Dynavector XX-2 MkII, riding too low?


I own the cartridge in the subject line. When I lower it onto the record surface the cartridge body is very close to the LP......only a tiny crack of daylight.....maybe a mm or two of clearance.  Is this normal? Is the suspension collapsed?

(Tonearm is level to LP and VTF is 2.0g)

TIA for the help!
spelly

Showing 2 responses by mulveling

Awesome! Yeah to be honest, I’d be perfectly fine running a cart like that. At the end of the day, all of these are hand made/finished and none are absolutely perfect - you can always spot something a bit "off". No need to worry for now.
That can be enough clearance, but if it’s much lower than other units of the same model then that would still be of concern. Also unclear is if the suspension’s fully settled, or whether it will sag more over time. I’ve had Koetsus with just about that much clearance (relative to the crest of the fancy metal lip formed around the cantilever), or really even slightly less, run perfectly fine over the long haul. There’s a bit of unit-to-unit cantilever grade variation on those, too. Though to be fair, both my turntables have clamping systems (ring clamp or vacuum hold-down), which lets you get away with minimum clearance.

The other thing - maybe just camera angle - it looks like the stylus is riding a bit on its "heels". If you raise the tonearm/VTA towards more level, or even slightly on its "toes", it could help a lot with the clearance situation.

If I were you I’d call my closest Dynavector dealer or distributor, show them the pic, and ask what they think. In the meantime, double-check your VTA and VTF.