PHC1
11-30-2009, 10:11 PM
The Dynavector XX2 MKII is an MC cartridge featuring a "magnetic flux damper" that rejects magnetic fluctuations that are detrimental to performance. What is Flux Damper and Softened Magnetism (http://www.dynavector.com/etechnical/fluxdamper.html) Alinco-5 magnets, a 6mm solid boron cantilever with a "pathfinder line contact stylus", PCOCC (pure copper ohno continuous casting process) copper wire is used for the coil. Body is of the rigid 7075 Aluminum construction. Output is .28mV.
There was some hesitation on my part trying this cartridge with the Clearaudio Satisfy Carbon Tonearm. The cartridge has a lower compliance of 10 x 10-6 cm/dyn as compared to the Maestro Wood's 15 it replaced while the Satisfy arm is considered "Low Mass". That combined with the 8.9gm weight as compared to the 7gm of the Maestro and the tonearm/cart calculations came in a bit higher than the Maestro Wood but still within reasonable range of 11.7Hz resonant frequency. The bigger question was will I have enough gain from the EAR 324P to work with the low .28mV output of the XX2?
I put in some questions to EAR and they assured me that is should not be a problem and that the EAR 324P has actually 72dB gain depending on the settings chosen. Good enough for me. Having heard much praise for the Dynavector brand the decision was made and the XX2 MKII was going to be my first MC cart. :thumbsup:
After installing the cart and plugging the TT into the EAR 324P "Input 1 MC" and selecting 4 ohm loading (actual 50 ohm loading due to the trannies), setting the gain knob to 0dB and my Lamm LL2D to the lowest volume, I lowered the stylus onto the groove. Gently bring up the dual volume pots on the Lamm LL2D, the music started to pour out of the speakers. Phew, no problem with gain what so ever. :thumbsup: Actually the volume pots are at the same relative setting I used with the Maestro MM with -12dB gain on the 324P. Plenty of gain from the system. :yes:
The first side of "Bad Company", a random LP that I pulled from the stack just to try everything out. Not the greatest album for audiophile quality sound but not too bad and I like the music. Well, the LP caught me by surprise. The XX2 has pretty stupendous bass. It is not only deeper and fuller than what the Maestro was capable of but also exhibits more definition and articulation. I was mesmerized by the texture, resolution and harmonic bloom down low in the bass the XX2 was digging out of the grooves. This is Lamm preamp's and amp's strong points, give it some harmonics to work with and prepare to be very impressed. The drums had much more "skin" and body, resonating with rich overtones and sounding simply more real and more "in my room".
I had to explore this further. I pulled out the new "Ray Brown" "Soular Energy LP". The one that comes with a warning that it may cause mistracking in some systems. :D Wow.... Incredible bass. :yes: Again, the resolution and articulation as well as harmonic richness of the bass instruments are simply better than the Maestro was capable of. So far so good.
Moving on to some vocals that "move" me, I decided to explore the all important midrange. Pulling some Diana Krall, Louis Armstrong, Johny Hartman, Albert King LPs, I settled down for an extended listening session. This is where I started to tweak the loading.... While the vocals/mids were rich, they weren't quite as intoxicating as they were with the Maestro Wood. The highs were very extended but sounding just a bit hard at times. Bringing up the loading to the 15 and 40 ohm loading settings (100 and 500 equivalent resistive) seemed to have done the trick. The mids were now a bit more laid back as were the highs and the intoxicating quality of making you simply relax and soak up the music was back. :music:
Ok, this XX2 cartridge is not quite as lush as the Maestro Wood, it is a bit less warm overall and closer to neutral but just as musical and enjoyable when it comes to the mids/vocals. It does however retain the proper tonal balance top to bottom and has the right amount of "weight" for my taste. Just a bit more real as compared to the slightly rosy colored presentation of the Maestro. I like it! With the higher loading, the highs were now in balance and lost their occasional hardness. The trumpets, saxophones, cymbals all had their natural amount of bite, shimmer and glow without sounding a bit over the top. Excellent. :music: The imaging/soundstage width and depth as well as focus is first class. The Maestro Wood was also great with those parameters especially after using the Mint LP protractor to align the Maestro more precisely. :yes: Detail retrieval is a bit better than the Maestro and the great news is that the XX2 doesn't sound hyper analytical like some MC carts do out there. It simply brings out detail without forcing them on you or sounding etched and lean.
I have settled so far at the 15 ohm (100 ohm) setting with -6dB of gain on the 324P which puts my Lamm LL2D into a very comfortable zone in terms of volume pots setting.
I am sure this cartridge will change somewhat over time. I will have to play around with the VTA and VTF at that time as well as loading again to see where the preferred balance point will be. Right now, I am really enjoying this brand new cartridge straight out of the box sort of speak. Excellent synergy in my system. Not too dark, not too bright, has nice weight, balance, harmonic texture, excellent bass, great mids/highs. Soundstage and imaging are so far are as good as the Maestro and I am sure it will open up even more once it has accrued some groove time.
