2. analog
  3. 1277081986

Moving on after van den hul

I've had van den hul cartridges (grasshopper & colibri) for almost 20 years. I love the sound, but I'm at the point of moving on after dealing with several rounds of questionable customer service.

My question is directed SOLELY at those of you who also love the van den hul sound: What other cartridges have you found that either (i) exceed the van den huls, or (ii) come close in important ways and provide an acceptable substitute?

(For those of you who do not share my enthusiasm for van den hul cartridges, PLEASE DON"T BOTHER RESPONDING TO THIS THREAD. It's not that you're not entitled to your opinion (of course you are), but rather that our ears and taste are sufficiently different as to make conversation on this issue irrelevant.)
jimjoyce25
koegz
317 posts
 
thanks Geoch, I think I will take your advise. My only concern was the cantilever. I use to have the dynavector, I broke that one twice. I am told this is a different animal all together, much better built. Hearing on my system without buying is not going to happen. So it is another leap of faith.
andromedaaudio
170 posts
 
I have a koetsu and a vd hul , i have changed appartments while i purchased the urushi and before that broke probably a coilwire of the condor it will be repaired soon , i have listened 2,5 years to the condor
A direct comparison is difficult but will come in the future.
Going to koetsu is a step forward i would say, you may lose a little bit of detail but the overal sound is one of more class, more coherence and emotional involvement its more a special product although also the condor just trashes the wadia player.
both strong advocates for analogue ,i have not heard the colibri in my system
psszco2002
11 posts
 
I have both the Calibri and a EMT JSD 6. Both with different character and I could live with both. I play solo, and light music with Calibri, but when it comes to symphony, I must put the EMT on the vinyl. With both, I could enjoy a whole spectrum of music.
oilmanmojo
472 posts
 
I used a VDH frog for several years and my daughter currently uses this one on her michell gyro system. I do like the sound but moved on to utilize the ZYX line of cartridges. I have the airy 3 and UNIverse and utilize both of them on my Maplenoll tables. As far as differences, I find the UNIverse is a more neutral cartridge than the Airy 3 or Frog. I think these two are closer together and other than the frog having a broader sweet spot on vta than the airy 3, both are very similar
emil_f
33 posts
 
Did you change the cart already? I would suggest trying a Condor, if you have the possibility. I prefer it to the Colibri.
More to discover