Cartridge
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.
ASC-2 parity entry. Benchmark cartridge in its band: vocal timbre + air + micro-detail + best tracking (70–80 µm) + highest output [104][252]. Discussed [18][103]–[106][230][235][248][252][254][260][286][439].
Assessed against 16 rivals across the sixty systems: 15 head-to-heads won, 35 lost.
The dimension the engine names as the weakest link, counted across every head-to-head it lost.
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 by a whisker.
On its own merits the van den Hul The Crimson is the weaker cartridge for that brief.
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 Crimson 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.
3 lost · Artisan, Reference
Against the Artisan brief, the van den Hul The Colibri keeps the slot decisively.
With the EAR Yoshino 88PB MM/MC, the pairing gives up most on quietness at rest.
On its own merits the van den Hul The Crimson is the weaker cartridge for that brief.
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 Crimson is the weaker cartridge for that brief.
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 Crimson is the weaker cartridge for that brief.
1 lost · Twin Arms
Against the Twin Arms brief, the Koetsu Azule Platinum MC keeps the slot decisively.
On its own merits the van den Hul The Crimson is the weaker cartridge for that brief.
1 lost · Twin Arms
Against the Twin Arms brief, the Koetsu Onyx Platinum MC keeps the slot decisively.
On its own merits the van den Hul The Crimson is the weaker cartridge for that brief.
1 lost · Vocals-First
Against the Vocals-First brief, the Ortofon MC Quintet Black S keeps the slot by a whisker.
On its own merits the van den Hul The Crimson is the weaker cartridge for that brief.
It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the cartridge position.
1 lost · Silent Path
Against the Silent Path brief, the Rega Nd3 MM keeps the slot by a whisker.
On its own merits the van den Hul The Crimson is the weaker cartridge for that brief.
It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the cartridge position.
0 lost· 4 won · Anchored, Characterful, Intimate, Romantic
Against the Anchored brief, the van den Hul The Crimson takes the slot by a whisker.
With the ProJect Tonearm 8.6 Carbon (Debut PRO), the pairing gains most on speed stability.
On its own merits the van den Hul The Crimson is the stronger cartridge for that brief.
It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the cartridge position.
0 lost· 4 won · Artisan, Cavity-Native, PRaT, Reference
Against the Artisan brief, the van den Hul The Crimson takes the slot by a whisker.
With the ProJect Tonearm 8.6 Carbon (Debut PRO), the pairing gains most on bass control.
On its own merits the van den Hul The Crimson is the stronger cartridge for that brief.
It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the cartridge position.
quite forceful on transientsTAS — Crimson XGW Stradivarius
0 lost· 2 won · Twin Arms
Against the Twin Arms brief, the van den Hul The Crimson takes the slot decisively.
On its own merits the van den Hul The Crimson is the stronger cartridge for that brief.
0 lost· 2 won · Romantic, Twin Arms
Against the Romantic brief, the van den Hul The Crimson takes the slot clearly.
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 Crimson is the stronger cartridge for that brief.
0 lost· 1 won · Twin Arms
Against the Twin Arms brief, the van den Hul The Crimson takes the slot decisively.
On its own merits the van den Hul The Crimson is the stronger cartridge for that brief.
It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the cartridge position.
0 lost· 1 won · Twin Arms
Against the Twin Arms brief, the van den Hul The Crimson takes the slot decisively.
On its own merits the van den Hul The Crimson is the stronger cartridge for that brief.
It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the cartridge position.
0 lost· 1 won · BBC Sound
Against the BBC Sound brief, the van den Hul The Crimson takes the slot by a whisker.
On its own merits the van den Hul The Crimson is the stronger cartridge for that brief.
It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the cartridge position.
vocal timbre + air + best tracking ASC-2 v1.7 audited synthesis [104][252]· Presence & articulation
impartial across most of the frequency spectrum The Absolute Sound — Crimson XGW Stradivarius review· Tonal consistency
quite forceful on transients TAS — Crimson XGW Stradivarius· Transient attack
large macro-dynamics from the power region on down TAS — Crimson XGW Stradivarius· Physical impact
coherence and tangibility beyond any cartridge Positive Feedback — Crimson Stradivarius· Tonal consistency
36dB channel separation at 1kHz SPEC: channel separation 36dB @1kHz (manufacturer)· Spatial naturalness
| cartridge type | MC |
|---|---|
| output mv | 0.65 |
| internal impedance ohm | 13.0 |
| recommended load ohm | 100 |
| compliance dynamic um per mn | 12 |
| weight g | 8.75 |
| stylus profile | vdH-1S line-contact |
| cantilever material | boron |
| channel separation db | 36.0 |
| notes |