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Moving on after van den hul

I've had van den hul cartridges (grasshopper & colibri) for almost 20 years. I love the sound, but I'm at the point of moving on after dealing with several rounds of questionable customer service.

My question is directed SOLELY at those of you who also love the van den hul sound: What other cartridges have you found that either (i) exceed the van den huls, or (ii) come close in important ways and provide an acceptable substitute?

(For those of you who do not share my enthusiasm for van den hul cartridges, PLEASE DON"T BOTHER RESPONDING TO THIS THREAD. It's not that you're not entitled to your opinion (of course you are), but rather that our ears and taste are sufficiently different as to make conversation on this issue irrelevant.)
jimjoyce25
sounds_real_audio
1,002 posts
 

Just curious. If you don't describe your table/arm phono pre it would be difficult to comment.
jimjoyce25 OP
215 posts
 
Basis/Triplanar/home-made

Though I wonder whether it makes a difference to this discussion.

I suspect that the basic character of a cartridge comes through regardless of what it's connected to. And it's that basic character that I'm talking about.

I'm looking for comments from people who "get' the van den hul sound the way I do, and for whatever reason have moved on.
thekong
203 posts
 
Until a couple of months ago, my reference for the past few years had been the Colibri XPP, and the XCW HO before that. I have since switched to the Ortofon A90. While my A90 may still not be completely run-in yet, my feeling is that it is certainly a step up from the Colibri overall, particularly in the mid-range and bass, which the A90 has more body and drive. However, the Colibri still has the advantage on the treble, which has more "air".
audiofeil
4,011 posts
 
I love van den Hul cartridges and was a dealer for a few months in 2009 but dropped the line as the current distributor in North America should be selling used cars not high end audio components.

Customer service for them is the consummate oxymoron.

In any case, I find that Lyra products share many vdH sonic traits with a higher degree of reliability. The build quality/fit and finish are unsurpassed among high end cartridges.

And the importer, Immedia, is a super class act offering terrific representation and outstanding service.

IMO
YMMV

Dealer disclaimer
zenieth
381 posts
 
I had a Frog for some time. Very musical with to die for mids / highs. I went to Lyra Skala and have been happy with it's performance over the past 2 years.
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