The moving coil cartridge has been around now for nearly 80 years and, with continuing interest in new vinyl, the MC cartridge shows no decline in popularity. Ongoing research into the interaction between materials has allowed cartridge designers and engineers to identify additional musical playback attributes from these devices. And yes, thoughtful engineering is exemplified by the Skyanalog G-1 MKII MC cartridge.
What’s In The Box?
Arriving in a small black cardboard box resides a beautifully made wooden gift box. The reveal? Nestled inside is the G-1 MKII cartridge, Skyanalog’s latest generation Moving Coil cartridge handcrafted in China. The Skyanalog G-1 MKII features an innovative suspension design, Boron cantilever material and an elliptical shaped stylus. Skyanalog states that the G series of cartridge designs provide a very natural sound with an extremely flat frequency response and exceptional analytical performance.
Skyanalog currently has seven moving coil models available, with the top-of-the-line model being the Skyanalog Diamond 25th Edition. That flagship features exotic parts including a diamond cantilever and micro ridge shaped stylus. In contrast, the base model Skyanalog P-1M has an aluminium cantilever tipped with a conical shaped stylus. Near the middle of the Skyanalog cartridge range, the aluminium alloy bodied G-1 MKII is finished in a wonderful anodised purple metallic finish that enhances the beauty of these vinyl-reading jewels.
Skyanalog was started by technology entrepreneur Jack Leung in 1999 and is based in the southern China city of Jiangmen. The company has been a very successful Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) for the last 25 years, making highly regarded products for other HiFi brands. Jack Leung grew up in rural China and showed great passion for understanding how radios worked and began to collect broken items with which to repair and build his DIY components. At age 16 he created his first ‘Hi-Fi’ tube amplifier and after successful studies at school entered the South China University of Technology where he majored in Electronic Engineering. After working as a senior telecom engineer Leung acted on his dream and founded his Hi-Fi company making tube-based amplifiers for the Chinese domestic market.
Branching into the vinyl sector opened the business for making items for other Hi-Fi brands as an OEM. In 1999 Leung created his first Moving Coil cartridges, the ‘G’ series under the name Skyanalog with design aims to bring natural sound, exquisite craftmanship and research into customised materials, while ensuring affordability and consistent high quality.
The Skyanalog G-1 MKII Moving Coil cartridge features an eye-catching purple anodised aluminium body, boron cantilever and glued elliptical stylus. Its output is 0.32mV and dynamic compliance is medium to low at 12uM/mN. Based on the original Skyanalog G-1 model this was revised to MKII standard in 2024. The new MKII guise has come about after Skyanalog’s extensive 10-year research into the properties of the rubber used in the cartridge damping system.
The damper in a cartridge helps keep the stylus/cantilever in direct contact with the musical information pressed into the vinyl grooves. Skyanalog came up with a damper compound that matched the desired properties and called it YAN (Snake) suspension. Research into the size of the micro air bubbles present in the rubber suspension ring led the engineers at Skyanalog to refine the suspension to the point where “effective kinetic energy is transformed into musical information. The art of damping pivots on the principal of ‘matching’, ensuring that every component works in harmony”.
Close inspection of the Skyanalog G-1 MKII reveals the alloy body has had a type of bead blasting applied to the outside. This process is used in extreme engineering fields such as aerospace and Formula 1 engines. The bead blasting process throws thousands of ceramic or glass beads at the material to create a dimpled finish. This dimple finish acts as a resonance control in the structure and results in work hardening of the outside of the alloy and strengthening of the material. These processes may appear to the casual observer to be esoteric in nature, but modern designers have realised that despite the cartridge’s small size, there are many forces generated by the stylus as it follows the minute changes in the vinyl information. These need to be controlled in order to control smearing of the sound.
Summarised specifications for the Skyanalog G-1 MKII are a Boron cantilever, Elliptical stylus, 20 degrees of VTA, and -30dB of Channel Separation. The stated Frequency Response is 20 Hz to 25 kHz, 6 ohms impedance and, as stated above, 0.32mV Output Voltage, with a Dynamic Compliance of 12uM/mN. VTF is 1.1 grams to 1.5 grams (1.3 grams recommended), while the loading is between 200 ohms and 470 ohms. The G-1 MKII weighs 10.7 grams.
Medium to high effective mass tonearms are best used with the Skyanalog G-1 MKII. The aim of this reviewer is to set up the sample cartridges to the best that can be achieved using microscopes, alignment protractors and software, before using ears to fine tune the sound.
After installing the Skyanalog G-1 MKII cartridge on the vintage, but still modern sounding, Fidelity Research FR64S tonearm, physical alignment using Wally Protractors, and electronic alignment using AnalogMagik test disks and software, the listening began.
The Sky’s No Limit
First album placed onto the modded/restored Thorens TD124 turntable is the sublime Jazz/Hip Hop instrumental The In Sound From Way Out! from The Beastie Boys released in 1996. This is a great recording showing off the band members’ chops on their instruments, and the recording came about after it was suggested that Mike D and the two Adams couldn’t play an instrument. If this is what results from poor instrumentalists, then it’s seriously impressive stuff!
