Clearaudio Talisman V2 Gold

The Talisman V2 Gold is the entry into serious moving-coil listening in the Clearaudio range — and, historically, the first model in the entire Clearaudio MC line to use Peter Suchy’s 1970s patents for a fully-symmetrical moving coil phono cartridge design. It occupies the base of the V2 low-output MC family with the most mass of any cartridge in the line.

The body is hand-polished ebony wood with a metal alloy element inside for internal resonance damping — not gold, despite the name; “Gold” is the tier designation, the top variant of the Talisman line, not the body material. Inside sits the V2 generator with 24-karat pure gold air-core coils inside a ring of eight super neodymium magnets — twice the magnet count of the earlier Talisman generation, and Clearaudio’s standard patented Ring configuration. A solid boron cantilever carries a Micro HD diamond stylus (or the newer Prime Line stylus in the V2.1 update).

Measured, the Talisman V2 Gold delivers 0.5 mV into a 50 Ω impedance with a 20 Hz – 100 kHz frequency response — low-output enough to require a proper MC phono stage or a good step-up transformer. Total mass 10.8 g, tracking force 2.8 g. Ebony damps resonance in a way most metal-bodied cartridges at this price cannot match, and the metal alloy resonance-control element helps handle whatever the wood does not.

Talisman V2 Gold is the right entry into moving-coil listening for an Ovation or Performance DC system paired with the Universal or Tracer tonearm and a proper MC phono stage. Available on order at LMC Scottsdale — walk in during business hours or book ahead if the audition needs a Talisman-vs-Concerto comparison with your specific turntable and phono stage in the room.