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The DV-20x2 H/L & DV DRT XV-1S are not listed as a recommended component in Stereophile or TAS. Granted they have been around for a while but dollar for dollar it is hart to beat the 20x2. The 1S (and 1T) -I do not have any experience with. Why are these cartridges not recommended by these mags? Any one compared the 1S to the Lyra Titan i and other cartridges in the $5000 price range? No ads in the mags? Only recommend the newest?
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After years of listening to a BPS on a Classic Well Tempered I bought a Nottingham 294 and put a Dyna 17 D3 on it. After more than a year I finally got it set juuuuuusstt right and I now suffer from chill bumps when listening.
Edits: 05/24/12
Some would argue that sanity is beyond my abilities but...
Anyhow it feels good when some stranger that has some supposed level of experience beyond your own chimes in on something you own or are considering and agrees with your assessment. We don't require another person's ears to make the decision for us but its like a lot of other things in life where we reach to others to reinforce decisions we are trying to make.
Sometimes it helps narrow a list for us and sometimes it just feel good.
Ed
We don't shush around here!
Life is analog...digital is just samples thereof
"The DV-20x2 H/L & DV DRT XV-1S are not listed as a recommended component in Stereophile or TAS"
Do people actually refer to these 'recommended ratings' in their buying decisions? I used to when I first started in this hobby. And I when listened to some of these pieces and compared to other components I experienced, I lost the faith. These rags and their ratings are mostly good for their glossy color photos, IMHO.
I have to agree. Art Dudley's Listener Magazine was an exception, but that is long gone.
Enjoy!
Jim
A very good question. I've thought the same thing, and not all that long ago. Suspicions aside, I'd have to agree with you that the 20X2-H/L is/are among the toughest to beat sub-$1K, IMO. I love that cart (the low). That said, I stepped-up to the XX-2 MKII, and the difference was anything but subtle. It plays every night on a Well Tempered Amadeus, and every night, regardless of what's played — from Bach to Blur — I nearly always end my sessions somewhat dismayed, and walk away with a grin on my face (even on nights when I didn't sit in my seat with a single-malt).
The 20X series deserves high praise in the rags, for sure. Why any of the higher-tiered Dynas aren't recommended (besides advertising and what another has mentioned here about not being able to review every cart) is consistently a head scratcher to me.
"Why any of the higher-tiered Dynas aren't recommended (besides advertising and what another has mentioned here about not being able to review every cart) is consistently a head scratcher to me. "
If I were to guess ... I'd say it was that once you get into the $1.5k+ realm, there are tons to choose from, and it could very well be that at that price level they don't offer the "value" in the reviewers eyes of other things (after all once you are above that level, you are up against formidable competition Lyra, Decca, Koetsu, etc.).
Not that the Dyna's are slouches, it may be that their extreme values are more apparent at XX-2 and below?
Or ... the reviewers can't seem to find a single company that shows strength from $400 to $4000. I think Grado falls into similar problems - they are viewed as being great values below $250 - virtually ignored above (even if they are a "love it or hate it" proposition)
"Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad"
I think that for a cart to be recommended it needs to have been recently reviewed, and I am not sure that the Dynas have been looked at by Stereophile or TAS in a while. Yeah, I am a bit puzzled by the lack of coverage there. But it isn't as if the Dynas aren't well thought of in many online forums and online mags.
I love my SoundSmith rebuilt XX-2 MkII. Finding an XX-2 with a broken cantilever allowed me to get Dyna sound that I couldn't otherwise afford.
You're kidding right?? SS rebuilt dynavector sounds anything like an original one. Rgrds, W
What exactly am I kidding back.
Anytime I mention my SS rebuilt Dyna XX-2 MkII, I make it clear that I am referring to a SS rebuilt one. I don't claim that it sounds identical to a stock XX-2. I hope that I am always clear that my Dynavector comments are based on my experience with a SS rebuilt XX-2.
Do you have direct experience comparing an SS rebuilt Dyna to an original? At the time I was considering this purchase I looked for anyone who had done a comparison with no luck.
