Dynavector XX-2


Anyone have or heard this Cart?.
How close does it come to the DRT XV-1S?.
I am waiting for my Voyd TT, Helius Omega and XX-2 to be set up by Tom Totay and I have an all Audio Note system.

Gary
128x128glory
Hi all,

Not much time for details as I'm sandwiching 4 turntable builds between a road trip and next week's RMAF.

Suffice it to say that the XV-1s justifies its stature at the top of the Dynavector food chain. I've had a couple of sessions with experienced listeners where we went through a range of cartridges - including the Universe, a Benz LP, an XV-1s, and an XX-2.

Tonearms were 3 Triplanars. I only have one Schröder Reference and I wanted repeatability as well as to be able to work on one cartridge setup while another one was playing.

Some in attendance were overly harsh toward the XX-2 in my opinion. I think this was due to expectations (can you say wishful thinking?) that it would be closer to the XV-1s.

Taken on its own, the XX-2 is a very nice cartridge. When you hear the XV-1s however, it's game over and the drool will be running down your chin.

I have yet to live with a Te Kaitora Rua, and am curious how close it comes to the big bad XV-1s.

Note to Rwd. I learned that last Saturday's system where you heard the XV-1s was loading the XV-1s at 470 ohms. The owner and I had a miscommunication and I thought he was loading it at 100.

In this day of security checks and such, it's much more onerous to travel with a soldering iron and tools - especially if you don't trust the baggage handlers.

On most every system I've dialed in the XV-1s, it' likes to see about 100. This accounts for the slightly "zingy" sound we heard last Saturday.

I've experienced some "hot" systems where I've loaded an XV-1s at 35 ohms, but 100 is the most frequent number I've hit.

Note about the XX-2 bass "speed". Play with your tracking force. Like the XV-1s and all other high performance cartridges, it responds to slight changes.

You'll benefit greatly from a digital scale with .01 gram accuracy. A .05 gram change can make all the difference in the world at this level of cartridge - from a sluggish presentation to live and "snappy".

Don't get a .05 gram accuracy scale because there's too much rounding error. The price for a .01 gram or better scale is only marginally more.

The scale that Dan_ed and others are using is very nice - something I consider absolutely necessary for a cartridge at this performance level.

Play with your loading too ...

BTW (to GMC) ... yes, XX-2 to Universe is not a fair comparison, but you already knew that.

Next week at the RMAF, we'll be running a double arm rig on a Stelvio:

* Schröder Reference SQ / Universe
* Triplanar / XV-1s

If we have the energy and inclination, we may reverse the cartridges on Saturday night.

Cheers,
Thom @ Galibier
Yes Thom, I completely agree about the correct load for a cartridge. I am lucky that I have an Aexthetix Rhea phono pre-amp that is very flexible and can dial in different loads (and gains as well). My Helikon sounds to me so much better in my system also loaded at 100 ohm. My Benz M-1 wood likes to see 47k ohms.
I recently upgraded from a 20XH to the XX-2 MK2. It's a big price jump from the 20x to XX-2, but in my mind the XX-2 is really 3X better. It's simply an amazing cartridge. I'm using a P-75 phono stage in PE mode on a VPI Scout and the sound is simply stunning. Much wider soundstage, more extended highs and tihgter bottom, plus better tracking. I've not spun a single CD since mounting this cartridge, the music is so good. What really caught me by suprise is just how good original pressings sound. With the 20X they sounded fine and the fancy reissues from analog productions sounded excellent. Now I get wonderful music from all my vinyl, no matter if it's a (good, clean) $3 used LP or $50 45RPM pressing. I give the XX-2 my highest reccomendation. Only problem is now that I've heard the improvement the XX-2 made, I'm fantasizing about the XV-1!!
The ability to play (and enjoy) your entire record collection has to be the Dyanavectors' greatest virtue ... even more than its great sound.

I can now enjoy old RCA Dynagrooves along with my best pressings.

Having a window into the music is what it's all about. Everything else is just audiophile babble.

Cheers,
Thom @ Galibier
Congratulations Kentamcolin, the XX-2 is a very enjoyable cartridge and it does bring out the best in any recording.