Dynavector DV507-II on Technics SL-1210

[Primalsea]

Nice pics Hamish, looks like you've done some "arty" stuff in the past and have transferred what you learnt to photographing hifi.

[The Vinyl Adventure]

Ta, that'll be the 1.7 lens - bit narrow dof... Add a bit of skewed angle and natural light slightly tweaked in lightroom for a bit more contrast and slight vignette - hey presto arty farty photo

[MartinT]

It's late and I need to sleep for work tomorrow but I must just post my preliminary findings as I am shaking my head in disbelief from playing record after record. The Dynavector is certainly cutting the sonic mustard.

I shall leave the setting up notes for another post, suffice to say that getting the DV to work in the Technics is not a straightforward affair as the arm and platter levels are not ideal with respect to each other.

However, all is now properly set up and these notes represent a combined review of the arm and copper mat, since I cannot separate the one from the other. Also Dave reckons the bearings need some settling and the arm cable is brand new too.

I can hear five specific areas of improvement over the already good Jelco arm, and acknowledging this the whole is still better than the sum of the parts. Firstly the bass weight is deeply impressive and reminds me of the structural sound of the SME IV / V family. It's not just extension but texture and the easy ability to hear which note is being played. Coupled with this is an incredible darkness that doesn't affect the music but creates a silent backdrop out of which music emerges. Surface noise is even more suppressed (hard to believe) and rarely intrudes. Thirdly, the dynamics. Oh my goodness, it doesn't matter what I say about this area of performance, you would just have to hear it for yourself. Suffice to say that I don't think I can remember ever hearing between-the-eyes clout and swell like this before. Fourthly, something has happened to the soundstage and it just got wider, somewhat outside of the left/right position of the speakers but more noticeable on a variety of music.

Fifth - this is the tricky one - there is no longer a sense of playing a record for most of the music I have played tonight. Once it starts, the surface noise and pop/tick suppression is so strong that I instantly forget that it's a record playing. There is something structural, too, that makes it all seem more solid than before. It's hard to explain in words but I felt it strongly tonight.

As an aside - is this the only arm in existence that applies damping without the use of fluids?

I am exceptionally pleased with my purchase. It's good to know that the DV507-II is not just some beautiful industrial engineering wrapped around a few outlandish ideas. It really works. I did have faith from previous listens but it's still a relief to discover that taking a chance on it has paid off.

[Barry]

It's late and I need to sleep for work tomorrow but I must just post my preliminary findings as I am shaking my head in disbelief from playing record after record. The Dynavector is certainly cutting the sonic mustard.

I shall leave the setting up notes for another post, suffice to say that getting the DV to work in the Technics is not a straightforward affair as the arm and platter levels are not ideal with respect to each other.

However, all is now properly set up and these notes represent a combined review of the arm and copper mat, since I cannot separate the one from the other. Also Dave reckons the bearings need some settling and the arm cable is brand new too.

I can hear five specific areas of improvement over the already good Jelco arm, and acknowledging this the whole is still better than the sum of the parts. Firstly the bass weight is deeply impressive and reminds me of the structural sound of the SME IV / V family. It's not just extension but texture and the easy ability to hear which note is being played. Coupled with this is an incredible darkness that doesn't affect the music but creates a silent backdrop out of which music emerges. Surface noise is even more suppressed (hard to believe) and rarely intrudes. Thirdly, the dynamics. Oh my goodness, it doesn't matter what I say about this area of performance, you would just have to hear it for yourself. Suffice to say that I don't think I can remember ever hearing between-the-eyes clout and swell like this before. Fourthly, something has happened to the soundstage and it just got wider, somewhat outside of the left/right position of the speakers but more noticeable on a variety of music.

Fifth - this is the tricky one - there is no longer a sense of playing a record for most of the music I have played tonight. Once it starts, the surface noise and pop/tick suppression is so strong that I instantly forget that it's a record playing. There is something structural, too, that makes it all seem more solid than before. It's hard to explain in words but I felt it strongly tonight.

As an aside - is this the only arm in existence that applies damping without the use of fluids?

I am exceptionally pleased with my purchase. It's good to know that the DV507-II is not just some beautiful industrial engineering wrapped around a few outlandish ideas. It really works. I did have faith from previous listens but it's still a relief to discover that taking a chance on it has paid off.

So, no sale to me then? Looks like I'll have to find a 507 of my own.

Let us know how thing develop, once the 'honeymoon' is over.

Regards

[The Grand Wazoo]

Hi Martin,
Firstly, it's great that you had the courage of your convictions enough to take the risk.
Secondly, it's fantastic that you feel the risk paid off.
Thirdly, I love it when someone sticks their neck out to demonstrate so conclusively that there can be more than 'the one true path' !

Great stuff! Thanks

[Hypnotoad]

If that thing sounds half as good as it looks it should be fantastic.

Congratulations on an awesome setup.

[chris@panteg]

Hi Martin

Congratulations and thanks for sharing this ' i know how much this means to you , it looks staggeringly good and that copper mat is so cool .

[MartinT]

Firstly, it's great that you had the courage of your convictions enough to take the risk.

Thanks, Chris. I'm lucky enough to have been able to take a punt on it and not cry too much if it hadn't worked out. I did wait 33 years, so I guess I demonstrated patience

[The Vinyl Adventure]

Glad your happy with it buddy! Although, I'm not entierly suprised... And the fact it's probably gonna get better too!

[MartinT]

The Dynavector is a long arm and it shows since the hole in the arm plate is pushed over to the far right. The German plate has the sunken section of the newer plates (my original Jelco plate was flat), which is what is needed for the tall DV to sit as low as possible. Unfortunately, the VTA adjustment lever and rear block foul on the Technics top plate unless the base is jacked up with nuts above the arm plate.

Set up like this, as low as possible, the dilemma with getting the AT33PTG cartridge to line up is that either a headshell spacer is required (not keen) or the record height has to be lifted. In order to get things level I need the DV headshell (slightly greater drop than the Sumiko), a copper mat and then the Herbies on top. With this combination and VTA set at its lowest, everything just levels out - and I mean with no scope for adjustment left at all. A lower profile cartridge like the DL-103 won't level out with this current setup.

A counterweight for the sub-arm is selected from one of three depending on the weight of the headshell + cartridge. This is then set to balance the sub-arm when the tracking weight is set to zero. The big counterweight at the rear of the arm is there for a different purpose: to keep the pressure on the horizontal ball-race even. It is set according to a scale again using the headshell weight. So the main arm beam remains in balance at all times and the sub-arm moves to accommodate warps. Neat.

A very nice setup gauge allows the cartridge to be aligned in the headshell and everything tightened up before it is fitted to the arm, obviating the need for a standard alignment protractor.

I have since found out that Herbies mats come in different thicknesses, so I shall investigate replacing mine with a slightly thicker one allowing me some height adjustment range. For now, however, everything is fine and sounding mighty good. I shall try the HFS69 tracking tests tonight to see how it performs.