GFS

[gian60]

Today i put on Vyger GFS,before was Opus 1,and WOW

After 2 years i don't listen this cartridge i was surprised.I always liked on Bergmann,but whole sound was little light,now with Vyger sound has body and has big punch,dynamic,very transparent and fast.
Sure a perfect match also because GFS has been produced for his linear tracking tonearm
Really fantastic
Also Opus is fantastic,better on mid and voices, but this is more alive and with many records i prefer.
I am also happy with CH P1 to setup always the right impedance and gain with every cart

At the end i can tell that all top cart are all fantastic,different sound and character but all very good and is impossible to choose,all are amazing

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Today i put on Vyger GFS,before was Opus 1,and WOW

After 2 years i don't listen this cartridge i was surprised.I always liked on Bergmann,but whole sound was little light,now with Vyger sound has body and has big punch,dynamic,very transparent and fast.
Sure a perfect match also because GFS has been produced for his linear tracking tonearm
Really fantastic
Also Opus is fantastic,better on mid and voices, but this is more alive and with many records i prefer.
I am also happy with CH P1 to setup always the right impedance and gain with every cart

At the end i can tell that all top cart are all fantastic,different sound and character but all very good and is impossible to choose,all are amazing

the GFS has been my long term reference for 5+ years. spectacular cartridge and always well behaved and listenable. i love the way it scales and soars but never losses it's footing when things get crazy. the music always comes through. and it's sexy and nuanced too with a perfect tonal balance.

just one of those products that has zero weakness and will take an arm and tt where it can go. nice to have that .6mv output which is friendly to phono stages.

agree on the linear tracking comment as the GFS was a natural on my CS Port linear tracker.

sure; the Etsuro Gold is better, but even more money....and the Anna Diamond is another amazing cartridge without a weakness. i do prefer the GFS to my experience with the VdH MS, which was incomplete. the MS went further down some roads, but likely also too far down a few of them.

to my ears, in my system, and all that stuff.

 

[byrdparis]

just one of those products that has zero weakness and will take an arm and tt where it can go. nice to have that .6mv output which is friendly to phono stages.
....and the Anna Diamond is another amazing cartridge without a weakness. i do prefer the GFS to my experience with the VdH MS, which was incomplete. the MS went further down some roads, but likely also too far down a few of them.

to my ears, in my system, and all that stuff.

"Funny" you mentioned all of those in the same post while a friend of mine and i were talking a few days ago on them in particular.

We were mentioned the GFS as an explosive and nearly perfect cart (although sometimes a preferred somewhat more full and liquid sound a la koetsu... myself), the ANNA diamond as the most natural and balanced then them all - we said is like a very healthy meal! (But lack some excitement that you can get from the gfs, vdh ms etc) and the VDH MS as a fighter plane like cart. Exciting, involving detailed and fun like a very well build super race car, but it must have the proper LP's to preform! Otherwise it miss sideways!

always a plesure to read what you guys think and hear.
thanks.

 

[jfrech]

I've been running a GFS now for about 5 years. It's a hard cartridge to beat. Does everything so very well.

 

[Kcin]

Today i put on Vyger GFS,before was Opus 1,and WOW

After 2 years i don't listen this cartridge i was surprised.I always liked on Bergmann,but whole sound was little light,now with Vyger sound has body and has big punch,dynamic,very transparent and fast.
Sure a perfect match also because GFS has been produced for his linear tracking tonearm
Really fantastic
Also Opus is fantastic,better on mid and voices, but this is more alive and with many records i prefer.
I am also happy with CH P1 to setup always the right impedance and gain with every cart

At the end i can tell that all top cart are all fantastic,different sound and character but all very good and is impossible to choose,all are amazing

I have the GFS as well and it is hard to beat ... very exciting. Although, some other cartridges in my stable may be better for voices as you say.

My understanding is the GFS is not ideal for the CH in current mode because of its higher impedance. Obviously you have no issues with your set up.

 

[Ron Resnick]

Today i put on Vyger GFS,before was Opus 1,and WOW

After 2 years i don't listen this cartridge i was surprised.I always liked on Bergmann,but whole sound was little light,now with Vyger sound has body and has big punch,dynamic,very transparent and fast.
Sure a perfect match also because GFS has been produced for his linear tracking tonearm
Really fantastic
Also Opus is fantastic,better on mid and voices, but this is more alive and with many records i prefer.
I am also happy with CH P1 to setup always the right impedance and gain with every cart

At the end i can tell that all top cart are all fantastic,different sound and character but all very good and is impossible to choose,all are amazing

Dear Gian,

Thank you for this report!

Can you please tell us in more detail why the Opus 1 is "better on mid and voices" than the GFS? If the GFS sounds more "alive" wouldn't that mean it also sounds more alive and in-the-room real on vocalists?

And you are reporting that the Opus 1 sounded a little "light" on the Bergmann Galder/Odin. Please tell us what you mean by "light."

Did you ever try the Red Sparrow on the Galder/Odin? If yes, please tell us how you compare the Opus 1 versus the Red Sparrow on the Galder/Odin?

Thank you, Gian!

 

[gian60]

Sorry,my English is very poor.I had before GFS on Bergmann Sindre,i liked a lot and was little light,so the sound miss a little mid bass,i didn't understand if for Sindre,or GFS or both.Bass and mid high very good.

Then i put on Bergmann Opus 1 and the mid bass was full and perfect combination.
Miss the speed and transparency of mid high of GFS but the mid and mid bass was better in term of scene,depth and more natural,and voices seems to be in the the room.
Then put Opus 1 on Vyger and was fantastic,good bass and body,voices and choir very good and miss a little the top high that i have with Atlas sl on Basis super arm 9 on AF3P
Atlas sl sound very good also,is very detailed and transparent with good bass,top high are superb,i miss always the natural mid of Opus 1

When i put GFS on Vyger,i found voices less natural,little less harmonic and magic than Opus,but the speed,dynamic,mid high and full of details come out very fast and easily from speaker and is incredible.

