Vinyl Asylum: REVIEW: Pickering XSV3000 Phono Cartridge by Northerner Welcome Licorice Pizza (LP) lovers! Setup guides and Vinyl FAQ.

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Model:	XSV3000
Category:	Phono Cartridge
Suggested Retail Price:	$180
Description:	MM Cartridge
Manufacturer URL:	Not Available
Manufacturer URL:	Not Available

Review by Northerner ( A ) on December 12, 2002 at 19:23:55 IP Address: 206.191.1.96

Add Your Review for the XSV3000

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I’m new over here and must admit this site is quite a find. I’ve re-discovered vinyl (at about the same time my teenaged kids are discovering my 70’s - 80’s record collection -- hilarious!). Just so you know, my system is not ultra high-end, as most here are into, and it will likely remain that way for some time.

Now to my point… I’ve recently picked up a Pickering XSV3000 on Ebay. Though this cartridge is long discontinued I felt it worth discussing. I was assured by the seller that I would not be disappointed with it and so far I’m completely amazed with it’s sound quality. My original objective was to get a decent affordable cart to begin transferring a few of my records to CD’s for the car. This has been going well but it’s a lot of work.

I “grew up” with an Ortofon OM10 and an Empire 2000 EIII so these are my primary reference points other than CD’s or FM radio. I found the Ortofon detailed but not very warm and the Empire warm but not very detailed. By comparison, the XSV3000 provides very good clean detail all across the frequency spectrum without overemphasizing any. It also tracks very nicely at 1.5g. When listening, Eric Clapton’s “Slowhand” sounds so lifelike with the XSV it’s spooky and in Dire Straits “Brothers in Arms” the soundstage is so good the guitar work comes at you from all over the room. The real test was Linda Ronstadt’s voice and it handled her high pitches without any crackle, as was the problem with other cartridges. Dave Brubeck’s Take Five also sounds amazing.

I should point out that I also bought a Pickering uV15-750 on Ebay. While I really like it too, I find it lacks the low frequency punch offered by the XSV3000 but is a little livelier and even more detailed in the high end. This is particularly appreciated when listening to the likes of Gordon Lightfoot and other acoustic guitarists. The uV15 is much less forgiving of any LP that is less than mint condition though.

My question then for anyone familiar with the XSV3000 is whether it’s worth trying to upgrade again and if so what should I be looking for (listening for) in the next level up? I’d prefer to stick to MM technology.

Some Specs: 10-30kHz; 4.7mV output; 35dB Channel Separation; Tracks at .75 – 1.5g.

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Product Weakness:	Discontinued?
Product Strengths:	Sonic detail, warm sound, handles high pitch recording passages with ease.

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Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	Marantz 2275
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	None
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Kenwood KD5070
Speakers:	Paradigm Model 9s
Cables/Interconnects:	Stock
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Any and All
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner

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