Analog Relax EX500 Moving Coil Cartridge: Easy on the Eyes and Ears!

Every once in a while, one encounters a high-end audio product where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Performance that punches far above its pay grade. In the case of the Analog Relax EX500 moving coil cartridge, it's clear that cartridge designer Yashushi Yurugi used all the ingredients available to him and came up with the perfect recipe for a truly musical cartridge. So to speak, that Goldilocks' zone: not too hot, not too cold, not too analytical, not too colored. A perfect union of equal parts science and listening. For instance, there's no trace—despite designer Yusurgi using silver wire to wind the coil—of that hyperdetailed, analytical "silver sound" too often encountered in other silver wound cartridges. No. Just a beautiful, smooth, liquid and musically captivating transducer that could easily be many an analog lovers last cartridge.

Nesting Phase

The Analog Relax EX500 moving coil cartridge was installed in the VPI 12-inch carbon fiber gimbaled tonearm and auditioned during the review with a trio of phono stages including the solid-state Soulution 326 preamplifier (with built-in phono card) and Thales Magnifier phono preamplifier along with my reference hybrid Doshi Audio Evo phono stage. Have no fear here about phono stage matching because the cartridge's relatively robust 0.55 mV output worked well with all three units and there's no reason it shouldn't with most of today's modern phono stages. The Analog Relax EX500 moving coil cartridge is straightforward to set up, although I'm more accustomed to naked cartridges with exposed cantilevers. The Analog Relax EX500 was loaded at 180 ohms into the Doshi phono stage (with the most adaptable loading). Sound aside, the cartridge's maple wood body is simply beautiful to gaze upon.

Unlike many cartridges I've reviewed in recent years, the Analog Relax EX500 needed an unusually long break-in period. In fact, the break-in reminded me of Hans Christian Andersen's "ugly duckling" story—starting out awkward before blossoming into something beautiful. Fresh out of the box, the sound of the Analog Relax EX500 moving coil cartridge was unremarkable, even to the point of sounding a little confused, congested and discombobulated. Fifteen or so hours of playing were sufficient to address many of the initial reservations, with an additional sixty hours required for the cartridge to reach optimal performance. Another characteristic that decreased with playing was that the amount of time it took the cartridge to settle-in for each listening session. New, the Analog Relax EX500 moving coil cartridge required a good 45 to 60 minutes of playing before it was ready for prime time. That time eventually decreased with play-in to the more "normal" one side of a record.

The Swan Emerges

But with time—and a sprinkle of patience—that ugly duckling morphed into a beautiful swan always faithful to the music. A cartridge that, if anything, errs a little more on the side of omission than commission.

One of this swan's most notable sonic traits is its ability to capture the unique ambience of the recording space while at the same time delivering vivid, lifelike, instrument sounds. A quintessential element for bridging that gap between real and recorded music and providing for more of those moments where one can suspend disbelief. (For whatever the reason, space is truly the final frontier at audio shows.) Here, let's focus on Andreas Vollenweider's now classic 1984 release White Winds (CBS FM 39963). The Analog Relax EX500 moving coil cartridge creates here an expansive, immersive soundstage, allowing Vollenweider's electro-acoustic harp and various other instruments and sonic effects to fill and envelop the entire room. Sounds—especially at the rear corners of the soundstage—are clearly separated. No. The Analog Relax EX500 moving coil cartridge isn't the final word in transparency but it's a more than competent performer. Arguably, the Analog Relax EX500 moving coil cartridge suffers here in contrast to today's finer cartridges such as the Lyra Atlas SL Lambda, Genesis Advanced Technologies HyperSonic X4 and van den Hul Master Signature cartridges.

Another notable feature of the Analog Relax EX500 moving coil cartridge is its ability to capture a recording's macrodynamics. Place something like Yello's 12-inch, 45-rpm maxi-single In the Movies. "Oh Yeah" from Ferris Bueller's Day Off (Mercury 888 908-1) on the turntable and cue up "Oh Yeah." It's just a thrill a minute with the cartridge just flying through the through dynamic passages reproducing the pulse of the song with ease. No, the Analog Relax EX500 moving coil cartridge isn't the last word in speed or attack with the leading edge of instruments ever so gently rounded. But who cares? The cartridge just gets the gestalt nee essence of the music right.

One cautionary note. The Analog Relax EX500 moving coil cartridge may give listeners a serious—though not terminal—case of goosebumps when spinning albums by their favorite vocalists. Dean Martin. Enya. Mel Torme. Cassandra Wilson. All simply mouth wateringly real. Overall, the cartridge's midrange is just a touch on the full, warm and liquid side but in all the right ways. Not unlike the midrange of the highly vaunted and cherished wood bodied Koetsus. Just without the Koetsu's attendant technicolored sound, slowness, mistracking, etc. While on the subject of tracking. The Analog Relax EX500 moving coil cartridge is a wonderful groove tracer with nary a trace of mistracking even on the toughest percussion laden tracks.

