Diva with Audio Origami PU7 arm and Dynavector 10×5
After mounting the Dynavector 10×5 cartridge in the PU7 arm I made sure to adjust the VTA precisely correctly. Thanks to the arm’s integral adjustment system and with the aid of the perspex tools, this was made easy.
With the VTF again set to 2,0 grams and the phono preamp again set to 40dB gain and a 47kOhm loading, listening commenced.
Listening
Oh yes, now, we’re cooking with gas! Now that the Diva is paired with the Audio Origami arm, there’s not even a hint of the former matter-of-factness that was seemingly induced by the Dynavector cartridge, all of that now substituted with precisely the right balance between smoothness and neutrality. It’s like listening to an entirely different cartridge! But not only that, but this arm also makes it like I am listening to another turntable!
Of course, it bears repeating that the TA-1 and TA-3 are only entry-level tonearms. Although they can lead to great results when matched with a synergistic cartridge, it is obvious that the Diva and Sequel are deserving of a much better arm.
Suddenly, I recall having struggled with the Michell Gyro SE over a decade ago. I upgraded it with the HR PSU and tried several cartridges and phono stages but at the end of the day, its sound never moved me. I even added the Orbe platter upgrade but, if anything, that made it even worse. Ultimately, I gave up and sold the turntable, and my record collection with it, which I regret to this day. Now guess what tonearm I used? A Tecnoarm indeed, which is of course based on a Rega. With the knowledge that I have now, it seems obvious that the arm was the culprit and not the turntable.
In any event, with the PU7, the Diva has been positively transformed. It still sounds extraordinarily coherent and upbeat, delightfully agile and firmly planted, and although not as forward and hard in the midrange as with the TA-3, it’s just as expressive and energetic but with more smoothness and massively increased subtlety. This arm does not stand in the way of a wide dynamic range and depending on the software, it can really startle! But unlike the TA-1 and TA-3, it just follows the energy in the grooves rather than always pushing the sound forward, making for a much more naturally breathing performance.
The arm’s supremacy is also very obvious in the treble that has massively increased resolution and subtlety whilst being considerably airier. Also, I’d swear that the turntable now tracks even more smoothly. Lastly, the Diva now sounds more spacious in all dimensions, but most noticeably in the depth plane. No, the imaging is still not quite as large and floaty as the Sequel with the TA-3 arm but it’s gotten much closer.
By the way, one does not need to connect the arm’s earth wire (Rega arms don’t even have it), but with the Audio Origami, I found that the focus, grip, and immediacy increased when I did.
With the TA-3 arm, the 40dB gain setting on the preamp was ideal, but with the PU7, the final touch was setting the preamp to the higher 50dB gain setting, leading to just the right balance between clarity and smoothness and adding a little bit of extra liveliness, whilst retaining the music’s inner beauty and the natural flow.
Compared with the TA-3 arm, the Audio Origami arm provides a fuller bass with more body and a richer, slightly more relaxed midrange. Going back to my Linn experiences once more, I felt that this arm was not ideally suited for the LP12, at least not if you want to achieve the maximum in PRaT and punchiness. With the Diva, however, this reservation simply does not apply. Here, the sound has absolutely astonishing PRaT!
Having played all kinds of music, my impression is that the Diva does not seem to have a preference one way or another, it just plays everything beautifully. Marvin Gaye’s Midnight Love in and of itself is certainly not anything special in terms of production but on the Diva, it had me swinging and connecting emotionally and Azymuth’s latest album Feniks was simply spectacular. When playing Chic’s Tongue In Chic, the sound appears a little small and flat but to be fair, that’s just how these records are produced. A cross-check with the Origin Live Calypso Mk4 reveals that this turntable does add more flow and has a more spacious feeling with this record. On the other hand, the Origin Live lags behind the Diva in terms of solidity and all-out propulsion.
In summary, dimensionally, and in terms of flow, there might be more to had but in terms of rhythm and groove, the Diva is absolutely fantastic. Even as I was preparing dinner in the adjacent kitchen, I was positively swinging out to the music. It occurred to me that the Diva has absolutely brilliant funk-powers, probably in line with high-end Direct Drive designs but minus the timbral thinning that often occurs with such designs.
Now, I only wondered what would happen if I mounted the Audio Origami arm in the Sequel turntable!
Sequel with Audio Origami PU7 arm and Dynavector 10×5
Since the arm boards versus the platter surface distances are identical between Diva and Sequel, the arm swap was done in no time and leaving the phono preamp settings unchanged, listening could resume in minutes.
I cued the same record as last used with the Diva, and… Ohlala, fair is fair, the Sequel may cost double but its performance is also easily twice as good if that can even be quantified like so. Honestly, after the great results with the Diva and the PU7 arm, I did not think that there would be much room left for improvement but clearly, I was wrong. This was something else!
While retaining most everything that worked so well with the Diva, the sound with the Sequel is richer, fuller, and more liquid but most of all, the imaging is wider, deeper, and freer. And just like I noticed with the TA-3 arm on this turntable, the Sequel renders spatial images within the soundstage more realistically and with greater separation.
When it comes to room-filling ambiance and the sense of organic flow, the Origin Live Calypso remains most impressive. Of the two AVIDs, the Sequel certainly comes closest in these fields. On the other hand, both the Diva and the Sequel have a ballsier, more solid, and more earthy sound. These differences are only to be expected when looking at the designs of the two players. With the AVID, solidity and a total absence of torsion come first while literally everything about the Origin Live is slightly loose and springy. They’re just two very different designs. But there are many roads to audio nirvana as long as one finds the ideal balance. For instance, unless you want a very romantic sound, the springy Origin Live works best with robust and astute-sounding cartridges (which is why I used the Aidas), while the more neutral and more controlled AVIDs can be taken either way.
