Thank you Downunder That has really helped. I am trying to decide between a Zyx universe and the XV1s. I think that the xv1s would be a safer choice, but there are so many people going crazy over the Zyx that I have to look into it. Best regards
Hi Jeff. I have owned Dynavectors for about quite a while now. Started off with XX-1, then te-kaitora, then XV-1, then after that replaced the XV-1s. You may call me biased or know what I like. I have bought the Banz Ruby and Lyra Helikon and to my ears the XV-1 and now XV-1s smokes those big time. The dynavector has a vibrancy and life to it that just makes it musically nice to listen to. It has plenty of transparency and extension, but none of the brightness of artifacts that produce listeninhg fatigue. Yes the xv-1s is durable and I have heard the van den huls are a little more fragile. the xv-1s will definately have a fuller more analogue sound than the colibri and depending on your systems tonal signature that may or may not be something you are looking for. BTW I have not heard the colbri so basing this more on reviwer and user feedback. One of the audio guys in the asylum had a colbri " Frank P" I think is his name and he now has the XV-1s. he has said the xv-1s is comfortably better sounding in his system.
I have just looked at your system and you have the PE-75 phono stage. the xv-1s mates perfectly with this phono. I had a listen to it a few mnths back and compared to my Pass Xono it sounded in the same league, I would be happy with either. Need to use PE mode, but you probably all ready know that.
How do you like the xv1s cartridge. I have been thinking about getting one for my hrx. I currently am using a dynavector karat as my backup while my van den hul colibri is getting repaired. It is rather delicate and I heard the xv1s is more durable. Jeff
Thank you for your responses. I am getting very interested. I was between the XV-1S and the Condor. I will break in my Condor & then see if I can compare it to the XV-1s. My other choice was a Titan (latest), or a Koetsu Urushi Platinum (rebuilding my broken Urushi to a higher level). I have been looking for a top end turntable w. 2 tonearms to take my SME. I still haven't found one. Once I do lets see. I just might do it. This will be an interesting month.
I have a friend running the Dynavector XV-1s with an SME IV. They work extremely well together -- the resonant frequency is 11 Hz., which is perfect for each.
I don't really mind it being low, especially for the improvement in sound this setup makes. Ask me that question in about 10 yrs. and my response might be different ;-}}
Dgad. I have been a dynvector owner for some time now. First with an XX-1, then Te-kaitora, then XV-1 and finally upgraded to XV-1s when the XV-1 was worn out. I have compared to Lyra Kelikon and Benz Ruby2. XV-1 is comfortably better that these. XV-1 is very musical and natural with nice extension on both extremes. I know there are a couple of philes who think the XV-1s is at the very top of the cartridge tree. Not sure how it mates with SME V, maybe you might want to ask on the analogue section of audiogon and vinyl asylum. I personally would think it would be a good option with your Wilson's.
Dgad, sure email me the manual. BTW, I am not a big fan of nearfield listening and the way my room is structured, bringing the speakers more from the back wall does make the listening more nearfield.
All you say makes complete sense. The Watt 7 tweeter can be hot. Mind you the VTL mates with it perfectly. With my Krell it didn't sound too hot though (just a tad). The 750s definitely work different w. different speakers. My bass is not ideal with my speaker placement. I placed the speakers based on midrange. I have the subwoofer to finalize the bass. The WP7 treble can be beamy if you don't have them setup correctly. Setup is quite tricky. The Meridian for sure is a little harsh in the treble. You will be in for a treat on upgrade. No hurry as LP is still better than the majority of CDs played back on top CD players. (not SACD though)
The Superbalanced is a big upgrade if you are using the VTL 7.5.
Try bringing your Mahlers out into the room. Wilson has a great setup manual that is very usefull. Basically you need to get the speaker to stop interacting w. the rear & side walls. If you want I can email it to you.
Hi Dgad. I had the VTL's in my system for 3 weeks and then bought in the cjprem350 to listen. In my system the VTL750 just sounded slow and thick in the bass compared to the prem350. The 750's were current spec with the exception that the new super balanced stage. Overall I was suprised that I liked the prem350 better, but looking back now I was pushing the budget on the ref 750's. The cj in my system just seemed to be a little quicker, more extended in the treble and little more musical. The ref 750 definately sounded like tubes to me - very pure in the upper mids and lower treble. It seemed that the mahler speaker/VTL tube amp interaction was not ideal. I must admit you have your speakers out from the back walls quite a lot more than me, which would help the speakers breath a bit more in the bass. The WP7's have a significantly different tonal balance to the mahlers. me when I tried the WP7's a while back, I just could not control the alive treble - especiually when playing a lot of my alternative/pop albums.
One day I will upgrade my cd player, but I buy enough albums now, that if I ha dmy cd player sounding a lot better I could end up broke:)
Curious when you compared your CJ 350 to the VTL 750 how did you compare them. I find the VTL 750 to be a very neutral amplifier almost solid state in character. It doesn't have any tube like warmth. I am getting that from my 7.5. Actually I changed tubes in my 7.5s to Telefunken 12AU7s. I am going to be changing them again to Siemens for the next week. I am loving the mids right now. With the 12AX7s the extremes are a little more alive but the midband loses a little of the magic (just a little). When I first switched in my VTL 7.5 w. the 750s I forgot to switch the amp on the back to balanced. It was just OK. Better than my previous amp & preamp but not worth all the hassle. I then switched on the Super Balanced & it was as if I entered an entire new league of sound. If you didn't hear the 750 set w. Super Balanced & Signature transformer you didn't hear the 750.
