Best Tonearm for Dynavector XV1s

Hello Fbhifi,

You will find the XV-1s to be extremely tolerant of varying mass tonearms. The week after the Rocky Mountain Audiofest, I had a small gathering at my place.

I still had an XV-1s owned by my "partner in crime" from Azzolina Audio. Frank Schöder and several others were over playing, and we put one XV-1s on my 18 gram Ebony wand Schröder Reference, and another on my Triplanar.

Both tonearms showed their basic characteristics, and at least on the two Galibier turntables, there was no sense of a compliance mismatch when using either tonearm.

Now, compliance matching is a tricky matter, and I hope to update my website toward this end. You can shift the resonant frequency from 11.2 Hz to 10.7 and effect huge changes. It's difficult to predict which one will be better.

With my unsuspended rigs, when situated on a concrete slab floor in my main room, I tend to find lower to be better - almost across the board. There are exceptions to this, however - most notably the Benz products. This is not a commentary on the overall goodness of one cartridge over the other, but merely a comment on the issues involved in getting the most bang for your buck.

If I were choosing based on mass alone, I'd shoot for the 12 gram range. This is only because you have more flexibility and are "future-proofing" your tonearm purchase against different cartridges. This is the advice I give to my Schröder customers when they are faced with the dizzying array of arm wand material (mass) choices.

Cheers,

Just a quick "second" behind Thom. The XV1s works very well on the Triplanar. I wouldn't even venture a guess as to what the best tonearm would be for any cartridge.

I have used the XV1s on both a Schroeder reference SQ and a Triplanar. The XV works very well on both arms. Both are in the 12 gram range Thom mentioned.

I don't want to sound contrary to opinion from some very rxperienced people on this thread, but wouldn:t an arm in 18-10gm range be better due to several new popular cartridges being low in compliance these days. I know people who are mass loading their arms wirh blue tack in the headshell or a strip on the arm tube to increase effective mass. I have tedted this to positive effect..i also notice Raul recommends many arms with a high effective mass for many of his favorite cartidges. The differences are not subtle and my Ikeda shows its strength matching well with many cartridges while having an effective mass of 35. The XV-1s is a low compliance cartridge.

I have found that the XV-1s matches very well with the SME IV (or V) tonearm.

Thanks everyone for your input. Since there is no particular concensus opinion on tonearms which are a synergistic match with the XV1s- which arms would you all STAY AWAY FROM ??

Dear Fbhifi: I agree with Cincy Bob, the SME one has a good synergy with the XV-1.
Other two tonearms that match very well are: Ikeda 345 and Lustre GST-801.
Right now I'm trying the SAEC WE-8000 and I like it too.

The best with the XV-1: Lustre GST 801, but the others are very good options.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

Hi Raul: One would think that the current Dynavector DV-507 would be a synergisitc match with the XV-1s. A gentleman whose ears and technical knowledge I greatly respect likes the DV-507 the best with the XV-1s, closely followed by the Graham Phantom. Do you have any thoughts on those two arms ??

Raul,

I prefered my Ikeda to the SME V w. the XV-1s but not by much.

Dear Fbhifi: I try many times my XV-1 with the Dynavector DV-505 ( that is similar to the 507, perhaps mine is better because I change the internal wiring ) because the common sense tell me that ( in theory ) the best match for the XV-1 has to be the Dynavector tonearm, no that is not true the others tonearms that I named make better match that the Dynavector one. I don't have any experience with the Phantom.

Darren, I agree with you about. Btw, the Essential is waiting for you!!!

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

Any new ideas???
Now i use my XV-1s in a Kuzma Stogi Ref, and it is OK.
A Sumiko MDC800 is also still waiting...

Has anyone heared the DV XV-1s in the bigger Origin Live tonearms as Conqueror MkIII or Enterprise? Comparisons with other tonearms?

I get a better result with my XV-1s and DV507MKII after changing to a lighter headshell (Yamamoto wood).

I've heard the XV-1s doing well in VPI 10.5i and Graham Phantom as well, but in different systems so I will not compare.

Have anybody heard the new XV-1st?
Sorry for kind of off topic.

It's XV-1t not XV-1st.

According to a reliable source the cartridge is not yet available.

Very soon.

Dealer disclaimer.

02-09-09: Fosse
I get a better result with my XV-1s and DV507MKII after changing to a lighter headshell (Yamamoto wood).

The standard Technics headsell is also a very light 7.5g. You can upgrade it easily by replacing the standard cartridge leads with braided OFC ones from lpgear for a paltry $15.95.

Not saying that it's better than an 8g Yamamoto, just a same-weight alternative in aluminum alloy. More choices.

BTW, what's the best way to buy a Yamamoto in the US? I'd like to try a boxwood or an ebony.

Now i have the Dynavector XV-1s in the Well Tempered Signature tonearm and it is wonderful. Fast, colorful, punchy.

The DV 507MK-II of course...

Any experiences with Kuzma Airline and Dynavector XV-1S?

How about the Basis Superarm 9? It's a pretty big investment but it's supposed to be truly fantastic, and a perfect matchup with your Debut.

Breezer
The XV-1S and the Airline is a good combo.
Have been using this for quite some time.

I just installed a new Basis Audio Super Arm 9 on my Debut table . This new arm is truly out of this world!!! Running a Dynavector XV-1 T.