Aidas Durawood

CU Series Stereo MC Phono Cartridge

The Aidas Durawood is part of the CU (copper) range of wonderful cartridges made by Aidas Svazas and his team of passionate technicians and artisans. Featuring the same Mk2 Aidas generator custom-made by Namiki Japan that is also found in their cartridges further up the range, this cartridge uses a Durawood body material which is not only aesthetically pleasing but also plays an important part in the sound of the cartridge due to the way it deals with vibrations. Durawood is DIN 7707 compliant and is said to have similar qualities as Panzerholz – one of the strongest and hardest wood composites in existence.

The Durawood tracks exceptionally well with minimal groove noise and delivers a clean and precise playback experience. It displays superb low-level definition with a bass presentation that is articulate and deep. Detail retrieval is very accomplished but not emphasized, presenting a sophisticated sound with lots of information but not clinical. For a cartridge of this pricing level, the Durawood ability to render acoustic instruments is unprecedented, with natural tonalities like the wooden casework of an acoustic guitar or violin presenting very life-like.

The Durawood is not only a wonderful introduction into the world of Aidas cartridges, but also an engaging, super-musical cartridge in its own right. It brings high-end sensibility to any analog system unlocking the magic of the music.