Clearaudio Charisma V2 Cartridge

Description

MY TAKE: The series of moving magnet cartridges from Clearaudio are all excellent.The Flagship, Charisma is outstandig. - Galen Carol

As Clearaudio continue to advance standards in our range of moving coil (MC) cartridges, we felt it was equally time to turn our attention to the moving magnet (MM) range and to make a new statement. From the concept V2 to the Maestro V2, our MM cartridges have long been at the forefront of the moving magnet field and have proved popular among music lovers for their distinctive high quality. The Charisma V2 is the new flagship of the Clearaudio MM cartridge range.

Only the finest materials qualified for inclusion, including the same diamond-coated Boron cantilever found in our world-leading Goldfinger Statement MC cartridge. The use of highly efficient magnets gives the dynamic Charisma V2 an almost record-breaking output, easily enough to amply drive less sensitive phono stages. The double-polished diamond stylus is mounted on the cantilever with matchless precision, ensuring excellent frequency response and the highest channel separation. The cartridge body is made from the finest ebony wood and is set with a precious metal-bearing inlay. The result? A quality of sound that, until now, seemed unachievable rom MM cartridges. Utterly charismatic.

REVIEWS:

The Absolute Sound: "Promoted as founder Peter Suchy’s “moving-magnet masterpiece,” the Charisma V2 confirms in the listening that this claim is no exaggeration. With a mass-loaded, low-resonance, ebony-wood body, Charisma employs top-notch features like the same boron cantilever and double-polished Gyger S stylus found in the legendary Goldfinger Statement mc. But it’s the raw musicality of Charisma that had me spinning LPs like a demented DJ. Naturalistic and detailed, Charisma offers up classic midrange bloom and image stability, plus a full palette of tonal colors, dynamic electricity, and top-end sweetness. As with its vaunted moving-coil brethren, it resolves even finer gradations of light and air in the upper octaves, all the while maintaining a neutral balance. There are no tonal dead spots, and tracking is unshakably excellent. Costly moving coils tend to grab all the headlines in high-end circles, but their low output generally requires pricey step-up devices, which means your wallet takes an additional hit. However, with its real-world output of 3.6mV, a Charisma means you’re likely good-to-go with an existing phonostage. Charisma…either you’ve got it or you don’t. This cartridge has got it." - Neil Gader

The Absolute Sound Golden Ear Award 2022

Fidelity Magazine: "Thanks to its lavish magnetic drive, the Clearaudio Charisma V2 has an impressive output voltage of 3.6 mV, more than ample to create a great sound with the vast majority of phono preamplifiers. I’m in the happy position of being able to experiment with three external phono preamps and The Tune, my own integrated Einstein amplifier. The Charisma is unexpectedly unpre­tentious when partnering with the Acoustic Solid preamp. And when I completely switch to The Tune, things really start to buzz (my compliments to the Einstein team in Bochum!).

It takes only half an LP side for Johnny “Guitar” Watson to whip his cool Nordic audience into a frenzied group of soul sisters and funk brothers. You can almost hear the audience pushing toward the stage. Not that you can actually perceive movements in the room, of course. What you experience is the transfer of energy between band and audience, as if millions of capacitors with almost unlimited capacity have been connected up between them. The sound is explosive, gutsy, and right in your face.

That’s the way I like my blues! Anyone not brought to his or her feet by this roaring, stomping, scintillating atmosphere would freeze to death in an active volcano! The Charisma coaxes super performances of soul, funk, and blues from the vinyl’s grooves. You feel as if you’ve been teleported from your armchair to the actual concert location.

That’s exactly what I expect from music. I need pure, unadulterated emotion, not just faithful reproduction. I want to taste the sweat of the audience in the air around me. Transferring the exhilaration of a live concert to your own living room using technology alone is a really difficult thing to do. Really difficult, but not impossible. At least not when you have an exceptional cartridge like the Clearaudio Charisma V2. At our magazine, we have a problem with the word “reference.” It’s used as a label for more and more high-end equipment, but frequently doesn’t have any real significance within the context of consumer hi-fi. My reference is and will remain what I experience at a live concert. As far as musical reproduction in my own living room is concerned, from now on everything (whether analog, digital, turntable, or streamer) will be judged against the sound created by the Charisma V2. This is a cartridge I don’t intend to give back! Should the publishers insist on reclaiming this truly charismatic object of my desire, they’ll need to, as Charlton Heston said about his rifle, pry it from my cold, dead hands!" - George-Coleston

SPECIFICATIONS:

Total mass 9.0g (± 1g)
Frequency response 20Hz - 20kHz
Output voltage (1kHz, 5cm/s) ∼ 3.6mV
Channel separation (1kHz) 30dB
Channel balance (1kHz)  0.2dB
Tracking ability 90μm
Recommend tracking force 2.4g ± 0.3g
Coil impedance (1kHz) 0.66kΩ
Coil inductance 400mH
Load resistance 47kΩ
Load capacitance 100pF
Cantilever / stylus shape Boron / Clearaudio Prime Line
Compliance 17μ/mN
Cartridge body Ebony wood with German Silver inlay
Manufacturer’s warranty 2 years