Vertere Dark Sabre review

If you’re going for an MM cartridge, why not go for the ultimate one? Vertere’s new Dark Sabre offers everything analog fans appreciate about this type, housed in a refined and full-bodied package.

During the test of Vertere’s then-new MM cartridge Sabre, we almost feared for our journalistic neutrality. Its full-bodied performance, vibrant tonal colors, and smooth musical flow instantly won our sympathy, as it effortlessly tapped into the audiophile pleasure zone.

Unsurprisingly, the Sabre has gained significant popularity among vinyl listeners. And now, Vertere founder and mastermind Touraj Moghaddam, who previously made waves with his developments at Roksan, introduces the Dark Sabre—600 euros more expensive than the Sabre. This model enhances the technical finesse of the Sabre, now priced at just under 1,200 euros, and aims to deliver its richly formed sonorous MM timbre in a more delicate way.

With its strengths, the British MM cartridge targets price ranges typically reserved for the supposedly superior MC types. Above 700 to 800 euros, these generally dominate the analog sphere; and the Dark Sabre, priced at around 1,800 euros, is twice as expensive.

So, it must offer something special. Weighing 11.5 grams and designed for standard medium-weight tonearms, Vertere’s cartridge—like the smaller model—secures its scanning unit within the housing with four precisely tightened spike bolts, ensuring a stable hold and optimal energy transfer to the headshell. For the same reason, the body contacts the tonearm at only three points: a narrow ridge at the front and slightly raised rings around the two threaded mounting holes.

A Rich Palette of Emotions

This is where the similarities to the slightly lighter Sabre end. The Dark Sabre boasts not only a geometrically optimized, particularly stiff, and low-resonance two-part telescopic cantilever. The micro-elliptical diamond tip, nude-mounted without the burden of a soldering cone, is another improvement. The English attribute the synthesis of fine detail and robust precision, which they aim for in all their cartridges, to this design.

With the same generator system, powerful AlNiCo magnet, and pure copper coils, an improved mounting technique and the weight distribution adjustments in the hard aluminum alloy housing enhance sound definition.

While we noted that the Sabre performs more like a broad saber rather than a slender foil, this also holds for the larger model. Thanks to its pleasantly “loud” output, the Dark Sabre develops its performances from a rich midrange that seamlessly integrates on both sides, delivering the natural authority and grandeur of large sound bodies, especially in orchestral recordings.

Even voices like Allan Taylor’s distinctive one in “Chimes At Midnight” sound genuinely real, exuding an intimate tone that some of the more clinical MC cartridges lack. Coupled with its expansive, orderly presentation and always relaxed and confident demeanor, Vertere’s flagship MM cartridge masterfully plays the full range of musical emotions, just like the more affordable Sabre. However, the Dark Sabre excels in revealing finer structures such as delicate spatial reverberations and tiny details that are more hidden in the Sabre’s larger picture.

This is when you realize how well the English top-tier MM cartridge resolves, allowing the music to breathe without highlighting individual aspects, always working in an integrated manner, down to the full, agile bass. Unlike Vertere’s “Mystic” MC, the lively and energetic Dark Sabre doesn’t rely on dynamic effects or strict firmness. Instead, it pushes the MM-typical, tonally nuanced expression to its peak.

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Verdict