I bought a colibri xgp and it's pretty phenomenal, came from a Lyra Delos. For instrumental music the colibri is unbeatable but for rock and vocals the Delos is more satisfying. The colibri tends to highlight the least bit of sibilance.
Van Den Hul what is the best cart ?
I will probabely buy a van den hul cartridge, but regardless to the price, I don't know what to choose. My dealer says that black beauty gold 0.85mV is a very fine cartridge, but I read a lot of very fine reviews of the colibri.
And about the colibri what should be the best ? copper or gold ? 0.20mv or 0.30mv ?
I've got a VPI aries 3 + JMW 10.5i and for the moment a zyz 4D copper.
Thanx
And about the colibri what should be the best ? copper or gold ? 0.20mv or 0.30mv ?
I've got a VPI aries 3 + JMW 10.5i and for the moment a zyz 4D copper.
Thanx
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- 38 posts total
I like A.J. but the quality control could be better. https://www.dropbox.com/s/hrlivjikl3okc74/2015-04-15%2011.54.29.jpg?dl=0 A genius but maybe a slob too. https://www.dropbox.com/s/urua9igv05u04vq/VdH%20workbench.jpg?dl=0 |
IMO, there is nothing at all to be worried about with a VdH cartridge per se. However, the problem in recommending one vs another is that there are SO many variations on any of the basic themes. For example, there are at least a half dozen or more variations of the Colibri alone. And since they are hand made one might expect sample to sample variation, to add to the confusion. I owned a low output copper coil Colibri, and it was very nice, for what that's worth. In general, I have consistently found that high output MCs do not sound as good as the low output version of that same cartridge, if that helps. For example, HO version of ZYX UNI not as good as LO version. Sometimes, you just have to take a shot in the dark and try something for yourself. Reviews in commercial publications are utterly useless, too. |
There seems to be a misconception in regards to the VdH stylus. VdH only designed the stylus. Fitz Gyger is the manufacture of that design. That's why it is referred to the FG/1, FG/II, and the 'S'. BTW: The FG/II and the 'S' are not 'improvements' to the FG/I. The latter designs were only to facilitate scrap reduction for the manufacturing process. Regards, |
I am pleased with the sound of my Colibri xgp lightweight version .38mv on my VPI 12.7 arm. Harry @ VPI told me that it is one of the few arms that are a good match with the lightweight. Can't say that I've had tons of carts on my table, but it is head & shoulders above the ZYX Airy 3 and Allnic Puritas carts that I've used in the same rig. IME, vdh provides excellent value and very high end performance. The comment about sibilance is a system matching issue. This one of the most revealing treble carts and some phono stages & cables are not transparent enough to let the beauty of the vdh treble shine. With a well matched system, solo violin etc. will be hard to beat. The Colibri is also dynamically explosive when the music calls for it, with transient speed that makes drums very lifelike. On the downside, it's not very forgiving of beatup LPs even if well-cleaned. The comment about "short cantilever" confuses me, because at least with the lightweight version, their is not much of a body per se, and it looks like a long cantilever to me. I'm always careful because it looks like the cantilever is hanging further down than on some other carts. Cheers, Spencer |
- 38 posts total