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Changing from an XV1-S

Hi All

I'm considering (read hankering) for a new cartridge. I have been using a Dynavector XV1-S for a while now and although it really is good I feel that other manufacturers have overtaken this recently with units that cost a 'tad' less.

It's going on my VPI Classis/ 10.5 and the new Whest PS.30RDT Special Edition/ Conrad Johnson ART MK1/ Levinson 331 Poweramp/ JM Lab Scala Utopia. The general sound from the system is excellent to bloody brilliant BUT having just heard an Ortofon Cadenza Black in the system I am led to believe that the XV1-S technology is 'getting on'.

A friend has recommended the Ortofon A90 or Lyra Titan.
Is there anything else I should look at?

My musical tastes are wide BUT do not include Opera, Classical or choir. I like vocals but love instumentals.

Thanks for your help - if I get any :)

dcarol

Showing 9 responses by dan_ed

dan_ed
2,451 posts
 
XV-1s is old technology. Well, ok. 99% of the population think this whole vinyl thing is old technology. ;-)

I can sympathize a bit with Dcarol. It can be near impossible to have the opportunity to hear several of the great cartridges listed on this thread, and even harder to hear them in one's own system. So people resort to taking opinion polls and spending their money based on the results of which component garners the most votes.

Dcarol, you must pay hell trying to keep up with the constant improvements in solid state gear and speakers. And, if you do the same with digital I don't know how you have time to listen to LPs. IMO, others here have only scratched the surface of what I would suggest you need to do to better hear music.

Well, you are asking for opinions. :-)
dan_ed
2,451 posts
 
Dcarol, what had many of us vibrating and contorting was not that you want to change cartridges. I don't expect everyone to love the XV-1s. There are several great cartridges I could love. However, you seem to have made up your mind on your own thread after one post from Mike and this "newer technology", and "the XV1-S technology is 'getting on'" reasoning as to why you wanted to change doesn't make sense to some of us. To me it is nonsense. Most of us just change because we want to, or because we want/like a different sound. That kind of reasoning we understand. :-)

In the end it doesn't really matter to anyone but you why you want to change. But if you make statements like some of those you have made on this thread be prepared to take some heat. ;-)
dan_ed
2,451 posts
 
SLS has been around for several decades, but this is the first application in cartridge chassis building. Maybe even in audio, but I don't think Ortophon has discovered Warp Drive. What is interesting is that the shapes of the A90 and XV-1s have some similarities when viewing the side profile. I have heard nothing but good about the sound of the A90 and look forward to hearing one in Thom's room at RMAF.

I recently heard an Orpheus L, thanks to Sunnyboy1956. We didn't have time to do an A/B with my XV-1s but it was obvious to me that I could live with this cartridge. It is an excellent tracker, retrieves the finest details and has a character I like.

I'm not really sure why we were "asked" about this move. :-) Seems like the answer was pre-determined.

dan_ed
2,451 posts
 
Mike,

Can you give a frequency range where you think the XV-1s obscures bass?

I am a bit familiar with the Lyra. How would you describe the a90 compared to Lyra? Not which is better, but how do they differ in character?
dan_ed
2,451 posts
 
Thanks, Mike. I appreciate comparing notes and I apologize for giving the feeling of an ambush. Re-reading my last post I realize it could be taken with a tone I hadn't intended.

Still, I could better understand for myself your impressions with respect to Lyra. No biggie!
dan_ed
2,451 posts
 
No, not bad at all, Dcarol. You like how your system sounds and that is all that matters, for you.

The rest of us must take your descriptions, filter that through our own experiences, and try to come to an understanding of what you meant. Case in point, my questions to Mike on this thread about his take on how those cartridges compare sound-wise. ALL components in this game add color, no exceptions, but some are more colored than others, or they don't resolve things in the music as well or not at all. Some veil other components in the chain.

Prices don't usually indicate anything.
dan_ed
2,451 posts
 
[quot]I think the problem here is that nobody here has heard my system or heard what changes came about by changing the XV1-S.[/quote]

Yes, but some of us have heard much of your system. Which is why we think some of the reasoning you posted is bollocks. NO reason at all makes more sense than some of what you posted.

This horse is dead.

Good luck with your system and your new cart.
dan_ed
2,451 posts
 
VPI, Conrad Johnson, Levinson. Very well know house sound from each of those for anyone who's been in an audio dealer's shop in the last 20 years or so. I'm glad you like it.
dan_ed
2,451 posts
 
Well I suppose I'll have to wait and hear the A90 for myself. No offense, Jazdoc, but that was not exactly a description of a cart's performance that I would gravitate to. Tighter bass, ok. I could deal with that just fine. However, this issue of musicians being more integrated or in unison sounds to me like another way of saying less resolving. But it is most likely just a matter of personal taste.
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