All that said, a buddy who is a former Dynavector dealer has heard my rebuilt XX-2 and he didn't note any major difference between my rebuilt ones and other stock XX-2s he has seen. Though sure a direct A/B would likely reveal some differences (especially since the SS rebuild uses a ruby and not boron cantilever), I still feel confident that my cart has the predominant Dyna character. And I'd wager good money that it sounds better than a 20X2L or 17D3, which are closer in price to what I paid.
My comment was related to fact that you mentioned, that without retip you would not be abble to get Dynavector sound for the price. Well, you don't.
I'd trust your dealer if he put original Dyna in your setup and than swap for SS retiped one. If he is able to comment on just the sound of cartridge in the setup where original Dyna was not played my hat off to that guy. No reason to get excited. If you like the cart what does it matter if its dynavector , dynaflector or Grado???
PS and yes I do have direct experience. Peter is a great guy and we're lucky that he's around but I'm not using my cart , it just doesn't play music but hi-fi. Rega arm is partially to blame but hadcock 242 did not help either so far.
Edits: 05/24/12
Good to hear that you do have direct experience. But I am not clear which Dyna cart you had rebuilt by SoundSmith.
XX-1 H - 3rd level retip. Most of the people I communicated with are happy with SS and so am I, that I have a good quality cart worth at least investment. Would I do it again , hmm probably not and if, I'd sell the cart right away. The thing is , similar to you I can't afford Dyna prices , even used ones are not quite accesible. I keep the cart (the only high-endish cart in my possession, with hope that some day I'll find that right combination and it will become again a musical machine it once was before I snapped that damn cantilever. Rgrds, W
PS . I use now Adcom HC/E cheap old but quite musical and engaging cart I found in somebodys drawer.
Edits: 05/25/12
Thanks for that info. I hope to be able to hear/afford a stock XX-2 some day...
Well , you post in Dynavetor thread mentioning dynavector sound but you do not have one (and neither do I) .I will remember not to post multiple marks ;)
Regrds, W
Edits: 05/24/12
Not excited here (no multiple question marks, exclamation points etc). Just wanted to justify the basis for my comments. And as I noted, I am sure to always mention that this is a SoundSmith retip. FWIW to those reading my comments.
I heard a Dyna 10x5 on a Well Tempered Amadeus through a Sutherland 20/20. Don't recall the preamp/amp - but it eventually fed B&W 802D's. I was in Kansas City at the time, not my "home turf."
Nice sound on the record they played (I was unfamiliar with it so couldn't tell anything except I didn't pay attention at all to the equipment and just enjoyed the side of the LP - and I normally don't like Diana Krall at all). I can't imagine the carts "higher up" than this being anything but subtle improvements ... but every time I think this, am usually promptly blown away by something or other. And since it didn't have orchestral crescendos or a hugely complex progressive rock passages - it could be that it wasn't being exercised to it's flaws)
Quiet, smooth yet detailed, sense of high and low extension (the recording was mostly singing so very midrange). Cymbols seemed natural and not tizzy or flat, piano was rich and full bodied.
Since this guy sold both Dyna and Lyra - and in a conversation while extolling the virtues of the Lyra Titan and Atlas, let on that the Dyna 10x and 20x gave the low end Lyra Delos and Kleos ($1.6k & $3k) serious competition. He never said bad things about either - but he did point out that Lyra was the best "value" at the Skala level and up provided it was paired with its equal in phono amp and rest of the equipment. He said Dynavector was hard to beat at XX-2 and below, with an extreme value at the 10x5 level. Said he had a 10x5 as his "backup" cart for the Atlas he used at home - and some days wondered which was really better.
"Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad"
Forgot to add that my father in law bought the 10x5 that he has installed on an Oracle Delphi I or II. I'll hear it next time I'm in Kansas City ...
"Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad"
can't review everything. I have only heard the DV DRT XV-1S one time in a dealer show room. All the associated equipment was highly rated by Stereophile, but the system just did not do it for me. I thought the room was too small for the speakers. The owner said they had spent several hours on the set-up and were going to try placing the speakers on the long wall as they thought it was not optimal either.
Unfortunately most people spend time and money on the equipment, but in reality, the room should be the first priority for good sound. :)
Room acoustics have a bigger impact on the sound than the marginal sound change one gets from swapping things in and out.
However ... most common problems are easy to fix, which will then leave you with your setup! ;)
"Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad"
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