Dynavector Te Kaitora Rua loading

Manitunc,

Indeed, the Te Kaitora Rua does not seem to be very popular among the Dynavector cartridges. I am a bit surprised as everything I've heard about this cartridge has been very positive. It is also on my list of candidates to replace my Delos at some point. I wonder if the fact that it is positioned in the middle of the Dynavector cart lineup has something to do with it - too expensive for those who are looking for a good entry to mid-level cartridge, and not worth a bother for those who go straight for the terrific XV-1s.

If I can offer any advice regarding loading, the Kaitora is a low output cart at 0.26 mV so I'd expect it to need more gain than the Delos. It roughly should need about 62 dB so you might want to adjust the gain on your phono preamp to 66 dB to compare, but of course the line preamp gain comes into play as well so you should experiment to find an optimal setting. Just to mention, I run my Delos at more or less 55 dB with good results, so it is also possible that you will like the Kaitora at 60 dB.

As far as resistive loading, a friend of mine has an XV-1s, and we both preferred it at about 500 Ohms so you might want to try the 470 Ohm setting on your preamp since the Kaitora incorporates many of the design features of the XV-1s.

Let us know what you find to sound best and congratulations on your new cartridge.

I enjoyed this cartridge for several years, through a BAT VK-P10se, loaded at 100ohms... Refined and beautiful sounding cartridge.

Thanks, I shouuld be getting the cartridge today, so I will mount and try your recommended settings.

Dear Manitunc: What could define the LOMC cartridge load impedance?, first than all its internal resistance that for the Rua is a low 5ohms and that's could means that the " best " load could be 100 ohms but then the cartridge signal is processed in the phono stage and depending on the PS design you can prefer that 100 ohms load, higher or even lower.

My XV-1s nad my past XV-1 were loaded at 100 ohms and with this load value is the one that gives me an accurate and natural sound with the " best " tonal balance ( top to bottom. ) and dynamics.

I think that you have to test different load values and choose the one that makes the Rua shows at its best. Remember that as you go lower on load impedance the volume/SPL goes down so you have to adjust the volume along each load impedance change.
Of course that the cartridge/tonearm set up/alignment is critical too.

Regards and enjoy the music,
R.

My xx2 runs best at 100 ohms (the lowest offered by my PS Audio GCPH) but I have a new phono stage coming today (Pass XP15) that will allow many more loading adjustments around that point, as well as a higher gain option, so I am looking forward to experimenting to dial it in this weekend and get the best performance. I will probably start at 100 ohms and work from there in either direction. I agree with all Raul writes above, and would add that you should listen to a variety of different types of music as you test each loading setting, and take time before settling on a final setting. It just depends on the entire chain of your system's variables. Good luck and keep us posted.