An update and impressions of my new Dynavector 10x5. It is by far the best cartridge I’ve ever owned. It delivers gobs of detail without one whit or iota of harshness. Pinpoint imaging front, back, left, right and on either side of the speakers when the recording calls for it. But when I say “pinpoint imaging” I don’t mean sterile, I mean it paints a realistic musical picture, not just of the position of performers but of the “effort” they are making, the slight pressure changes of their vocals, whether thy are facing the microphone directly or have moved slightly away or side to side.
Timbre reproduction accuracy across the board. It’s also the most difficult cartridge to describe. Dynavector describes their sound as smooth and it is, but this Shibata delivers subtle detail behind, above, left right forward and backwards. It’s probably the last cart for a while.
I would not have made the foolish decision to make an exit from vinyl if I had stepped up to the Dynavector 10x5 MK II a long time ago. I’m glad I’m back.