Le Son LS-10 Mk II Moving Coil Cartridge Review

HiFi Guy said:
I’m not sure where the $900 figure is coming from.

I can say after months of living with the LS-10 MkII, it’s the best cartridge I’ve ever owned and likely the best I’ve ever heard. To me, it truly has no faults whatsoever. It easily bests the two other $1k cartridges I have here. Their goal was to have a model competitive with $3k models for far less.

Yes it’s built in China. A/T builds cartridges there too. China can make great things- PrimaLuna comes to mind. Volvo makes cars there. The phone I’m using to type this message- also China. China is now where Japan was in the late 1960s- no one wanted Japanese products. Now the are desired.

Not everyone can afford a $1200 cartridge, no matter how good it may be. Hence the $499 SL-1 MkII. To quote Le Son- “it’s similar to the LS-10 MkIi without the expensive optimizations.” Similar to the way Alfa Romeo builds cars- the build the most powerful model first, then remove features for the more reasonable models without removing what makes an Alfa an Alfa.

I’ve set up the SL1 Mk II this morning and am giving it a spin now. 30 hours to go until broken in. Way too early for a definitive opinion, but this is going to be fun.



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If I didn't have a couple carts waiting in the wings, I'd jump on this.
 
HiFi Guy said:
I’m not sure where the $900 figure is coming from.

I can say after months of living with the LS-10 MkII, it’s the best cartridge I’ve ever owned and likely the best I’ve ever heard. To me, it truly has no faults whatsoever. It easily bests the two other $1k cartridges I have here. Their goal was to have a model competitive with $3k models for far less.

Yes it’s built in China. A/T builds cartridges there too. China can make great things- PrimaLuna comes to mind. Volvo makes cars there. The phone I’m using to type this message- also China. China is now where Japan was in the late 1960s- no one wanted Japanese products. Now the are desired.

Not everyone can afford a $1200 cartridge, no matter how good it may be. Hence the $499 SL-1 MkII. To quote Le Son- “it’s similar to the LS-10 MkII without the expensive optimizations.” Similar to the way Alfa Romeo builds cars- the build the most powerful model first, then remove features for the more reasonably priced models without removing what makes an Alfa an Alfa.

I’ve set up the SL1 Mk II this morning and am giving it a spin now. 30 hours to go until broken in. Way too early for a definitive opinion, but this is going to be fun.

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Now I see where the $900 comes in- Le Son is offering the LS-10 MKII on limited time promotion at $990 shipped including customs with a 60 day money back guarantee. If you are on the fence and want a stellar LOMC, this is a no brainer.

It looks like $499 is the launch price on the SL-1 MKII. I’m 3 albums in and really enjoying the new model. I definitely don’t feel like I’m slumming.
 
I don’t have cartridge envy.
I don’t have FOMO.
I don’t.

I just went to the site only to take a peek, you know.

Le Son’s website has a .org domain suffix - is it a non-profit?

Of course, if it is, I may be willing to donate to a worthy cause. For charity.
 
Angsty said:
I don’t have cartridge envy.
I don’t have FOMO.
I don’t.

I just went to the site only to take a peek, you know.

Le Son’s website has a .org domain suffix - it is a non-profit?

Of course, if it is, I may be willing to donate to a worthy cause. For charity.
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I don’t think .org has had anything to do with charity for like 15 years there…
 
HiFi Guy said:
Now I see where the $900 comes in- Le Son is offering the LS-10 MKII on limited time promotion at $990 shipped including customs with a 60 day money back guarantee. If you are on the fence and want a stellar LOMC, this is a no brainer.

It looks like $499 is the launch price on the SL-1 MKII. I’m 3 albums in and really enjoying the new model. I definitely don’t feel like I’m slumming.
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im not hating, just my two cents...but the 499 goes to 899 after launch, id say if you're in the market for a 900 cart then an extra 300 isn't really a decision maker, and a poor pricing strategy overall, especially for a new brand with no brand equity as mentioned - all being said, im sure it sounds great and attributes whatever value the new owner puts on it...
 
My take is that Hana is the target. The low intro price undercuts the Hana SH with the SL-1 MkII and the Hana ML with the LS-10 MKII.

The pricing is close enough to generate direct comparisons in the audio press and forums. This garners attention before having to start paying for advertising - gets the word of mouth going.

