I have an XV-1s so its not the same as the XV-1t but should be similar. The first 3-6 months I ran my XV-1s on the heavy side of 2.2 - 2.3 grams as the cart suspension broke in. However, as the sound be came duller and lifeless I transitioned over the first year to now a tracking weight of 1.95 grams.
2.7 grams does seem high. It will be interesting to see if any other XV-1t owners or XV-1s owners chime in.
You may want to give Mike Pranka a call after CES - he is the Dyna distributor to the US. |
The XV-1S had the identical Problem. Some wrote they can only listen to it with a VTF which is much higher than the Manufacturer recommendation, because it definitely sounds better, but the majority used it in the recommended range because they were afraid that the cantilever will die pretty fast. With normal VTF it was simply slow, dull, anemic. Far away from a lifelike Performance
There was no way out.
A normal correction from new to broken in is maybe 0,10-0.20 max, but never +0.60+ I use all my cart in the lower range from Manufacturer recommendation and my carts work for years and years without any
Degradation. And they sound worse with too much VTF. The Design is the way it is, but a lot will tell you that it sounds wonderful with recommended VTF ...
Don't listen so critically, tell the world instead how great it is.
All do that. :-)
Or go for Te Kaitora Rua. |
I have an XV1-s. With the Tri-planar MkVII, Durand Talea and Telos tonearms, it sounded best with VTF between 1.83-1.95 gm, depending on the tonearm. I have experimented with the higher tracking forces advocated by some and IMO, the XV1-s sounded terrible at the higher VTF...
While the XV1-s can sound very good with a less than optimal set up, a lot of the magic of the cartridge happens when the set up is spot on. If you haven't done so already, invest in a great protractor and accurate scale. Most importantly, invest the time to nail the set up. The XV1-t is a great cartridge! |
I agree with Syntax that a normal correction as a cart is broken in is almost always (never absolute) between 0.1 - 0.3 grams. I also agree with Jazdoc that my XV-1s on my tonearm is fantastic at 1.95 grams and dull and lifeless at 2.5 grams. It can very well be set up dependent so I agree a good protractor and VTF guage is imperative for those expensive carts of all makes. Locking it in is a must! |
Thanks everyone for chiming in. I use the factory protractor that came with the TT (which is mated perfectly for the tonearm that comes with the table) Do you guys think an aftermarket protractor will do a better job?
As far as setup, I wore a hole in my listening chair from getting up, sitting down, getting up, sitting down, getting up, sitting down - for days on end! I think I have it dialed in pretty good.. I have detail coming out of this cartridge that I have never heard before. I'm certainly happy with the sound. If i take it back to 2.2g it sounds lifeless, no punch, less detail.. ( though at 2.7g everything is better but I do notice more surface noise from the record ) |
Oh, BTW I forgot to mention I had the XV-1s before this cart and it sounded best at 1.9g.. Weird or what? |
Have you changed the loading on the XV-1t as it has a higher internal impedance.
I only have experience with the XV-1s which has an internal impedance of 6 ohms.
Also you could try increasing the effective mass of the arm some how and re-adjusting your tracking force.
What is the effective mass of your tonearm? |
Think PCosta may be on to something here...... |
2.7 seems too high to me. I know this cartridge well, and if adjusted properly, 2 grams - even a bit less is all that is required. |
The loading is wide open ( no resistors at all ).. My Pre amp is the Atma-Sphere MP-1. How do I find out what the effective mass of the tone arm is? |
Dear Vanderdm : The lod impedance for your cartridge as with any other cartridge is a critical issue and for what you posted seems to me that you are loaded at 47k that IMHO is not the best value. I think that around 300 ohms to 500 ohms could be better due to the internal cartridge spec resistance.
In the other side the cartridge could perform better if the " counterweight " ( as you said. ) is not down but a little in the up side level. VTA/SRA always is important to achieve the best quality performance and parallel to the LP seems to me not the best VTA/SRA set up. You have to test the cartridge at different VTA/SRA set up till you find out the one that meets your music sound system priorities.
Now, 2.7grs is a wrong VTF set up not only because is out of the manufacturer/designer VTF range but because out of that range the cartridge coils are out " place ". The designer VTF is not only to achieve the best cartridge tracking possible but to align in precise way the cartridge coils. Out of that VTF range goes absolutely against the cartridge overall quality performance.
If I was you I stay for the first 50-60 hours in the high side of the VTF manufacturer advise and after that playback time then start a fine tunning of the cartridge trying different values/set up on: load impedance, VTF, VTA/SRA and remember that each time that you change the VTF and VTA/SRA the overhang change and you have to reset it.
