Hello,
My DV XX2 mk2 is coming to the end of it's life - almost 5 years of relatively heavy use so its time to consider my options.
Home demos are difficult for carts here so I am trusting to research, past experience and hopefully insight from forum members with similar set ups.
Current setup: Stageline/282/HCDR/250DR, WTL Amadeus. A Superline and another HC or SC will follow but first the cart.
Music preferences are varied - everything from classical through jazz, blues, folk, soul to rock but large portions of the collection are vocal-centric.
Options I have looked at so far: EMT JSD 5 or 6; Ortofon Cadenza Bronze; Lyra Delos; DV TE Kaitora Rua (bit out of the price range I was looking at).
So, important the cart is a good allrounder and complements the components I have and the upgrades I have in mind.
As ever your insight and thoughts on the matter are much appreciated.
ATB
Sten
Posted on: 19 April 2016 by gary yeowell
The WT turntables seem to like the Dynavector cartridges. If you had a Linn i'd be making a big recommendation for the Krystal which i had here for a week and thought it a class act. It was way way better than any Dynavector i've owned, but i have no idea how it would work in the WT. When i owned the WT's myself i thought the 10x5 was a great match and never thought the ones up in the range offered much more, however In an LP12 i did hear benefits of the higher models which seemed to justify their place to a greater extent.
I concluded the WT liked the fun factor of the 10x5, and that matched the sophistication of the WT player as a whole.
Posted on: 19 April 2016 by Hook
Hi Sten -
I've used an EMT JSD6 for a couple of years on my WT GTA. My previous carts were DV XX-2 and EMT TSD15, both very good carts for the money.
I really enjoy the EMT house sound - a slight emphasis from the mid bass to the lower midrange. This gives the music a lot of energy, a big and powerful sound. Soundstaging and imaging are first rate, detail resolution is excellent, and groove noise is very low. The JSD6 also tracks exceptionally well.
The only downside of the JSD6 is cost. The TSD15 offers better value for money, and delivers a fair amount of the same musical enjoyment.
One other point - the JSD6 has a rated output of 1mV, so I decided to have my Superline converted to an "E" by Chris West of AVOptions.
Good luck with your choice!
Hook
PS - The JSD5 uses a Gyger S stylus, where the JSD6 uses a super fine line stylus. My dealer recommended the latter as being better suited to the WT tonearm's fixed geometry.
Posted on: 20 April 2016 by Belfast Taxman
I know this might sound silly but if the Kaitota Rua is out of your price range, why not replace like for like. My DV xx2 mk2 is about six months old now and is really beginning to do the job now. It really is a good cartridge.
Posted on: 21 April 2016 by Sten
I did think about just replacing the xx2 but I've got itchy fingers - the grass might be greener elsewhere.
Charisma is new to me - will have a look at those. All the others are still in the running as well I think. Really hard decision this one.......
Thanks everyone for your suggestions.
Sten
