Setup Dynavector XV-1s on SME V help


I am having all sorts of issues getting it tuned in. I do have it sounding very good but my settings leave me confused. My tracking force is 2.4 in a dynamic balance. My antiskating is set at 2.5 or abouts & the damping dip stick is all the way down. When I cue in the tonearm it always jumps right into the 1st track, never setting smooth. ON the Hi-Fi News test disk it flys across the blank space & then jumps over the next track almost to the end of the track. Kind of crazy. My VTA is level. I am loading it at 1000 ohms to great effect now & I can track the 4th track of the HiFI News & Record Review bias test track but with a lot of buzzing. I have almost no buzzing on the 3rd track. The arm resonance is about 9 hz or so in horizontal but harder to detect in vertical, but seems about the same.

Now w. my VdH Condor I had no tracking issues & itbehaved perfectly in the SME V. The Dynavector on the Ikeda never had any problems on the lead in groove (no jumping our bouncing) but it just didn't sound good (might have been the break in or the Ebony headshell I was using. I am waiting for a Dynavector headshell to use as the stock Ikeda headshell won't accomodate the Dynavector.

Anyone with any experience please chime in as I am totally lost.
dgad

Showing 2 responses by downunder

Darren. Harry from VPI has always stated he believes antiskating is a crap shoot as it changes at every position as you play the record.

XV-1s takes about 300 hours to settle down. Must admit I never noticed any stifness in the cantilever, but then again I change VTA on most records. Is it sounding better?

cheers Shane
Tim. I find my XV-1 is quite sensitive to VTA in the 5 years I have had one, but it will never go from sounding great to bad. That is why I bought the VPI to make it easier than my Linn.

There seems to be enuf SME IV / V users out there that are getting great sound out of the XV-1 so it does not seem to be any real problem.

I am sure you will enjoy it.

cheers Shane