audioFi.net Hi-fi news, reviews and rants
  • Reviews
    • Amplifiers
    • Digital Players/Streamers
    • Digital Processors
    • Loudspeakers
    • Accessories
    • Preamplifiers, phono stages
    • Systems
    • Turntables, cartridges
    • Headphones, headfi, desktop
  • News
  • Rants ‘n Raves
  • Hot Picks
    • Amplifiers
    • Loudspeakers
    • Preamplifiers
    • Systems
    • Turntables, cartridges, etc
  • What’s Up
  • About us
  • Home
  • News
  • van den Hul offers Stradivarius edition of Crimson cartridge

van den Hul offers Stradivarius edition of Crimson cartridge

June 22, 2017 Leave a Comment Written by The Editor

IT has long been believed that part of the secret behind Antonio Stradivari’s legendary violins was the “mystery” lacquer he used on the wood. However, more recent research has shown that the master craftsman of instruments merely used lacquers that were widely available then – the secret was in the construction.

But let not the facts get in the away of a good marketing pitch – famed phono cartridge maker van den Hul of Netherlands now offers a “Stradivarius” version of its popular and well-acclaimed Crimson cartridge, apparently using a secret sauce recipe for the lacquer applied on the cartridge body.

The Crimson Stradivarius, each of which takes a few months to complete, is hand-built and tuned by the master cartridge designer and company founder A.J. van den Hul himself.

According to the literature:

The van den Hul Crimson moving coil phono cartridge is already a high performer, with its cross-grained koa wood body and 24-carat gold coils. Further key design elements include a samarium-cobalt magnet, boron cantilever and a proprietary van den Hul stylus.

In this unique new edition, the Crimson’s koa wood body is coated with a special “Stradivarius Formula” lacquer. While the details of the formula’s composition remain a closely guarded secret, it is said to be akin to that used on Antonio Stradivari’s iconic violins, hence the cartridge’s name.

The creation of each Crimson Stradivarius is a real labour of love. van den Hul applies three separate coatings of the special lacquer which, since each layer takes a full two months to completely harden, means that every cartridge undergoes six months of work before construction proper can even begin.

“The specific advantage,” explains van den Hul, “is that the harder outer coating destroys the standing waves inside the softer body.”

At the same time, van den Hul has made a number of further enhancements to the cartridge’s design which collectively yield a higher output, extended channel separation, superb tracking ability and greater dynamic expression.

The Crimson Stradivarius combines surgical attention to detail with an emotionally captivating musicality. Voices and instruments are arrestingly lifelike, offering up a natural, even tonality in a wide and deep soundstage, against an inky black background.

Each Crimson Stradivarius is hand-built to order by van den Hul himself and can be customised according to the buyer’s specific tastes and system set-up. So if your tonearm requires a particular compliance, if your musical preferences lean towards a longer or shorter stylus length, or if you want an output impedance that best matches your phono stage –  no problem. What’s more, van den Hul offers a 200-hour service check-up free of charge to the original owner.

The Crimson Stradivarius is available in a natural light or dark wood colour as well as in the original crimson. On special request, the option of a polycarbonate body is also available.

 

News
analogue, Antonio Stradivari, Dutch, turntable, van den Hul Crimson Stradivarius cartridge, vinyl, violin
Similar posts
  • DS Audio shares its optical phono cartridge tech publicly —

    JAPAN'S DS Audio, a pioneer and cur [...]

  • Vintage turntable pleasures —

    EVERY turntable deserves a second c [...]

  • Driven to CD… by silly vinyl prices —

    I HAD never quite been enamoured wi [...]

  • Vinyl shopping in Tokyo —

    BUILDING a record collection in thi [...]

  • Eight Xmas gifts that will endear you to vinyl lovers —

    IT'S great that the vinyl community [...]

Sony MDR-1000X wireless headphones – as noiseless as it gets
Exposure expands XM range with XM7 pre and XM9 mono amps

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Categories

  • Recent
  • EarMen ST-Amp… for headamp thrills
    January 26, 2023
  • Review: How the MoFi StudioPhono charms vinyl fans
    January 19, 2023
  • The Naim’s the same for the latest Classic Series
    January 10, 2023
  • HiFiMan Ananda Stealth Magnet headphones – playing fast and lively
    December 29, 2022
  • An all-new S3 from Magico
    December 23, 2022

RSS 440Hz.my – Expanding music horizons

  • Gibson acquires Mesa/Boogie January 7, 2021 The Editor
  • The Pandemic, The Arts, and The Situation October 5, 2020 BRENDAN de CRUZ
  • Martin SC-13E… fret not over the higher notes January 17, 2020 The Editor
  • Sadowsky and Warwick announce licensing deal December 17, 2019 The Editor
  • Roland RP302… your family-friendly digital piano December 2, 2019 Sujesh Pavithran
  • The making of a Taylor guitar – a sustainable and ethical process November 28, 2019 Sujesh Pavithran
  • Godin Acoustic Series… keeping it premium November 18, 2019 Sujesh Pavithran
  • Eugene Lee – bringing ’em back to life November 11, 2019 NR Lohan
  • Fender announces the American Ultra series November 6, 2019 The Editor
  • Penang House of Music – still a mountain to climb October 28, 2019 RSMurthi

evolve theme by Theme4Press  •  Powered by WordPress