When unit volume and cashflow pick up, then Le Son can revisit their pricing and advertising strategy when closer to full production capacity.

It’s a different market intro strategy than Excel had, where they were looking to build Hana as a house brand after decades of white label products.
 
Angsty said:
My take is that Hana is the target. The low intro price undercuts the Hana SH with the SL-1 MkII and the Hana ML with the LS-10 MKII.

The pricing is close enough to generate direct comparisons in the audio press and forums. This garners attention before having to start paying for advertising - gets the word of mouth going.

When unit volume and cashflow pick up, then Le Son can revisit their pricing and advertising strategy when closer to full production capacity.

It’s a different market intro strategy than Excel had, where they were looking to build Hana as a house brand after decades of white label products
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is not the whole point of manufacturing in China to take advantage of cost in general, across the board, in nearly every single industry...? and with MC phono carts, you're in a niche market of a niche market where details matter...consumers who are spending this kind of money on cartridges have real serious expectations and uh, needs...the china manufacture is a big deal, so the 60 days offer and VAT, etc are table stakes to gain any kind of marketplace traction (and a smart move).

im sure it sounds real good, I'm just nerding out from a brand/marketing perspective...
 
bornard said:
is not the whole point of manufacturing in China to take advantage of cost in general, across the board, in nearly every single industry...? and with MC phono carts, you're in a niche market of a niche market where details matter...consumers who are spending this kind of money on cartridges have real serious expectations and uh, needs...the china manufacture is a big deal, so the 60 days offer and VAT, etc are table stakes to gain any kind of marketplace traction (and a smart move).

im sure it sounds real good, I'm just nerding out from a brand/marketing perspective...
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also just whining a bit as I earn Japanese yen so everything is stupid expensive outside Japan - with a few more reviews the high end one would speak to me (at $750)
 
bornard said:
is not the whole point of manufacturing in China to take advantage of cost in general, across the board, in nearly every single industry...? and with MC phono carts, you're in a niche market of a niche market where details matter...consumers who are spending this kind of money on cartridges have real serious expectations and uh, needs...the china manufacture is a big deal, so the 60 days offer and VAT, etc are table stakes to gain any kind of marketplace traction (and a smart move).

im sure it sounds real good, I'm just nerding out from a brand/marketing perspective...
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Not so much anymore. China is not exactly cheap labor anymore.
 
MyWifeHatesTrain said:
Not so much anymore. China is not exactly cheap labor anymore.
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There is a pivot now in manufacturing in China from cheap labor to technical expertise. China has become very good at advanced manufacturing and quality control. Innovation is happening, but mostly what I still see is the ability to make conventional goods better and somewhat cheaper. For example, China leads the world in low-cost EV manufacture. In Hi fi, Chinese DACs are technically some of the best performing in the world.
 
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China is a massive country and has immense capacity both for cheap crappy corner-cutting manufacturing and cutting-edge, high end assembly. By nature of our trade relationship, we mostly see the former. But the latter exists, especially where there is a burgeoning domestic market for such things. Hi-Fi is one of those markets.
 
HiFi Guy said:
Now I see where the $900 comes in- Le Son is offering the LS-10 MKII on limited time promotion at $990 shipped including customs with a 60 day money back guarantee. If you are on the fence and want a stellar LOMC, this is a no brainer.

It looks like $499 is the launch price on the SL-1 MKII. I’m 3 albums in and really enjoying the new model. I definitely don’t feel like I’m slumming.
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Okay - $190 for the SL-1 retip does turn my head.
 
Angsty said:
There is a pivot now in manufacturing in China from cheap labor to technical expertise. China has become very good at advanced manufacturing and quality control. Innovation is happening, but mostly what I still see is the ability to make conventional goods better and somewhat cheaper. For example, China leads the world in low-cost EV manufacture. In Hi fi, Chinese DACs are technically some of the best performing in the world.
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very aware of this, they manufacture some amazing high quality goods, but just having to 'defend' (for lack of a better word) illuminates my point - china is a complicated story, which is best told through global brands who use it for manufacturing high quality (but still very cost efficient) products - apple being the best example of this as their margins wouldn't be the same (I know, they are moving production around to India, Vietnam, etc, but the point still holds). From a marketing lens, for a very niche business, these are complicated communications...

either way in think Le Son's pricing strategy misses an opportunity to achieve real scale fast...but its just my opinion...
 
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