Based on previous auditions of various tables and carts that were much more expensive, I'd comfortably say the XX2 MKII is up there offering better than 90-95% of performance of the mega dollar carts. There is really not much to nitpick with this one. I am happy with my first MC cart. :thumbsup:
There was some hesitation on my part trying this cartridge with the Clearaudio Satisfy Carbon Tonearm. The cartridge has a lower compliance of 10 x 10-6 cm/dyn as compared to the Maestro Wood's 15 it replaced while the Satisfy arm is considered "Low Mass". That combined with the 8.9gm weight as compared to the 7gm of the Maestro and the tonearm/cart calculations came in a bit higher than the Maestro Wood but still within reasonable range of 11.7Hz resonant frequency. The bigger question was will I have enough gain from the EAR 324P to work with the low .28mV output of the XX2?
I put in some questions to EAR and they assured me that is should not be a problem and that the EAR 324P has actually 72dB gain depending on the settings chosen. Good enough for me. Having heard much praise for the Dynavector brand the decision was made and the XX2 MKII was going to be my first MC cart. :thumbsup:
After installing the cart and plugging the TT into the EAR 324P "Input 1 MC" and selecting 4 ohm loading (actual 50 ohm loading due to the trannies), setting the gain knob to 0dB and my Lamm LL2D to the lowest volume, I lowered the stylus onto the groove. Gently bring up the dual volume pots on the Lamm LL2D, the music started to pour out of the speakers. Phew, no problem with gain what so ever. :thumbsup: Actually the volume pots are at the same relative setting I used with the Maestro MM with -12dB gain on the 324P. Plenty of gain from the system. :yes:
The first side of "Bad Company", a random LP that I pulled from the stack just to try everything out. Not the greatest album for audiophile quality sound but not too bad and I like the music. Well, the LP caught me by surprise. The XX2 has pretty stupendous bass. It is not only deeper and fuller than what the Maestro was capable of but also exhibits more definition and articulation. I was mesmerized by the texture, resolution and harmonic bloom down low in the bass the XX2 was digging out of the grooves. This is Lamm preamp's and amp's strong points, give it some harmonics to work with and prepare to be very impressed. The drums had much more "skin" and body, resonating with rich overtones and sounding simply more real and more "in my room".
I had to explore this further. I pulled out the new "Ray Brown" "Soular Energy LP". The one that comes with a warning that it may cause mistracking in some systems. :D Wow.... Incredible bass. :yes: Again, the resolution and articulation as well as harmonic richness of the bass instruments are simply better than the Maestro was capable of. So far so good.
Moving on to some vocals that "move" me, I decided to explore the all important midrange. Pulling some Diana Krall, Louis Armstrong, Johny Hartman, Albert King LPs, I settled down for an extended listening session. This is where I started to tweak the loading.... While the vocals/mids were rich, they weren't quite as intoxicating as they were with the Maestro Wood. The highs were very extended but sounding just a bit hard at times. Bringing up the loading to the 15 and 40 ohm loading settings (100 and 500 equivalent resistive) seemed to have done the trick. The mids were now a bit more laid back as were the highs and the intoxicating quality of making you simply relax and soak up the music was back. :music:
Ok, this XX2 cartridge is not quite as lush as the Maestro Wood, it is a bit less warm overall and closer to neutral but just as musical and enjoyable when it comes to the mids/vocals. It does however retain the proper tonal balance top to bottom and has the right amount of "weight" for my taste. Just a bit more real as compared to the slightly rosy colored presentation of the Maestro. I like it! With the higher loading, the highs were now in balance and lost their occasional hardness. The trumpets, saxophones, cymbals all had their natural amount of bite, shimmer and glow without sounding a bit over the top. Excellent. :music: The imaging/soundstage width and depth as well as focus is first class. The Maestro Wood was also great with those parameters especially after using the Mint LP protractor to align the Maestro more precisely. :yes: Detail retrieval is a bit better than the Maestro and the great news is that the XX2 doesn't sound hyper analytical like some MC carts do out there. It simply brings out detail without forcing them on you or sounding etched and lean.
I have settled so far at the 15 ohm (100 ohm) setting with -6dB of gain on the 324P which puts my Lamm LL2D into a very comfortable zone in terms of volume pots setting.
I am sure this cartridge will change somewhat over time. I will have to play around with the VTA and VTF at that time as well as loading again to see where the preferred balance point will be. Right now, I am really enjoying this brand new cartridge straight out of the box sort of speak. Excellent synergy in my system. Not too dark, not too bright, has nice weight, balance, harmonic texture, excellent bass, great mids/highs. Soundstage and imaging are so far are as good as the Maestro and I am sure it will open up even more once it has accrued some groove time.
Based on previous auditions of various tables and carts that were much more expensive, I'd comfortably say the XX2 MKII is up there offering better than 90-95% of performance of the mega dollar carts. There is really not much to nitpick with this one. I am happy with my first MC cart. :thumbsup: