Ortofon Jubilee vs. Dynavector XX-2 Mk. 2

IMO the XX2 would be a more "enjoyable" as in musical cart, it does many things right, and a few things extraordinary, especially in the area of dynamics.

Haven't heard the Jubilee, but I own a Dyna XX-2 and am very happy with it. Doesn't do anything wrong and the clarity combined with smoothness, dynamics, musicality, silence in the grooves and bass repsonse leave little to be desired.

Just to confuse the issue further, I'll cast my vote in favour of the Ortofon Jubilee, which I find is stupendous in terms of performance, with true high-end resolution of detail - as it should have considering it is, or was, Ortofon's top cartridge for a while - but with a most of the infamous Denon DL-103's way with PRaT, SLAM and a sense of the musicians playing together as a united whole (areas where the DL-103 rules the MC roost). It is also considered by many the best there is in the lower frequencies, where indeed it is awesome: limitless reach with incredible control and resolution. I use mine on a JMW 10.5/quasi "i" where it is truly excellent (the best match I've found among a cast including a Morch UP-4 and a Dynavector DV-507 MKII, and so a good match for your own VPI), on a high-mass idler-wheel drive (Lenco of course ;-)). I've heard the Dyna XX-1 as well on one of my high-mass idlers (Garrard 401) where it indeed also sounded excellent, though without the Ortofon's speed, resolution or accuracy.

From top to bottom, Dynavector offers extremely high quality and sonics at every price point. I've not heard the XX-2 alongside the Jubilee but doubt it would be embarrassed in any facet of its' performance. Certainly the XV-1s is one of the very finest cartridges available.

I wish the line was available to me.

Generally speaking (very broadly in fact), Ortofons seem to perform best with tubed phono stages whereas Dynavectors work well with both solid state and tubes.

IMO of course.

Oh yeah. Ortofon dealer disclaimer.

In the Ortofon camp, you would do well to talk to Bill about the SPU Royal N instead of the Jubilee ... this said by a guy who sells (and likes) Dynavectors ... me.

The SPU Royal-N has extremely vivid tone colors (very reminsiscent of the Dynavector line).

Don't think of it as a vintage cartridge. Heck! It has silver coils, and a very radical stylus profile. It is a cartidge to be reckoned with, and frankly, I don't know why Ortofon didn't re-badge the Royal N instead of coming out with the Jubilee.

Now, if you have a tonearm that's on the light side of things, the Jubilee might be a better match, but if you're in the 10-12 gram effective mass range, the Royal N will work just fine ... all the way up to an 18 gram "monster".

For ligher arms, some weight at the headshell will help you out.

I'd love to hear the background on this decision.

Cheers,
Thom @ Galibier