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Dynavector XV-1s vs. Soundsmith The Voice?

I've been looking for a high end cartridge for my Well Tempered Reference turntable and these are the two carts which have been repeatedly recommended based on my sonic priorities and desire for a more exciting, clean, engaging listen (previously used a Koetsu Rosewood Signature).

I already purchased The Voice and expect to have one in my possession shortly. I heard an ultra high compliance one very briefly and it was an interesting and very 'different' sound than I was used to.

Can any offer any sort of comparison between these two cartridges? I mostly buy used, so the large MSRP discrepancy is mitigated.
gopher

Showing 2 responses by edainwestoc

edainwestoc
19 posts
 
If you don't mind me asking...is the 103D stock or has it been retipped?

Ed
edainwestoc
19 posts
 
Darkmoebius/Gopher,
IMHO you really should consider retipping that 103D. If you want to, go all the way and retip it and place it in a nice wooden body. That cartridge is significantly better with the TOTL SoundSmith retip and the wooden body should be a nice plus.

I have had a 103D in my system since 1979. I have had a retipped 103D for about 6-7 years now and wish I took the dive many years earlier. I didn't because I loved the stock 103D and reasoned that I didn't want to chance upsetting it's sound.

I couldn't have been more wrong. The retipped 103D is significantly better than its stock counterpart.

For whatever reason Denon only made one 103 model with a nice cantilever (boron cantilever and elliptical stylus on the 103M). The Denon 103 is a generator assembly that needs some love in order to set it sonically free.

A lot of aftermarket hotrodding has existed for the Denon 103 models for a lot of years. Some people dismiss the 103 since its so inexpensive and others have shelved very expensive cartridges in favor of a hotrodded 103.

It may not be the best cartridge in the world but you may find it is good enough to make you stop that crazy equipment merry-go-round. At least as far as cartridges go.

I have some 320kb MP3 of some examples of the retipped 103D on my website. If you go to http://www.edsstuff.org and look about halfway down the page you'll find some links to various cuts made with the 103D retipped by VDH (boron cantilever and VDH type 1 stylus) and some with the 103D retipped by SoundSmith (ruby cantilever and optimized line contact stylus). The equipment used is also listed.

Ed
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