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van den Hul The Colibri

Cartridge

Relative price

above typical

Among the 89 cartridges in the catalogue, this one is above typical.

A band places a component against its peers and carries no price. It is deliberately the only price indicator on this page: a second one, measured against a different set, would narrow the two together far enough to give the figure away.

Competition record

Assessed against 9 rivals across the sixty systems: it takes the slot in none of its 49 head-to-heads.

Where it gives ground

The dimension the engine names as the weakest link, counted across every head-to-head it lost.

  • quietness at rest ×25
  • speed stability ×14
  • low-level clarity ×12

Who it comes up against

van den Hul The Frog

20 lost · Anchored, Artisan, BBC Sound, Cavity-Native, Characterful, Intimate, PRaT, Reference, Romantic, Twin Arms

Against the Anchored brief, the van den Hul The Frog keeps the slot decisively.

With the Musical Fidelity M8x Vinyl, the pairing gives up most on quietness at rest.

On its own merits the van den Hul The Colibri is the stronger cartridge — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the Musical Fidelity M8x Vinyl gives up quietness at rest under the Anchored weighting.

van den Hul The Crimson

15 lost · Anchored, BBC Sound, Cavity-Native, Characterful, Intimate, PRaT, Reference, Romantic, Twin Arms

Against the Characterful brief, the van den Hul The Crimson keeps the slot clearly.

With the Musical Fidelity M8x Vinyl, the pairing gives up most on low-level clarity.

On its own merits the van den Hul The Colibri is the stronger cartridge — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the Musical Fidelity M8x Vinyl gives up low-level clarity under the Characterful weighting.

Goldring Eroica HX MC

4 lost · Silent Path

Against the Silent Path brief, the Goldring Eroica HX MC keeps the slot decisively.

With the Whest Audio 60Se Pro, the pairing gives up most on quietness at rest.

On its own merits the van den Hul The Colibri is the stronger cartridge — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the Whest Audio 60Se Pro gives up quietness at rest under the Silent Path weighting.

It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the cartridge position.

Linn Kendo MC

2 lost · Twin Arms

Against the Twin Arms brief, the Linn Kendo MC keeps the slot clearly.

On its own merits the van den Hul The Colibri is the stronger cartridge — but it loses here on fit: the way it sits with the rest of this system under the Twin Arms weighting.

Etsuro Urushi Gold MC

2 lost · Vocals-First

Against the Vocals-First brief, the Etsuro Urushi Gold MC keeps the slot by a whisker.

On its own merits the van den Hul The Colibri is the weaker cartridge for that brief.

Etsuro Urushi Cobalt Blue MC

2 lost · Vocals-First

Against the Vocals-First brief, the Etsuro Urushi Cobalt Blue MC keeps the slot by a whisker.

On its own merits the van den Hul The Colibri is the weaker cartridge for that brief.

It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the cartridge position.

van den Hul MC One Special

2 lost · Romantic, Twin Arms

Against the Romantic brief, the van den Hul MC One Special keeps the slot clearly.

With the Rega Aria Mk3 MM/MC, the pairing gives up most on quietness at rest.

With the Technics S-shape magnesium tonearm (SL-1200G), the pairing gains most on bass control.

On its own merits the van den Hul The Colibri is the stronger cartridge — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the Rega Aria Mk3 MM/MC gives up quietness at rest under the Romantic weighting.

almost total lack of groove noise and distortionSoundStage! (Lyle) 2001

Koetsu Azule Platinum MC

1 lost · Twin Arms

Against the Twin Arms brief, the Koetsu Azule Platinum MC keeps the slot clearly.

On its own merits the van den Hul The Colibri is the weaker cartridge for that brief.

Koetsu Onyx Platinum MC

1 lost · Twin Arms

Against the Twin Arms brief, the Koetsu Onyx Platinum MC keeps the slot by a whisker.

On its own merits the van den Hul The Colibri is the stronger cartridge — but it loses here on fit: the way it sits with the rest of this system under the Twin Arms weighting.

Systems it is part of

What the reviewers said

astonishing transparency Audiophilia — vdH Colibri Master Signature review· Spatial resolution
holographic soundstage Audiophilia — Colibri review· Spatial naturalness
all about speed Audiophilia / vdH range reviews· Transient attack
smallest musical subtleties Audiophilia — Colibri· Micro-dynamic resolution
Crimson is more about warmth, musicality, and richness vdH range comparison (Colibri vs Crimson)· Tonal body
30dB channel separation at 1kHz SPEC: channel separation 30dB @1kHz (manufacturer)· Spatial naturalness
soundstage simply spectacular, wide and deep Positive Feedback (Astor) 2017· Spatial naturalness
cymbals feathery soft, decay trailing off forever Positive Feedback (Astor) 2017· Spatial resolution
a surprisingly lush, rich, relaxing midrange Stereophile (Fremer) 2018· Presence & articulation
macrodynamics good if less than fully slamming Stereophile (Fremer) 2018· Transient attack

How it scores

Clarity

  • Spatial resolution 82 from listening evidence

Voice

  • Tonal body 70 from listening evidence
  • Presence & articulation 76 from listening evidence
  • Spatial naturalness 81 from listening evidence

Rhythm

  • Transient attack 76 from listening evidence

LowerVolume

  • Micro-dynamic resolution 76 from listening evidence

Specifications

cartridge typeMC
output mv0.38
internal impedance ohm36.0
recommended load ohm50/600
tracking force g1.35/1.5
compliance dynamic um per mn12
compliance static um per mn35
weight g6.5
stylus profilevdH-1S
cantilever materialboron
body materialwood / carbon / metal (variant)
frequency response hz5/65000
channel separation db30.0
notes