Track 3 “Pow” features lovely deft percussion from drummer Eric Bobo. The Skyanalog G-1 MKII focused on the fast and jazzy syncopation with clear ‘woody’ tone rimshots and shimmering cymbal work. The image was wide, deep and holographic which showed the cartridge was well setup and able to follow the vinyl musical information laid down from the master tape.
“Son of Neckbone” has bursts of synthesiser sounds that scatter across the soundstage, the Skyanalog G-1 MKII transcribing these sounds with control and clarity. Instruments were well separated in the sonic image and drumming tone was excellent with fullness and fast dynamics. “Bobo on the Corner” is another jazz infused track with a funky offbeat pattern. The Skyanalog G-1 MKII sonically showing that it is a quick and dynamic performer able to nimbly follow the drum style of Eric Bobo. Also heard were the ability of the cartridge to present plenty of mid and lower bass information that allowed the tracks to come across with great dynamic power and slam, retaining musical bass subtleties that some cartridges can gloss over with a sameness of sound.
Judicious care was taken during the cartridge and phono stage wiring, with the earth leads going to the tube phono stage in a Star Earth arrangement. This ensures that noise/hum is extremely low and confirms that the Skyanalog G-1 MKII is a very quiet transducer.
The track “Futterman’s Rule” has plenty going on in its funky rhythm with meaty sounding guitar and plumbing deep bass notes. The sound is fluid and detailed allowing the track to unfold with musicality, pace and slam. As a result of the damper redesign in the Skyanalog G-1 MKII, the cartridge has no problem following difficult musical tracks such as this one. It may seem a contradiction, but the result is music that sounds both attacking and relaxed at the same time!
The next album is from The Legend Himself Prince. One Nite Alone originally debuted in 2002 for Prince’s fan club and then finally released on vinyl in 2020. It features the Purple One on piano with a simple instrumental backing and plenty of reverb. The studio recording is a cracker, with the piano sounding deeply resonant and attacking, at times reminding the listener that the piano is classified as a percussive instrument rather than a string instrument. The Skyanalog G-1 MKII portrayed the soundstage as wide and deep, with very good forward projection from the speakers. The tone of the strings was accurate, with the ability to hear into the recording while the keys striking onto the strings and the piano pedals adding sustain or silencing it. Even though the Skyanalog G-1 MKII is ‘only’ equipped with an elliptical-shaped stylus the details from this album were there in wonderful glory. Prince’s vocals were easy to follow with gospel notes ranging from the baritone to the falsetto. A brilliant rendition from this genius’ canon and the Skyanalog cartridge fully captured the essence of this recording.
Digging into the library of records I came away with a compilation of hits from English band New Order called Substance released on the Factory Label in 1987. It features songs from the band’s 12 inch hit singles and B sides. Some of New Order’s oeuvre was sure to give the tracking ability of the Skyanalog G-1 MKII cartridge a good work out. “Blue Monday” was released in 1983 on a 12 inch disc at 45 rpm and later in the Substance compilation. Using Moog synthesiser and DMX drum machine, the song features great dynamics and thumping beats which the Skyanalog G-1 MKII rendered clearly and with crisp leading edges to the punchy, dynamic notes. The Skyanalog tracked the song without missing a beat, helped by the rock-steady holding power of the high mass FR64S. I reached for the volume control on this track and turned it up for maximum listening pleasure. The sound had density with electronic drums and synth, also having high dynamic impact.
Conclusion
The Skyanalog G-1 MKII sounds impressive across a wide range of music and has a full articulate bass that has great pace and is dynamics. The midrange was likewise clear and full with vocals from Prince sounding sublime. The high range was detailed and accurate with the cymbal work from The Beastie Boys sounding sweet and melodic.
The Skyanalog G-1 MKII is a fine transducer of the vinyl groove that rewards with pacey and sonorous detail, great bass and dimensional soundstage. Another great cartridge from Skyanalog… Highly recommended.
… Mark Busby
www.soundstageaustralia.com
Associated Equipment
- Speakers – Yamaha NS-1000M, custom 18-inch subwoofer
- Preamplifier – PS Audio BHK, Music First Audio step up transformer, EMIA two-box tube phono stage
- Amplifier – Yamaha B1, Musical Fidelity Tri-Vista 300, Leak Stereo 60, restored Leak Stereo 20
- Sources – Analogue: Technics SP10 Mk3 turntable with Stax UA7 Tonearm, Garrard 410 and SME V arm, Thorens TD 124 Mk1 with Woodsong bearing, SME 3012 silver wired tonearm, Music Maker 3 moving iron & DS Audio DS-003 optical cartridges, Soundsmith Paua, Miyajima Labs Kotetu, Kiseki Blue cartridges, Tube Sound Audio phono stage, Sansui TU-717 tuner. Digital: Marantz CD-12/DAC-12
- Cables – Vertere Pulse-C, Revelation Audio Labs
Skyanalog G-1 MKII Moving Coil Cartridge
Price: AU$2100
Australian Warranty: Twelve Months
Australian Distributor: Audio Magic
+61 3 9489 5122
www.audiomagic.com.au
Skyanalog
Jiangmen, Guangdong
China
+86 135 360 00403
https://skyanalog.com/
