how long of a break in for 17d3

I don't know your TT and phono pre, but at 10 hours my 17D3 (with a Nottingham Spacedeck and Dynavector P-75 II) was a bit on the aggressive side. It got fractionally better over the next 20 or so and then started to relax noticeably. By 50 hours, it was, I guess you could say, singing. It's a very fast, but musical cartridge, worth the wait and very worth the asking price. My two cents. Good listening!

I have a new 17D3 on a Rega P5 with a Dynavector P-75 II. After 60 hours this cartridge sounds somewhat better than initially, but it is not singing for me. I don't know what to make of it.

I was doing a search and found this thread. I am considering purchasing a CAT Ultimate.

I assume it is able to work well with the Dynavector 17D3 and not have too much noise considering the low output of the dyna. Is that correct?

Thanks.

Jim Perry

My opinion about "working well" is probably a bit different. I would
use a cartridge above 0.8mV output with that preamp. It can make life much
easier.

Thanks for the prompt response. I really appreciate it. Right now I am using the Fosgate Signature Phono preamp and there is quite a bit of tube rush when I turn up the volume on my Quad 99 preamp.

Any thoughts on a tube phono preamp that would work great with the Dynavector 17D3?

Lamm LP2 in High Gain Version with 70dB

I find the 17d series to be very detailed and accurate, but never warm or soft, if that is what you are looking for. With some components that already have a bit of an edge, they can tend to sound aggressive. I would have thought the Fosgate might tone that down some, but not so in your case. I am using a SimAudio LP5.3 with PX5.3 power supply which is dead silent even at high volumes, detailed but full sounding. Maybe try a step up transformer to the Fosgate instead of relying on it for the full amplification.

I think the Dynavector sounds fine, the output level is so low it makes you turn the gain on the preamp up enough to hear tube rush noise. The Fosgate has 60 db of gain so with only .3 mv from the Dynavector the gain is marginal.

I made a couple of changes. I put RAM super low noise tubes in the Fosgate which made a significant difference in the noise floor. I also bought a Shelter 901 with .5 mv output. I like the shelter better han the Dyna in most ways, but the Dyna is still a good cartridge.