Van den Hul Colbri XGP Light

rockitman

Member Sponsor
Sep 20, 2011
7,097
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Thinking about this cart. Relatively inexpensive as far as higher end MC carts go. Would use it on My Graham Phantom II Supreme in addition to the A90 with a separate arm wand. XG Version: (X = cross shaped modulator, G = matched crystal Gold wire coils) P= A regular carbon-nylon plastic body. Total cartridge weight is 6 gram. Suitable for arms with an effective tone arm mass of 8 gram to 14 gram. The plastic bodied version carries the -P suffix in its name. Thought's ? TIA
 

MylesBAstor

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2010
11,236
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1,725
New York City
Thinking about this cart. Relatively inexpensive as far as higher end MC carts go. Would use it on My Graham Phantom II Supreme in addition to the A90 with a separate arm wand. XG Version: (X = cross shaped modulator, G = matched crystal Gold wire coils) P= A regular carbon-nylon plastic body. Total cartridge weight is 6 gram. Suitable for arms with an effective tone arm mass of 8 gram to 14 gram. The plastic bodied version carries the -P suffix in its name. Thought's ? TIA

I think Mike Lavigne has had some experience with this vdh :)

What qualities are you looking for in a cartridge?
 

JackD201

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
12,308
1,425
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Manila, Philippines
I'm on the wait list for two cartridges, the Orpheus which is taking FOREVER and the Lyra Apollo. I have a feeling the Apollo will be in the dynamic, precise camp. When I do get them, I'll let you know how I think they compare to the A90. I'll mount them on Graham wands to keep things as close as possible.
 

jtinn

Industry Expert
Apr 20, 2010
503
70
483
Thinking about this cart. Relatively inexpensive as far as higher end MC carts go. Would use it on My Graham Phantom II Supreme in addition to the A90 with a separate arm wand. XG Version: (X = cross shaped modulator, G = matched crystal Gold wire coils) P= A regular carbon-nylon plastic body. Total cartridge weight is 6 gram. Suitable for arms with an effective tone arm mass of 8 gram to 14 gram. The plastic bodied version carries the -P suffix in its name. Thought's ? TIA

I am sorry to say that it is too much of a risk. My experience with the Colibris, which is very extensive, is you are lucky if you find one that is right. I have not heard the "light" version, but all those I have tried only one was actually good and it did not sound good for long. When it was good, it was one of the better carts I had heard.
 

rockitman

Member Sponsor
Sep 20, 2011
7,097
412
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Northern NY
I am sorry to say that it is too much of a risk. My experience with the Colibris, which is very extensive, is you are lucky if you find one that is right. I have not heard the "light" version, but all those I have tried only one was actually good and it did not sound good for long. When it was good, it was one of the better carts I had heard.

what would you attribute that inconsistency too ?
 

Mike Lavigne

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member
Apr 25, 2010
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Thinking about this cart. Relatively inexpensive as far as higher end MC carts go. Would use it on My Graham Phantom II Supreme in addition to the A90 with a separate arm wand. XG Version: (X = cross shaped modulator, G = matched crystal Gold wire coils) P= A regular carbon-nylon plastic body. Total cartridge weight is 6 gram. Suitable for arms with an effective tone arm mass of 8 gram to 14 gram. The plastic bodied version carries the -P suffix in its name. Thought's ? TIA

Christian,

very carefully close the vdH website window on your computer, delete the e-mail you were working on to the Audiogon Colibri seller, and take a deep breath.

ok....better now?

how much pain can you stand? that's all? then don't go there.

the Colibri is like a Formula One car in that it's stripped to it's essentials, but it is not perfectly made. the cantelivers are very short and coils are sticking out right at the end of this short cantiliver. so there is little compliance and everything happens right the hell now. it requires an arm with refined dampning and precision. and you may need to add more dampning than with other cartridges.

every Colibri is different. and getting one that is really right is like winning the Lottery. they are typically edgy on many Lps.......the coils hang down and can grab dust from the Lp surfaces......and if you play lots of warped Lps and you don't have sufficient VTA range on your tonearm VTA adjustment can be an issue.

i've owned 7 of them and not one was close to having the canteliver in alignment with the body. and they are difficult to deal with as they are nude and delicate.

all that said; when it was right it was as good as i've heard, amazing, like a freight train with delicacy. and it made other very highly regarded cartridges sound like they were stuck in the mud.

a Colibri is a good '3rd' or '4th' cartridge for messing with; but don't expect it to be there for you daily.

it's like that 'manic' girlfriend who was so hot; but wow could things go south fast!

consider yourself warned.
 
