Van Den Hul what is the best cart ?


I will probabely buy a van den hul cartridge, but regardless to the price, I don't know what to choose. My dealer says that black beauty gold 0.85mV is a very fine cartridge, but I read a lot of very fine reviews of the colibri.
And about the colibri what should be the best ? copper or gold ? 0.20mv or 0.30mv ?
I've got a VPI aries 3 + JMW 10.5i and for the moment a zyz 4D copper.

Thanx
andychris

Showing 2 responses by analogluvr

I bought a colibri xgp and it's pretty phenomenal, came from a Lyra Delos. For instrumental music the colibri is unbeatable but for rock and vocals the Delos is more satisfying. The colibri tends to highlight the least bit of sibilance.
 Just an update to my earlier  post regarding my colibri.  The sibilance I was experiencing was mostly a break-in issue and partly an arm compatibility issue.  The compliance is very high so you need a very light effective mass arm to have the right resonance.   Break-in took quite a few hours, I would estimate around 50.  Right now I am using an SME series 3 that has been rewired with a continuous run eliminating all the joints.  Even though the SME is a very cheap arm it's a great match due to its very low effective mass. I find it to be a very revealing cartridge with great highs and powerful base. It is very Neutral and plays exactly what is on the recording. I have only heard one cartridge that I thought definitively beat it and that is the Goldfinger. Other high-end cartridges may do one thing slightly better but it is give-and-take.