mep-
Wondering how things are going the XV1-s? What set up parameters did you end up with?
I recently put mine back on the Telos and was dumbfounded how great it sounds. Definitely a different presentation compared the Benz LPS I've been using for the last year.
Doc- I bought a high-resolution digital scale and I believe I have the tracking force set at 1.877 grams. I previously posted the exact number after I readjusted the tracking force with the new scale. I can check it again and tell you exactly where it is set. The gain on my KPE Reference phono stage is set at 72dB and loading is 200 ohms. What settings are you using?
With regards to the sound, it is hands-down the best cartridge I have ever had the privilege of having in my system. Now that my Krell KRC-HR has come into its own, my LPs have never sounded better. I played the 45 RPM version of St. James Infirmary the other night and the backup singers never stood out in such sharp relief and Louie never sounded more real. And by that I mean the images of the singers were very solid and well defined in space and their voices had an added clarity that was simply missing before the KRC-HR was put into the system. It’s exciting to know that there is indeed more information available to hear that the KRC-HR can bring out that somehow eluded the KBL.
In short, I couldn’t be happier with the XV-1s cartridge. It mates very well with my SME 312s arm and after hearing what a 12” arm can do, I would never go back to 9” or 10” arms again. There is another level of purity with a well-designed 12” arm compared with the short arms.