Sound and sentience are best experienced with a high resolution system. LP Gear Music listening equipment: Graham Slee Reflex M phono preamp, Graham Slee Accession phono preamp, Graham Slee Elevator EXP headamp, Denon AU-300LC Step-up transformer, Graham Slee Proprius mono amps, Quicksilver Silver 88 mono amps, Odyssey Kismet stereo amp, Roadrunner Digital Turntable Tachometer, Sota Sapphire turntable, Pioneer PL-12D turntable, Audience SE Phono Cable, Audience Ohno speaker cables, Rogers LS3/5A speakers, Audience ClairAudient 1+1 Loudspeakers, Krell LAT 2 speakers, Yamaha NS1000M speakers, LP Gear CF3600LE cartridge, Ortofon 2M Red cartridge, Ortofon 2M Blue cartridge, Ortofon 2M Bronze cartridge, Ortofon 2M Black cartridge, Rega Carbon, Supex SD 901 Super cartridge, Denon DL-103 cartridge, Denon DL-110 cartridge, Grace F-9E cartridge.
Footnote 8: Compliance based on 100Hz.
Footnote 7: Read more info and thoughful comments at: Michael Fremer, "You Would Pay $99 For This Cartridge", Analogplanet, Apr 28, 2019..
Footnote 8: Compliance based on 100Hz.- Specifications
The Vessel A3SE Cartridge Specifications
- Type: Moving Magnet
- Frequency range: 20-25,000 Hz
- Output voltage @ 1kHz: 3.0 mV
- Channel balance @ 1kHz: <1.5dB
- Channel separation @ 1kHz: 22dB
- Dynamic compliance (100Hz): 8 × 107 cm/dyne
- Tracking ability at 2.0g : 60 µm
- Cantilever: Special type aluminum pipe
- Stylus type: Super elliptical
- Stylus tip radius: 7.6µm × 15.5µm
- Tracking force: 2.0 g
- Internal impedance @ 1kHz: 670 ohms
- Internal inductance: 270 mH
- Recommended load resistance: 47 kOhm
- Recommended load capacitance: 100-300pF
- Cartridge color, body/stylus: Black/Gold/Sky Blue
- Weight: 6.0 g
- Mounting hardware included: 4 × Screws, 2 × Nuts
- Stylus replacement: A3SE stylus- Warranty & Returns
- Warranty: The Vessel A3SE cartridge purchased in the U.S.A. from an authorized LP GEAR dealer is warranted for one year fromdate of purchase by LP GEAR to be free of defects in materials and workmanship. In event of a defect, the End-User’sexclusive remedy is at LP GEAR's election, the cost of repair, refund of the purchase price in the form of credit or cash,or replacement of the product. The product must be delivered to LP GEAR prepaid, together with the sales slip orother proof of purchase date. This warranty excludes defects due to normal wear, abuse, shipping damage, or failureto use product in accordance with instructions. This warranty is void in the event of unauthorized repair or modification,or removal or defacing of the product labeling.
