Steve, I see you're a Who fan !! I'm presently using a Transfiguration Temper Supreme, which does everything I like, except can be a little aggressive on upper mids. The cart. is mounted on a Graham 2.0 arm / Basis Debut V vacuum. I will have the 2.2 upgraded bearing cap, etc. tomarrow and this may help. I've recently upgraded my turntable & arm and am getting alot more of everything, which is good, but I may have uncovered a shortcoming in the Temper, which until now was undetectable. In a perfect world I'd add a little warmth, ease, liquid to the upper mids and leave the rest the same. I know this plays into the Koetsu camp, but having tried a Urushi before buying the Temper, I don't think the Urushi is transparent enough, and I don't think the bass is as good either. I understand that the XV-1 is supposed to be an attempt at the state of the art by one of the oldest cartridge companies in the world, and that it has been compared to much more expensive carts. I, of course would love to discover that trancendental cartridge that does everything at new, higher level. I believe that the Graham arm can handle the XV-1 without too much trouble. Which other cartridges have you tried ?
Dynavector DRT XV-1 Cartridge- Opinions ??
Am looking into new cartidges to run into ARC Ref. Phono. BTW it has plenty of gain for low output MC's. Have heard great things about this cartridge. Am also considering Helikon SL. Presently have a Transfiguration Temper Supreme.
It can be "slightly" strident, bright on upper mids and highs, but like it's transparency, speed, detail retieval and dynamics. Table is Basis V vacuum w/ Graham 2.0 arm, am waiting for 2.2 bearing cap upgrade to arrive. Comments would be most appreciated.
It can be "slightly" strident, bright on upper mids and highs, but like it's transparency, speed, detail retieval and dynamics. Table is Basis V vacuum w/ Graham 2.0 arm, am waiting for 2.2 bearing cap upgrade to arrive. Comments would be most appreciated.