IKEDA Kai , IKEDA 9TS and IKEDA 407, FR64s fitting experience (on Micro Seiki SX 8000 MKII)

[bonzo75]

Which was the fastest and most explosive?

 

[shakti]

this was not depending on Coil material or Corpus material. The colibri (in my personal set up) is always sensible in terms go tonearmcable and the correct impedance setting. On some Phonogear I preferred 200ohm with XG P/W , sometimes 500ohm was better. Wrong impedance immediately kills colibri dynamic and tonal balance.

also very important is the balance of tracking force and VTA. The relation changes over the first 300 hours.

As a standard I start with 1.48g and 0.6 on Antiskating, having VTA 1 to 1.5mm higher to the tonearm base.

Than you can iterate over cartridge lifetime. vdh himself likes colibri with around 1.3g after many hours of music on it, I prefer more the 1.4 to 1.45

please no heavy tonearm....
(but vdh can cutomize, if needed)

 

[sujay]

this was not depending on Coil material or Corpus material. The colibri (in my personal set up) is always sensible in terms go tonearmcable and the correct impedance setting. On some Phonogear I preferred 200ohm with XG P/W , sometimes 500ohm was better. Wrong impedance immediately kills colibri dynamic and tonal balance.

also very important is the balance of tracking force and VTA. The relation changes over the first 300 hours.

As a standard I start with 1.48g and 0.6 on Antiskating, having VTA 1 to 1.5mm higher to the tonearm base.

Than you can iterate over cartridge lifetime. vdh himself likes colibri with around 1.3g after many hours of music on it, I prefer more the 1.4 to 1.45

please no heavy tonearm....
(but vdh can cutomize, if needed)

Hi,

Extremely interesting read on your take on the Colibri. I have recently bought the XGW 0.38mv output cart and have had some difficulty ascertaining its mass. The published specs on the XGW are scanty and even the VDH site doesn't have them. I reckon it's heavier than the XWP around 7g? Grateful for some steer on this aspect if you do happen to know.

Also, I note the caveat around Tonearm matching. Although VDH specs state 10-16g effective mass, I believe the colibri works best with tonearm on the lighter side of this range. I am planning to use it with a Tonearm with effective mass in the 12-13g range. I want to know from your experience if this would work?

Grateful for your thoughts..... many thanks

Sujay

 

[shakti]

@Sujay
to my knowledge and experience the actual weight of the colibri differs by individual model, as there are all built by hand and the wooden body sometimes differs in weight. I have currently all my colibries fitted, so I cannot give you a real time measurement.

vdh optimizes the colibri in general for the SME V tonearm, do for 10/11g effective mass. So 12/13g will work fine. With the standard 300h service, vdh offers a customization for your individual tonearm.

You also can order your Colibri customized for a dedicated tonearm, mostly vdh writes the tonearm than on the wooden box.

I am currently in the process of considering to order an unique vdh colibri made for Ikeda or Fidelity Research Tonearms effective mass....

Juergen

 

[sujay]

Many thanks, Juergen. I just gathered that the cartridge mass is 6.8g. Good to know it will work with a 12-13g eff mass Tonearm. The service at 300hrs will be really handy.

Really appreciate all your help.....will post once I have the cart set up.

Cheers

Sujay

 

[Sergio Kwitko]

And what about SPU Silver Meister MKII for the Ikeda IT-407 arm? How do they match?

 

[shakti]

And what about SPU Silver Meister MKII for the Ikeda IT-407 arm? How do they match?

I used the combination for a while, well working.
The Silver Meister MKII is, compared to the MkI Version a little more on the bright side, so a good match for the actual (chrome) Ikeda IT 407.

 

[Sergio Kwitko]

Ok, thanks a lot!