This all brings us around to the point, however, that the real question when listening to records is whether we want to hear that which we like or that which is engraved into the vinyl. I continually got the sense that Clearaudio moving coils dig deeper into the reality of an LP's sound and report back a more literal translation of its content than many an other cartridge. The Sigma's open and incredibly direct translation of groove to music is stunning and refreshing, though at times bordering on too much of a good thing. In the end, the very best records seem to take on a new life and are stripped of any scrims between the music and the listener, while not-so-good recordings are revealed to be the lesser efforts that they are.