Last edited:

rockitman

Member Sponsor
Sep 20, 2011
7,097
412
1,210
Northern NY
Christian,

very carefully close the vdH website window on your computer, delete the e-mail you were working on to the Audiogon Colibri seller, and take a deep breath.

ok....better now?

how much pain can you stand? that's all? then don't go there.

the Colibri is like a Formula One car in that it's stripped to it's essentials, but it is not perfectly made. the cantelivers are very short and coils are sticking out right at the end of this short cantiliver. so there is little compliance and everything happens right the hell now. it requires an arm with refined dampning and precision. and you may need to add more dampning than with other cartridges.

every Colibri is different. and getting one that is really right is like winning the Lottery. they are typically edgy on many Lps.......the coils hang down and can grab dust from the Lp surfaces......and if you play lots of warped Lps and you don't have sufficient VTA range on your tonearm VTA adjustment can be an issue.

i've owned 7 of them and not one was close to having the canteliver in alignment with the body. and they are difficult to deal with as they are nude and delicate.

all that said; when it was right it was as good as i've heard, amazing, like a freight train with delicacy. and it made other very highly regarded cartridges sound like they were stuck in the mud.

a Colibri is a good '3rd' or '4th' cartridge for messing with; but don't expect it to be there for you daily.

it's like that 'manic' girlfriend who was so hot; but wow could things go south fast!

consider yourself warned.

Wow, what a great reply Mike. The price seems so attractive for this cart but as you say it is a risk. It would be my 4th cart. Right now have two A90's one still sealed and a Shelter Harmony. Maybe I shold just step away for now. Thanks for sharing your vivid experiences. Cheers !
 

mep

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
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I think I'm going to scratch this cartridge off my list. There is a guy in Europe who is always selling brand new ones for around $1600 and I was tempted.
 

MylesBAstor

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2010
11,236
81
1,725
New York City
A fellow reviewer friend of mine used the vdh Grasshopper IV. Not one cartridge had the stylus properly mounted; one had to really cant the arm to get proper azimuth. One can, rightly so, ask if that's not a defective cartridge?

Of course the old joke was that you had to buy two vdh cartridges so that had one to play while the other was being fixed :)
 

microstrip

VIP/Donor
May 30, 2010
20,806
4,698
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Portugal
I own a van den Hul Back Beauty and an acquaintance of mine also owns one. We never had any problem with them, and van den Hul has an excellent service with fast turnover in Europe. On expensive models, we can send them to the factory for free inspection and recalibration after the first 100 hours. Re-tipping costs much less than other brands and is usually done very fast.
No need to say that the BB is one of my preferred cartridges!:eek:
 

Mike Lavigne

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member
Apr 25, 2010
12,467
11,363
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I own a van den Hul Back Beauty and an acquaintance of mine also owns one. We never had any problem with them, and van den Hul has an excellent service with fast turnover in Europe. On expensive models, we can send them to the factory for free inspection and recalibration after the first 100 hours. Re-tipping costs much less than other brands and is usually done very fast.
No need to say that the BB is one of my preferred cartridges!:eek:

agree that vdH has prompt service for repairs. and the prices for re-tips are very reasonable.

unfortunately i've also had my Colibri's return without repair when i complained of edgyness or even a bad channel. and when i complained about mis-alignment i was told it does not matter. i did send in 2 of my Colibri's for the 100 hour tune-up. can't say it helped but did not hurt. 6 of my 7 Colibri's were purchased new.

i had 5 of the polycarbonite body, 1 wood body, and 1 metal body.

my favorite was the XPP......polycarbonite body, and platinum windings.....although the XCP with copper windings was also very good.

my only experience is with the vdH Colibri model; i've not used any other vdH model.

it's been 4 years since i last had a vdH cartridge and 5 or 6 years since i dealt with vdH.
 

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