I remember my Coralstone diamond with Bergmann,no deep bass like Opus,little roll off against Atlas sl and GFS,not fast and Dynamic,but with voices and classic music with few instrunment was incredible,more natural than others without nothing of artificial,violin in Histoire du Soldat of Stravinsky was really incredible.
not yet tried Coralstone with AF3P and Vyger.

With CH P1 i use Atlas sl and Opus 1 in current,having 1.5 ohm internal impedance and use in voltage input GFS at 500 ohm,having internal impedance of 50 ohm and Koetsu at 80 ohms

tried on Bergmann also Audiotekne, 0,1 mv and is also a very natural and neutral cartridge.

Red Sparrow listen only in Show and in a shop in Milan,seems good but don't shock me,but i know with Vyger sound very well.

Sorry if i wrote confused for my poor English

 

[jfrech]

Gian60, your English is just fine !

I've had a recent similar experience with my GFS. 2 weeks ago I changed my turntable power supplies. I had been using the stock switch mode power supply and I had a custom cable built for my Nagra Classic power supply that has a extra output. This is a super cap very clean power supply.

As I suspected, less noise, more resolution and transparency. It wasn't subtle and very welcome. However I lost some of the warmth and body in the mids. I rechecked all of my cartridge set up, tweaked the VTF a touch and revisited my VTA settings. Also changed loading cards from 845 to 680 then to 430. I got some of the body and mid range body back but not all. One of those 5 steps ahead and 1 backwards.

I've come to the conclusion that the original power supply now introduced a slight coloration and I'm now hearing the GFS in a more true fashion. I now wonder if I should try mounting my Allaerts MC2 Finish again to compare?

Don't get me wrong, the GFS is outstanding. Speed, transparency, power, but I understand your point that others may do mids differently.

I have the new Nagra Classic Phono stage on order. So I'll likely just listen and enjoy until the new phono stage comes in...the GFS is for sure one of the top 5 cartridges around in my opinion.

 

[Ron Resnick]

I understand everything, Gian. Thank you very much for taking the time to explain!

 

[harleyguy]

I have the gfs and love it I also have koestu blue lace and the zxy universe optimum and I think the gfs is my fav

 

[bonzo75]

Gian60, your English is just fine !

I've had a recent similar experience with my GFS. 2 weeks ago I changed my turntable power supplies. I had been using the stock switch mode power supply and I had a custom cable built for my Nagra Classic power supply that has a extra output. This is a super cap very clean power supply.

As I suspected, less noise, more resolution and transparency. It wasn't subtle and very welcome. However I lost some of the warmth and body in the mids. I rechecked all of my cartridge set up, tweaked the VTF a touch and revisited my VTA settings. Also changed loading cards from 845 to 680 then to 430. I got some of the body and mid range body back but not all. One of those 5 steps ahead and 1 backwards.

I've come to the conclusion that the original power supply now introduced a slight coloration and I'm now hearing the GFS in a more true fashion. I now wonder if I should try mounting my Allaerts MC2 Finish again to compare?

Don't get me wrong, the GFS is outstanding. Speed, transparency, power, but I understand your point that others may do mids differently.

I have the new Nagra Classic Phono stage on order. So I'll likely just listen and enjoy until the new phono stage comes in...the GFS is for sure one of the top 5 cartridges around in my opinion.

The Allaerts MC2 finish needs very specific settings on the phono for this to be a fair compare.

 

[spiritofmusic]

The Allaerts MC2 finish needs very specific settings on the phono for this to be a fair compare.

Ked, did you see the 6 Moons review on the Allaerts from over a decade ago. Not so much fussy re settings, as combustible.

 

[jfrech]

The Allaerts MC2 finish needs very specific settings on the phono for this to be a fair compare.

I've heard these two a lot already. One isn't better. They are both good at differing things...

Hi Spirit, at least with my current Nagra VPS phono, I didn't find it fussy more than something else. It did like 845 ohms however, which is what the manufacturer suggests...

 

[spiritofmusic]

I was considering it back in the day, but the review really deterred me.

 

[jfrech]

I was considering it back in the day, but the review really deterred me.

A few folks felt this way. Assuming your talking about the Nagra VPS. It has been the single best component, and longest lived I've ever owned. I've had plenty of choices...it was a love at first listen thing that nothing could replace...my guess was that reviewer was having a bad hair day or something...

 

[spiritofmusic]

No, the Allaerts cart. The review suggested anything other than absolutely optimal setup would damage it, and that repair waiting times w Jan were endless (indeed I've heard many Allaerts owners have a spare cart for this very reason).

 

[bonzo75]

No, the Allaerts cart. The review suggested anything other than absolutely optimal setup would damage it, and that repair waiting times w Jan were endless (indeed I've heard many Allaerts owners have a spare cart for this very reason).

That's why audio arts advised me to buy the Allaerts boron mk2, because it is easier to set up and can be loaded at 100 ohms and has 0.65 output, compared to loading at 845 ohms and 0.2 output for the top two models. He also mentioned while this has slightly less detail than the top two it has more weight and Midbass and drive.

He chose to play this cart in his system on 5th avenue that retails at over a half million

http://zero-distortion.org/fm-acoustics-zellaton-stenheim-audio-arts/

I bought it two years ago. I haven't used it and is still in the box (ex Dem). If anyone wants it I will let it go at 2k GBP which is what I paid him, as with covid I don't see analog happening anytime soon