As the XV-1s your t model is a very fine cartridge but you have to have patience on the set up to achieve the best the cartridge can shows you.
Btw, I don't have experiences with your tonearm but I had experiences with other tonearms/headshells that were build by carbon fiber and for me this material is no " cartridge friendly ", at least I had that kind of experiences.
Anyway, the right cartridge set up is all about and you have to try/test different set up parameters and of course to have a reference to make comparisons.
Regards and enjoy the music,
R. |
XV1T sounds quite different than the other dynavector carts. IMHO, it is better than the other ones in the line up.
I have a XV1T among others and I think very highly of it. I initially set VTF at 2.0g when it was new. Now I set VTF at approx 1.9g. The cart seem to work better into >200ohm imped within my system. If I track at 2.1g or higher, there is sig. loss in resolution. Bass gets muddy with overhang and loses dynamics.
Optimal VTF may be altered by room temperature. I sometimes use tube amps and if room temp >85 degree, the optimal VTF needs to be lowered by 0.05g to be optimal. This is due to changing compliance of the suspension at different temperate. It helps to have a temperate gauge if amps gets very hot. Overall this is minor and certain not in the 0.7g range you have here.
Make sure the VTA is set correctly. At the same VTA setting, inappropriately high VTF will alter the SRA as higher pressure bends the cantilever. If your VTA is set too high, an inappropriate high VTF may yield a more correct SRA at the expense of other distortion. Try lowering the VTA and see if you can obtain better sound by lowering the VTF closer to 2g. I suspect you will damage the cart at 2.7g. ( Keep rechecking VTF as you change VTA). XV1T is heavier than my lyras and there is more change in VTF as I adjust VTA.
Does the cart mistrack when you use 2.0 - 2.2 g? If it does, you may need to re-align. |
Thanks guys for your answers!
The cart does not mistrack..
Ok, I've brought it back to 2.0g I've installed 260 ohm resistors and I've put the VTA down a hair to compensate for the lighter weight.
I'll obsess over it tonight and let you know how it goes.
( I listened to the cart at 2.7g for maybe 30 minutes.. I couldn't bare to leave it there.. even though it was awesome..) |
Ok, I speant hours last night adjusting this cartridge and what I found was the antiskate was a little too heavy and i think the extra weight of the cartridge compensated for it which made it sound better at the heavier weight. I'm happy to report that the cartidge is at 1.96 grams and it sounds absolutley incredible, I cant believe it!
The antiskate adjustment literally only needed the slightest tweak for such a massive improvement.
question - How do you know when to stop adjusting? Right now it's so incredible.. but could it get even better?
I'm afraid to touch it!
What are your thoughts?
P.S - the sound stage also improved with the resistors in. |
Many audiogoners will tell you that no anti-skate or minimal anti-skate always sounds better. Don't use test discs, use your ears.
Glad you are dialing it in and enjoying it. As an XV-1s owner, I'm envious of an XV-1t!! |
"How do you know when to stop adjusting?"
I use two or three records for set up. I keep a careful log of set up parameters during the adjustment process, noting changes. If you imagine performance as a parabola, you want to go past the peak and then go back to reconfirm. |
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I have found the mint Best Tractor easy to use and an essential tool when setting aligning my XV-1S on my Vector Model-3 tonearm.
http://mintlp.com/best.htm
With the Vector-3, I keep the VTF between 1.88 - 1.95grams max! I don't go above 1.95 simply because I don't want to put additional stress on the cantilever & cartridge suspension. My particular XV-1S has 2,000+ hours of play on it. The bass dynamics are awesome and the vocals are simply amazing. I spend most of my time doing critical vinyl to DSD transfers and I will re-record any album side that has any hint of sibilance in the vocals or lacks dynamic impact. I use Mo-Fi LP#9 stylus cleaner after every single album side. I also own two Onzow Zerodust cartridge cleaners but never use them. LP#9 high purity alcohol is all that I use and my Dynavector keeps on trudging along. I'm still amazed that the cartridge sounds this good after so many hours of play. I'm sticking with the low VTF settings and the mandatory cleaning after every album side. |
Hi ,I have a Dynavector xv1t running through a Rothwell MCL step up transformer and there is a mismatch. Can any one advise on a suitable SUT or phono stage to match the Dynavector the amp is a mastersound ph5 into two Mastersound 845 monoblocks arm is a audio origami pu 7 12 inch the deck is a Systemdek 3d signature
Thanks
Patal |
