Changing from an XV1-S

Hi DCarol,

Warning - dealer disclaimer.

When I read a post like yours, the questions that immediately that come to mind are - what is the poster after, and what is the weak link in his signal chain?

With all due respect to the posters above, I beg to differ. They have given you excellent advice about cartridges - what you WANT, but not what you NEED ... methinks.

If the cartridge is not worn out, I would keep it and look to your turntable and tonearm. The XV-1s is not the weak link in your signal chain.

While it's true that you might be getting tired of the XV1s, this has more to do with your turntable and tonearm than with your cartridge.

None of this is to say that there aren't other wonderful cartridges out there, and the A-90 certainly is one of them.

Notice the comments about the others being better "by a small margin". In my experience, I've found setup inconsistencies to easily cover these small margins.

You have bigger gains to make, and especially for your budget allocation.

If you happen to make it to the Audiofest this October, we'll be highlighting the XV1s and the A-90 on our turntables. You'll really hear both of these fine cartridges strut their stuff.

Cheers,
Thom @ Galibier

Agree with Mackris.

The VPI arm will not allow either the Dynavector or Ortofon to perform optimally.

Makes no sense to pair an average tonearm with a world class cartridge.

IMO
Dealer disclaimer

Thom / Audiofell

What you say is very valid and worthwhile advise. But I don't think the poser is saying the XV-1s is a weak link.

Us users tend to answer on what he asks for and not what he may necessarily needs.

Upgrading his turntable will cost considerbly more than the price of a new cartridge, and considering it is a VPI classic, no doubt it is quite new.

like a lot of us audiophiles, after a while we hanker for a change or something different - hopefully better at the same time.

as they say, a change is as good as a holiday :-)

cheers

I have VPI Classic/XV-1s combo for almost a year now. I think the combination improved significantly with addition of peripheral ring clamp, upgrade Valhalla wire. Currently my Classic is at my dealler as I decided to add SDS. I tried plugging my Classic into a true-online double conversion computer UPS unit and it improved the performance quite significantly but the unit is too noisy so I am getting SDS instead. I think that would be cheaper and easy way to improve the system if you have not already done so.
If you have to change cartridge, I would also consider My Sonic. I heard it in the same system as XV-1s and tonally it sounded similar to XV-1s but better in just about everyway. I also got a hold of Air Tight recently but have not had much time to to experiment with it yet.

Hi Downunder / DCarrol / All ...

As a manufacturer/dealer, it's inappropriate to lend advice on arm/turntable selection in this forum. Anyone who is interersted knows they can contact me and/or Audiofeil for private consultations.

Let's just say that for the combined price of an A-90 and the resale value of the DCarrrol's turntable and tonearm, a fairly significant upgrade is possible.

I understand the thirst for a change in flavors, but my point is, that DCarrol has never really heard his Dynavector.

Over the years, I've shifted my approach to answering questions like this by attempting to focus on what the customer is really after. In the early days, I would have leaped to answer the question the way many have done in this thread. I meant well (as does everyone in this thread), but I forgot to step back and look at the big picture.

When someone asks me about a new cartridge, the first question I ask is "what's wrong with what you're currently hearing?". From there, we have a basis for understanding the system interactions and how best to achieve the customer goals - both in the short term as well as the long terrm.

Audiogon is a great forum, but one of the traps many individuals fall into is buying component after component, in a shotgun approach. I find more individuals who are already thinking of their exit strategy for a component they have yet to purchase.

I'm not encouraging financial irresponsiblilty. Quite the opposite. Buying the right component the first time (even at full retail) saves you money and time over the alternative - buying at a discount, over and over, and over again.

It's the only way we dealers can justify our existence.

Cheers,
Thom @ Galibier