The obvious answer to the question above is "I don't know, you tell me." Fair enough. I'll try to answer that, but I could use some help explaining it.
First, I have absolutely been loving my new Scout. I kept my Rega Exact cartridge and have been listening to it for about a week. I really dig it, but I was paranoid that my Exact is wearing out. I decided to get it retipped, but I wanted to try something else to see what I was missing; everyone has raved about the Dynavector 10x5/VPI Scout combo, so I thought, "why not?"
So I got the 10x5 and installed it. It was pretty easy to install, and I adjust the VTA, etc. I started with some orchestral music and was absolutely floored. Just floored. The orchestra seemed to expand and have more depth than I have ever heard out of my system. French horns had never sounded so honey-sweet and haunting. I also found dynamics galore. Fabulous.
So, what's the problem, you ask?
I tried some pop/rock music, and found it to be very uninvolving compared to my Exact. The band seemed further away, and I lost my nice center image I've had before. The Exact seemed to have more weight and it put the image right in front of you. Extremely involving and a great presentation for rock. With the 10x5, I feel like I have to turn up the volume more and I still don't get the forward (for lack of a better word) presentation I liked. That's not to say everything was bad. In fact, in every other area, the 10x5 meets or beats the Exact (except surface noise--the 10x5 picks up more of it, probably due to the Exact's smaller stylus and higher output). In short, it sounded anemic in some ways.
I'm thinking about getting my Exact retipped immediately and ditching the Dyna. But I want to give it a fair shake, so I could use some help determining what I'm hearing. Here are my theories, but feel free to add your own:
(1) I don't like moving coils with rock music. Or, rather, I like MMs more. This conclusion would also concede that MCs (or this HOMC) sound more distant.
(2) I need to get used to the presentation, after which I will quite possibly come to like it more. My action plan would be the same if the cartridge needs "breaking in."
(3) Something is wrong with the alignment. I don't think so, I quadruple checked everything, but I'm open to suggestions.
(4) I need more gain or to adjust the cartridge loading. I can't do this with my Graham Slee Era Gold, but with more than 40db gain, you'd think it could handle it. I do have to turn the volume knob up higher, but I get plenty of volume. If I need more in the phono line, I have no idea how to do it, as any elevator/step-up would likely not play well with a 2.5mv output cart.
(5) I'm an unrefined dolt who doesn't appreciate the finer points of MC cartriges. If this is the case, I can live with that and stick to MMs.
The obvious answer to the question above is "I don't know, you tell me." Fair enough. I'll try to answer that, but I could use some help explaining it.
First, I have absolutely been loving my new Scout. I kept my Rega Exact cartridge and have been listening to it for about a week. I really dig it, but I was paranoid that my Exact is wearing out. I decided to get it retipped, but I wanted to try something else to see what I was missing; everyone has raved about the Dynavector 10x5/VPI Scout combo, so I thought, "why not?"
So I got the 10x5 and installed it. It was pretty easy to install, and I adjust the VTA, etc. I started with some orchestral music and was absolutely floored. Just floored. The orchestra seemed to expand and have more depth than I have ever heard out of my system. French horns had never sounded so honey-sweet and haunting. I also found dynamics galore. Fabulous.
So, what's the problem, you ask?
I tried some pop/rock music, and found it to be very uninvolving compared to my Exact. The band seemed further away, and I lost my nice center image I've had before. The Exact seemed to have more weight and it put the image right in front of you. Extremely involving and a great presentation for rock. With the 10x5, I feel like I have to turn up the volume more and I still don't get the forward (for lack of a better word) presentation I liked. That's not to say everything was bad. In fact, in every other area, the 10x5 meets or beats the Exact (except surface noise--the 10x5 picks up more of it, probably due to the Exact's smaller stylus and higher output). In short, it sounded anemic in some ways.
I'm thinking about getting my Exact retipped immediately and ditching the Dyna. But I want to give it a fair shake, so I could use some help determining what I'm hearing. Here are my theories, but feel free to add your own:
(1) I don't like moving coils with rock music. Or, rather, I like MMs more. This conclusion would also concede that MCs (or this HOMC) sound more distant.
(2) I need to get used to the presentation, after which I will quite possibly come to like it more. My action plan would be the same if the cartridge needs "breaking in."
(3) Something is wrong with the alignment. I don't think so, I quadruple checked everything, but I'm open to suggestions.
(4) I need more gain or to adjust the cartridge loading. I can't do this with my Graham Slee Era Gold, but with more than 40db gain, you'd think it could handle it. I do have to turn the volume knob up higher, but I get plenty of volume. If I need more in the phono line, I have no idea how to do it, as any elevator/step-up would likely not play well with a 2.5mv output cart.
(5) I'm an unrefined dolt who doesn't appreciate the finer points of MC cartriges. If this is the case, I can live with that and stick to MMs.