Air Tight Opus-1

Stereo MC Phono Cartridge

Air Tight Opus-1 Ermitage cartridge, released in honour of AirTight’s 30th anniversary is in the very top echelon of MC phono cartridges in the world and offers a performance that has to be heard to be believed. It is the result of many years of development and collaboration between the most renowned Japanese cartridge designers.

It incorporates a unique (exclusive to the Opus-1) ultimate performance SH-uX core sealed in an ultra-hard duralumin housing which is then fortified by nickel plating. It aims at delivering the optimum combination ratio of internal impedance and output voltage. This technology gives the Opus-1 the ability to reproduce slight changes in signal intensity as a continuum and differentiate between subtle shades with ease.

Drop it into a groove and the Opus-1 opens a world of palpable three-dimensional imaging, a wide and deep soundstage and a sense of realism reminiscent of a live event. Such is its sublime sonic picture that the listener is drawn into the music with a deep emotional engagement and sense of believably. For audiophiles who are searching for the ultimate performing cartridge to add to their analogue system, the AirTight Opus-1 must be on their short list. Rare and uncompromisingly brilliant.

Awards

Reviews

The Absolute Sound, Jonothan Valin, 2016

How does it sound? In a word, solid. The Opus-1 may be the most three-dimensional-sounding cartridge I’ve heard in my home. Where (on my fabulously high-resolution system) a low-impedance/low-output cartridge like the Ortofon A90 will reproduce Dean Martin’s voice (on Analogue Productions’ superb reissue of Dreamin’ with Dean) with so much fine detail you can tell how much spit (or bourbon) Dean-o has in his mouth on any given note, the Opus-1 slightly dials down the analytics but turns up the volume, converting Dean from a highly detailed albeit paper-flat acoustic image to a fair semblance of an actual human being standing in front of you. It’s like the difference between watching a film and watching a play…. The Air Tight Opus-1 gets my highest recommendation, and joins the Goldfinger Statement and Ortofon Anna as one of my references.

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Positive Feedback, Marshall Nack, 2017

The Opus confronted me with a different soundscape each time I changed LPs. Ephemeral nuances that may have been dimly present, merely hinted at, were now clear as day. It didn’t matter whether the signal was soft or loud; the Opus never compromised the quality of sound. Musicality was always retained….. Barring the cost, the Opus is the best thing for analog since sliced bread.

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Specifications