Kick off the festivities with a simple song such as "Dindji" from Rene LaFlamme and 2XHD Fusion's brilliant stereo spectacular 45-rpm reissue of Shirley Horn's Softly (2XHDHDJA-V1140) that was originally released on Mapleshade Records. The 2XHD release is the first LP (and all analog to boot!) release of this recording and it was a crying shame that audiophiles had to wait so long for this recording to appear on LP! (For that matter 15-ips tape!) Played back using Stellavox's sensational new Diadem stereo amplifier and Audionet's PRE 1 G3 preamplifier (with external power supply) really reveals the beauty, tone and emotion of her voice. It's an absolutely mesmerizing experience. Not to mention, a sizable step up in sound quality from lesser priced cartridges.

Move onto an even more stunning very early (1955?) stereo RCA recording featuring Munch, Heifetz and the Boston Symphony performing the second movement "Larghetto" from Beethoven's Violin concerto in D (RCA/Analogue Productions LSC-1992, 45 rpm). Again, the emotion, the passion, the playing is simply thrilling. The string section perfectly laid out in front and its warm, soothing tone. Where the Analog Relax EX500 moving coil cartridge falls short of ultimate lies in the little things. The nuances, the microdynamics, the finest level detail.

Sliding a little further down the frequency spectrum finds a well controlled low end with excellent sense of tone. Take the "Round Midnight" track from the direct-to-disc release Mooonlight Serenade (Jeton Records 100 3316) with Ray Brown on bass. What wonderful instrumental dimensionality and localization, presence and decay of notes encased in an envelope of air surrounding the bass (and guitar). Where the cartridge falls short of ultimate is in the ultimate sense of authority, the last vestiges of the bowing of the strings down to how much pressure was applied to the strings as well as feeling of the bow starting and stopping on the strings. In short, that ultimate grip on and resolution of the double bass possessed by the finer uber cartridges like the Lyra Atlas SL Lambda or Genesis Advanced Technologies Hypersonic X4. Yet, the Analog Relax EX500 moving coil cartridge is certainly above average in this area and faithful to the music.

Digging down a little further into the cartridge's bass performance. In the case, consider the all drum (timpani snare, etc.) "4/4 For Four" track from that fun filled, wowie-zowie, 1978 direct-to-disc album 76 Pieces of Explosive Percussion (Sonic Arts LS11). What a track! The Analog Relax EX500 does a wonderful job of capturing the authority, power and dynamics of the timpani drums; the timpanis serve as a constant contrast to the snare and other drums. Transient attack on the snare drums is very good but ever so gently rounded.

At the other end of the frequency spectrum spectrum, the Analog Relax 500 moving coil cartridge is ever so soft and loses a touch of the finer resolution. Take for example, the wind chimes on "Softly" or the myriad of percussion instruments (triangle, cymbal, cowbell, etc.) on the "Triptych" track on 76 Pieces of Explosive Percussion. for instance. The Analog Relax EX500 moving coil cartridge is a little rolled off and doesn't offer quite the same level of resolution and detail as with the better cartridges. At times, I found myself wishing for slightly more detail (a function of the stylus shape?) or information on the finest details on percussion/cymbals. But—and this is an important but—the Analog Relax EX500 moving coil cartridge is never hard, harsh, piercing or bright in this area. I'll take that any day!

Taking Flight

In today's world of high-end audio, the Analog Relax 500 moving coil cartridge punches so far above its pay grade that its scary at times! Anyone the least bit familiar with the sound of live music will be absolutely over over the moon impressed with the Analog Relax EX500's sound. Everything is perfectly balanced so that no one area stands out to the detriment of another. The cartridge's midrange is exceptionally smooth, natural and musical sounding while the transducer's dynamics make it musical genre agnostic. The cartridge's exceptional ability to capture the delicacy and airiness of instruments as well as the space the musicians are performing in are something to behold. This is definitely one cartridge to have on your list when shopping for cartridges in this price range. Perhaps even for some looking at higher priced cartridges, too!

Technical Highlights

The Analog Relax EX500 moving coil cartridge (and for that matter, the entire Analog Relax cartridge line) sadly flies under the radar of many analog lovers. At present, the Analog Relax cartridge lineup includes five models starting with the entry-level EX300 and going up all the way up to the flagship EX2000 at $22,500. (The newest addition to the Analog Relax line is the EX700, priced at $8600.) The EX500 moving coil cartridge is one up from the entry level EX300 moving coil cartridge and brings with it a different stylus, generator windings and cartridge body. In addition, the Analog Relax EX500 moving coil cartridge's hard Roumanian maple wood body was specially selected for its resonance properties and how the air within the cells of the dried wood vibrate, Yusurigi is a strong believer in wood bodies stating, "the cells lose their water when the wood is dried, but the cellular walls allow them to maintain their form, leaving uneven spaces (holes) throughout. Air vibrating within these holes creates and organic sound. This is why wood always was, and remains the main material used in musical instruments to this day."

A little about Analog Relax and the cartridge's designer Yashushi Yurugi. As Angie Lisi, North American distributor of the cartridge line shared with me, "[Analog Relax] …. Not just a cartridge line but made by passion of designer Yashushi Yurugi." Following graduation from art school, designer Yasushi Yurugi moved into the IT and business development world. Along the way, though, he found himself an analog guy living in the digital world and soon grew tired of the zeros and ones. He left that world in search of the Holy Grail and his true passion analog audio. Yurugi describes himself as, "a super analog lover who loves analog records and coffee (and recently bicycles) more than anything else." Yurugi also plays the tenor saxophone and founded (and is the head of) the Zoot Sims fan. There are certainly far worse musicians to admire!

Specifications