van den Hul Colibri Grand Cru

[tima]

It is going to be Karmeli approved, if David has listened to it and checked the specs, it is of higher value to me than someone writing 5R's on the box.

Fwiw. those two things tend to be comensurate. It's not the writing on the box that marks a 5R, it's the relative perfection of the build.

 

[howiebrou]

Fwiw. those two things tend to be comensurate. It's not the writing on the box that marks a 5R, it's the relative perfection of the build.

I wrote 5Rs myself on the box and the sound improved demonstrably.

 

[Lagonda]

Most of the VDH cartridges i see for sale have the 5R markings these days !

 

[Lagonda]

Most of the VDH cartridges i see for sale have the 5R markings these days !

Maybe Howie has had his hands on them !

 

[jpetek]

Has anyone compared the GC vs the GC Elite?

 

[crosswind]

I recently got the opportunity to upgrade my G.C. to the Elite and have decided to go for it. Not yet sent to Van den Hul, but hopefully it will be done in the near future.

Must say I am looking forward to it.

 

[jpetek]

In will Do the same..

 

[crosswind]

Received notification today that my GC is finished and is now upgraded to the Elite. The 300 hour service plus some cleaning has also been done. Cant wait to have Fedex at my front door.

 

[Lagonda]

Has anyone compared the GC vs the GC Elite?

I think PeterA had both at the same time.

 

[Lagonda]

Someone very knowledgeable who will remain nameless here, told me the difference in sample to sample variation, is bigger than the upgrade from Grand Cru to Elite.

 

[adyc]

I totally agree. I lost complete confidence in this company. In the space of few years, this cartridge has been upgraded faster than any F1 upgrades. Master -> 5R -> GC-> Elite. I predict in the next few months, there will be an Ultimate version.

 

[tima]

I totally agree. I lost complete confidence in this company. In the space of few years, this cartridge has been upgraded faster than any F1 upgrades. Master -> 5R -> GC-> Elite. I predict in the next few months, there will be an Ultimate version.

Which model(s) do you own?

 

[adyc]

Which model(s) do you own?

Master and GC

 

[tima]

Master and GC

Nice. Are the differences substantial? Which do you prefer?

 

[adyc]

Nice. Are the differences substantial? Which do you prefer?

To be honest, I don’t think there are substantial differences. I slightly prefer GC. That’s why I feel they just rename basically the same cartridge to squeeze more money from the buyers.

 

[bonzo75]

To be honest, I don’t think there are substantial differences. I slightly prefer GC. That’s why I feel they just rename basically the same cartridge to squeeze more money from the buyers.

Audioquattr systematically measured his carts at vdh (since he is a local and has visited a few times) and his impedance varies a lot from 13 ohm on GC to 39 for the higher output MS. With GC, he is able to get a lower impedance at a higher output, this could be due to the magnet used. For the same cart, as output lowers, the impedance drops, but for the MS to get close to the GC impedance takes quite a drop in output.

That said, both were set up on the SME 3012r on the AF3p, and we preferred the MS to the GC, slightly due to better highs - the GC seemed a tad too polite while the MS was more realistic.

 

[adyc]

Audioquattr systematically measured his carts at vdh (since he is a local and has visited a few times) and his impedance varies a lot from 0.13 on GC to 0.39 for the higher output MS. With GC, he is able to get a lower impedance at a higher output, this could be due to the magnet used. For the same cart, as output lowers, the impedance drops, but for the MS to get close to the GC impedance takes quite a drop in output.

That said, both were set up on the SME 3012r on the AF3p, and we preferred the MS to the GC, slightly due to better highs - the GC seemed a tad too polite while the MS was more realistic.

impedance 0.13 ohm? That is impossibly low. Do you mean 13 ohm?

 

[bonzo75]

impedance 0.13 ohm? That is impossibly low. Do you mean 13 ohm?

Sorry yes - the output of the GC was 0.7mv and for the 13 ohm and that of the MS for a similar output was 39. The MS had to drop substantially to get to an impedance close to GC.

 

[crosswind]

Received my Grand Cru Elite a few weeks ago. Upgraded from standard G.C to Elite as it was sent to VdH for the 300 hour service. Today I got it mounted in my Bergmann Odin arm. Excited to hear how it performs in the linear tracking Odin.

 

[Lagonda]

Received my Grand Cru Elite a few weeks ago. Upgraded from standard G.C to Elite as it was sent to VdH for the 300 hour service. Today I got it mounted in my Bergmann Odin arm. Excited to hear how it performs in the linear tracking Odin.


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First impressions ?