van den Hul The Frog

Cartridge

Relative price

typical

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

What it is

vdH Frog, made-to-order. Std/Gold = MC stage (~200–500Ω). A high-output "Frog HO" (2.25mV, 96Ω) variant runs into MM 47k. Capacitance non-critical.

Competition record

Assessed against 16 rivals across the sixty systems: 30 head-to-heads won, 15 lost.

Where it gives ground

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

quietness at rest ×7

Who it comes up against

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 Frog 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.

van den Hul The Colibri

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 Frog is the weaker cartridge for that brief.

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

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 Frog is the weaker cartridge for that brief.

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

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 Frog is the weaker cartridge for that brief.

Koetsu Azule Platinum MC

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 Frog is the weaker cartridge for that brief.

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

Koetsu Onyx Platinum MC

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 Frog is the weaker cartridge for that brief.

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

Ortofon MC Quintet Black S

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 Frog is the weaker cartridge for that brief.

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

Rega Nd3 MM

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 Frog 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 The Crimson

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

Against the Characterful brief, the van den Hul The Frog takes the slot by a whisker.