Anyone who has had a VdH Colibri for over 1000hrs


I am on my 3rd Colibri and have never had one long enough to put over 400hrs on it. My current H.O. XCP is as sibilant as the prev. Colibris but I love it regardless because on over 50% of my collection it is sublime! I do however feel or hope that with lots more hours the suspension will loosen up and the tracking will improve and elimate most of the sibilance. Should I reset my optimistic expectations or is there hope after all?
vusi_khumalo
Many thanks for all your responses!
In the last month I have been playing around with VTA and alignment to try and improve things and it worked wonders :-) Firstly on the SME V arm I have found the Stevenson curve to sound the best of the 3 curves on a Feickert. This is conjunction with dropping the arm at the pivot point. The edginess is gone! To expand: the FAQ on the VdH site had suggested lifting the arm >4mm vs. the cartridge end. This worked on the prev. 3 Colibris, however this one's cantilever is not parallel to the tiny 'pc boards' where the coils are soldered to. This effectively means the assembly has added degrees of VTA dialed in in the level position. Looking at a googled pic of M. Lavigne's white XCP I noticed the same thing, I guess that's why he also ran his lower at the pivot point?
So the bad news is some sibilance is still evident on some records. However I can now play M. Davis Sketches of Spain 200Gr Classic Records, sounded horrible before. Round Midnight Speakers Corner also doesnt break up(as much) when he blows the high notes in the 1st track. So I am making progress every other month by fine tuning, also learning a lot in the process.
Glad you're managing to dial it in.

Even though I'm pretty limited with VTA on my Thorens, my Colibri sounds great. The secret seems to be alignement, and the Mint Protractor is a huge plus. I do have some light sibilance on some records, none at all on others. I think the Colibri is just super sensitive to the material/condition of the groove, etc... But God, this is the most natural-sounding cart I've EVER heard, and the best source I've ever heard, period (CD player, FM tuners, SACD or high-rez). And the great news is that actually, despite how sensitive this cart is, it makes all my records immensely enjoyable. All carts I've used previously seemed to somehow show off lesser pressings, not this one. Actually, some stuff I thought was lesser pressings now sounds fantastic.

I have the same Miles Davis Classic Records 200g, I'll try to dig it up to see how it fares.

Also, did you send the cart back for it 300h free check? It is also very important for tracking to have it match to your tonearm, VdH will do that for you, a bespoke service totally unique in this industry.

In 15 years in hifi, the Colibri is one of the very rare components that I consider an instant masterpiece. It's an altogether different beast, even compared to VdH other offerings, which are already very good. Mike L mentionned somewhere it's like a Formula 1, I do agree to some extent except that the concept might scare a prospective buyer, and I don't think one should be. Sit at the wheel, do a dozen laps slowly to make sure you understand where everything is, then step on the gas... the Colibri will give you something very few, if any, other carts can offer.

JB
I have good news for all who are interested in it. A Dealer in Europe bought a
bundle and tries to sell them for a year now (I saw his ads). Maybe you can get
one (or two) when you are quick....
Now at over 700hrs and with the arm dropped even lower (lowest position) and alignment changed to Lofgren. Getting the best results of the journey so far :-) I'm ready to admit that I didn't expect to have to fiddle with the setup so much to get to where I am. It is crazy!
The dealer is the High End broker, that Syntax mentioned. I bought one recently for E1300, if I remember correctly. They are still on his web site. A good reliable chap to deal with too.