What were the differences / strengths between the CJ compared to the VTL 750?
If you ever get serious on CD upgrade the Meridian. I upgraded mine & there is an entirely different world out there once you step up.
The Mahlers are sounding a lot better with the SS cjprem350 amp and a tip from Raquel to move the speakers a little more forward. I might need to change my comments up above :) I don't think I will be moving from these speakers for while as you need to spend quite a lot more for better sound.
You look like you don't need to chnage your amplification for a while either.
Shane, I love your system, it looks fantastic. I'll bet it sounds great. I'm a fellow Vienna Acoustics owner, Strauss, the Mahlers had too much bass for my room, but too often I see folks mating VA speakers with inferior components. They love quality source/amplification just like any other speaker. I have a BAT VK-51SE/VK-600SE preamp/amp driving my Strauss, and yes, I agree the VA's require a powerful SS amp to really come to life. I also have a VPI 'table, HW-19 mk IV w/SAMA and SDS, JMW 10.5 arm and Lyra Helikon cart. BAT VK-P5 phono pre (modified by GNSC) loaded with Amperex 7308 PQ's and BAT VK-D5SE for digital. Jena Labs cables, and mostly Shunyata p/c's.
I'm also considering moving on from the Strauss though. I really liked a pair of Verity Audio Parsifal Encore's that I listened to. FWIW, I agree with you on the Mahlers, they had too much bass for my room too. I think they need a really large room. My room, at 14 X 24 X 8.5 was too small for the Mahlers. The Strauss bass is not as boomy as the Mahlers in my room, but is still a bit on the slow side, though the VK-600SE upgrade did help tighten it up some.
FWIW, Great name too. I have three sons, my middle son is named Shane.
Drake. I am sure Kimber will work with cj. cj use them as one of several cables they use in the factory. I'll see if I can get hold of the demo 3033 to test against the Valkrya and harmonic. BTW, boomy bass is pretty well under control with SS amp and speakers out from the wall compared to what I was used to.
Shane: Actually, what I am saying is that burned-in 3033 is a flat-out great cable, and can be incredibly good on Mahlers assuming it works with the partnering amp, and that 3035 or 3038, which use the Black Pearl silver conductor, sound close to broken until they get the full 1,000 hours on them. If it is easy for you to do, my strong advice is to give the 3033 a shot.
Drake. the kimber distributor also has some demo 3033 wire that has been used on his system - I think for at least 100 hours. Are you saying the burned in 3033 will sound better than the low hour 3035, therefore giving me a better impression of the Kimber cable?. If that is the case I might give the 3033 a listen.
That is a shame -- those cables are nowhere near ready for critical listening with so few hours on them. Yet another example of a dealer not knowing something crucial about a high performance hi-fi product.
Yeah, if you were anywhere near, they'd be all yours for a good demo. I use Kimber Select all-silver exclusively in my main system, and used Kimber Select all-copper exclusively in my second system. While in my systems, there was a very noticeable difference between the all-silver (1030) and all-copper (1011) interconnects, the difference between the all-silver (3038) and all-copper (3033) speaker cables was much more subtle, the only real difference being a bit more resolution in the mids and highs with the silver cable (as there should be). In short, I can whole-heartedly recommend the 3033, and being all-copper, it only needs about 100 hours to come around.
As for the 3035, however, you have not heard that cable yet -- your dealer did you (and himself) a disservice. If you would like to know my source at Kimber who confirmed what my dealer told me about the 1,000 break-in period for the Kimber products using the Black Pearl silver conductor, I can e-mail you offline.
Thanks for your take on the Pro-9's. They are on my short list of an upcoming speaker cable purchase.
As for visiting Memphis, I've been there twice for Graceland and all the assorted museums. The Stax Rock and Soul museum had just opened when I last visited, so the exhibits were still a little stark and being developed, but it was still a great experience.
Not to put any sort of damper on your visit, but 15 years ago it was a bit more fun in and around The King's Mansion. The estate had not yet fully cracked down on all the bootleggers and copyright infringement vendors, so you could buy all sorts of kitschy stuff in the surrounding gift shops. Now everything has to be licensed, so there is not the variety of merch and craftsmanship that was previously there. Granted, a lot of it was pretty crappy, but the amount of "stuff" that was for sale around there was mind-boggling.
Thanks again for your cable opinion, and enjoy your system.
Drake, The cables were pretty close to new. Got them off the Aussie distributor. he said they sound good straight out of the box and keep getting better. 1000 hours seems OTT thou. I don't see many of the 3035 or 3038 cables s/h on gon and new is too expensive. pity you live so far away, I could borrow your speaker cables!.
Hi Ray. thanks for the compliment. Like your big Marley wall hanging!. I believe the paradims have great dynamic bass and you cj would mate nicely with their sound. The prem 350 sounds luvely, if you get a chance have a listen to one - still sounds like cj, just more of everything musical.
Hello Shane,Great system and room! And what a collection of LPs !!! I have a CJ MF2500A , i found the right cables and speaker placement and now have really good bass,it did take a bit of work,,
