Pure Fidelity Stratos MC Phono Cartridge

High end audio is full of surprises, many of them wonderful. One such happy surprise came via a recent phone call from my friend John Stratton, head of Pure Fidelity (PF). From here, PF is situated across the Strait of Georgia in beautiful Vancouver, BC.

Along with the news in the phone call, he texted me snaps of his new product, the Pure Fidelity Stratos MC Phono Cartridge (USD$1695). It’s a looker.

Tempering my enthusiasm for the news was the thought cartridge design expertise is almost antithetical to that of turntable design, Pure Fidelity’s primary product. For sure, same genus, but miles apart in concept, design and manufacture. Yet, Stratton is such a clever and industrious fellow, I had very high hopes for his new, royal blue analogue nugget.

My Use

The cartridge arrived in its classy packaging, safely protected and with a stylus guard. Two mounting holes with appropriate hardware and Allen key made installation a breeze. The cart had a few hours on it so I played a couple of box sets before I got down to serious business.

To compliment the Stratos’ lineage and price point ($1695), I attached it to the Acoustic Signature TA-1000 arm on my Pure Fidelity Encore Turntable ($6495/incl. arm). Comparisons were made with similarly price carts from Phasemation and Shelter, and aural memory from Rega’s Apheta 2. I used my appropriately priced Icon Audio PS1 MkII Phono Preamplifier ($2400). Loading on this unit is hard set at 100 ohms. It’s fortuitous that all carts in house over the past five years have loved the 100 ohm setting.

Tracking weight and null points were set in a jiffy with this ‘low maintenance’ cartridge. It’s almost of the plug and play variety, but with refined, high end MC sound. VTA was eyeballed easily with the help of the TA-1000’s simple post adjustment.

Like the body of my reference, $7000 Phasemation PP-2000 MC Phono Cartridge, Stratton’s, too, is made of Duralumin (a hard, light alloy of aluminum with copper and other elements).

Specifications

Output level: .45mV

Impedance: 40 ohms

Loading: 100-400 ohms

Compliance: 12x10-6cm/dyne

Tracking: 2 grams

Stylus: Diamond Micro Elliptical

Body: Duralumin

Cantilever: Aluminum

Weight: 8 grams

Sound

Out of the box, the Stratos demonstrated many of the impressions I expect from a well designed, 2K plus cartridge, which, with the Stratos at $1695, suggested to me immediately it was a high end bargain. In these days where a positive review gained and with a lot of Covid cash splashing around, it’s de rigueur for many high end outfits to raise prices. A lot! Strike while the iron’s hot, I guess. With that in mind, this outstanding moving coil may be worth a quick look and even quicker decision to purchase. Yes, it’s that good. And underpriced. It easily matches, and many ways exceeds, my experiences with the $3499 Kiseki Purple Heart MC Cartridge.

With a well designed MC cart sent through a quality phono stage, I’m listening for refined and accurate instrumental timbre, good spacing between instruments or voices, solid dynamics and a wide and deep soundstage. And, of course, the essence of what makes vinyl emotionally inviting and immediate to the ears.

Even a good MM cart or an old vintage knockabout can give a sense of the performance and music, but the Stratos will give you much more.

My go to Firebird (Mercury/LSO/Dorati) is an ultimate dynamic test, with very loud tuttis, beautiful sounding mezzo fortes and ultra quiet passages. It’s a demanding record. The Stratos tracked the wide grooves easily with no sound degradation as the grooves travelled towards the label. It’s a digger.

The four carts in comparison (not the Purple Heart) are all so different yet could be equally wonderful. It’ll come down to personal preferences. The difficulties are apparent in my Shelter and Phasemation reviews (linked above), where the final choice was made almost impossible by their stellar performance and dependent on mood and disposition. The Shelter is all vibrant colour, the PP-300 more refined, and the Apheta 2, for its faults, highlighting a glorious treble (some say too much of a good thing—I have not heard the Apheta 3). The Stratos straddles all three without making many compromises. So, not as colourfully vibrant as the Shelter, but equally dynamic, not as cool as the Phasemation, but just as refined, and with a better overall balance than the Rega.

Using a famous Haitink/Philips Mahler Das Lied von Der Erde with a resplendent Janet Baker singing the mezzo part was revealing on many levels. Technically secure and musically refined, Baker (now 87) is one of the great English interpreters of Mahler and the Stratos was able to capture the myriad of subtleties she brings to these great songs. Her hushed, ‘on the breath’ ‘Ewig, ewig’ (Forever, forever) at the closing of ‘Der Abschied’ (The Farewell) was very moving and the Stratos was able to convey Baker’s forlorn intent through very fine vocal timbral accuracy and inner detail. The different colours Haitink receives from the Concertgebouw master players in this movement are mesmerizing, too (‘Cuivré’ horn, plangent oboe and cool wooden flute in the cadenzas) all replicated by the Stratos with apparent ease.

And yes, the Stratos can rock out when required. As rocked as I get, Steely Dan, The Beatles and Led Zeppelin, sounded dynamic and balanced with Stratton’s cartridge. As such, no matter the genre, the Stratos will find your sweet spot.

Conclusion

So, a typically ‘Canadian’ cartridge. Polite to every one, yes, but illuminating all that is great in the analogue domain. And near or at the top of the mythical ‘The Best Sub $2500 Cartridge’ list. As such, no audiophile will go home unhappy. For many, your cartridge journey and upgrade path may well end with the marvellous Pure Fidelity Stratos MC Cartridge. Highly recommended.

Further information: Pure Fidelity