While on the subject, and for those who like shootouts, I’ll probably disappoint by saying that I would rate the Origin Live (with Multi-Layer Platter, Illustrious arm, and Silver Hybrid cable) on the same level as the AVID Sequel. Both are simply excellent. They have different but equally valid presentations. To be honest, I could happily live with either, and actually, I have lived with the AVID for several months whilst using it for listening sessions and tests, and all that time it proved to be superbly dependable.
After these impressive results, I recalled first listening to the AVID Volvere and how I had found it to be technically sublime but emotionally withheld. Now, I have a strong feeling that the SME tonearm must have been responsible for this. Alas, SME no longer supplies their products to other manufacturers, making it impossible for me to repeat the test unless I go looking on the second-hand market. But why would I, given that the Audio Origami arm works so beautifully?!
Finally, it’s worth mentioning that AVID is working on its own tonearms. These could be well worth investigating, judging by AVID’s engineering ingenuity and the preliminary images that I have seen. Especially the 3D-printed top model has my interest.
Hi, Christian!
Could you compare sound of Avid Diva with Thorens Td1601?
Kind regards,
Jurica
Hi Jurica, certainly, this is already on the agenda:-)
Hi Christiaan,
you tried an almost mind-boggling variety of combinations. Thank you! You left out only one: trying the OL Illustrious arm on the Diva or Sequel. I’d be curious how it compares with the Audio Origami. Thanks for always bringing insightful reviews!
It felt as quite mind-boggling at times, for sure, hahaha. Indeed, a comparison with the Illustrious would certainly be interesting. However, that would require some sort of modification by means of an adapter ring since the clearance in the gap underneath the Avid’s arm board is wide not enough to fit the Illustrious arm’s 3.7 cm nut. And even if it would fit, I wouldn’t want to do that with my own arm. The Illustrious is more tweaky than it would seem upon first sight. Now that I have gotten it carefully calibrated to sound just right on the Calypso deck, I don’t want to throw off the settings again. That said, I might still do the comparison at some point in the future when reviewing a new Origin Live tonearm and if I can be supplied with the required adapter ring.
Oh, sorry! I thought the Illustrious was perfectly compatible with Rega armboards. That’s what they say. As far as not wanting to mess with a prefect setup, I agree. I have the same arm…
As far as the geometry of the mounting hole in the Avid’s top adapter plate is concerned, yes, it should be compatible. But it’s not the Rega board that is the issue. The OL nut is too large to fit in the Avid’s relatively narrow integral arm extension cavity (that is below the Rega adapter plate). I would either need a large diameter ring to clamp the arm on the bottom part of the Avid’s extension section or a narrower nut and then it should work just fine.
I see, thank you!
Hi, I know this review is a few months old now but I thought you might be interested in my set up. AVID Ingenium p&p, Aluminium platter, RB880 tonearm and a newly fitted Audio Technica OC9XSH cartridge. This sounds incredible.
Cheers
Darren.
Hi Darren, nice to hear you opted for the Ingenium. Have you listened to the standard MDF version in comparison with the aluminium platter?
Hi Christiaan,
Sorry for the late reply your message went into my junk folder.
My Ingenium came with the MDF platter, it’s not bad to be honest but sounds dead compared to the aluminium one. Timing should be improved as well due to the weight. Not cheap but I’m very pleased with it.
Ah yes, that happens sometimes:-) Thanks for your feedback, sounds like you’re hearing what I suspected and the aluminum platter is indeed a worthy upgrade. Good to know!
Hello Christian,
Thanks for review of the Avid turntable range. I was really curious about your results. I am using a avid ingenium turntable for nearly a year and I wa really impressed by the sound. Before that u used an dial 621 turntable frob th good old seventies, which was fine for listening to music but I always wanted to have a new one and it took some time to find the right player. My local hifi dealer was really impressed by the ingenium and it was the first time hearing from these brand. After purchasing it I started to upgrade the ingenium with the michell tecnoarm II, which was a huge improvement soundwise and for near ky two weeks I have the metal platter spinning on my turntable which was a huge step in musical reproduction, especially in the the midrange the body is thicker and more or stable and the Soundstage is wider and details are much clearer to differentiate. I am using an audio technica vm 95sh and I want to di an upgrade with an Hana ML or with an Nagaoka 500. Which cartridge would you prefer. I am using a perreaux Amplifier with an perreaux vp3 Phono stage?
Hi Christian, between the Nagaoka and the Hana, it is mostly a matter of choosing between pacing, dynamics, and attack (Nagaoka) and smoothness, fluidity, and refinement (Hana). And also, the cart needs to match the tonearm. The Tecnoarm is a modified Rega RB250 and knowing that the Nagaoka works well with the Rega arms, I’d say that is a safe bet, unless you want a more soothing and friendly sound, in which case the Hana might be better.
Hi all! I just bought the Ingenium turntable. I will upgrade to aluminium platter asap. But there is one thing that bothers me, I have a lot of different mats also a brass mat, which is 3mm thick, I cannot find a way to adjust the tonearm height so I can experiment with the mats, some of them I have are even thicker than 3mm. Is there a way to make the adjustment??
The tonearm and turntable offer no means of height adjustment/VTA. But you can insert thicker washers between the tonearm and arm base.
Thank You for your kind answer. Ok, I will try with the washer, although this is not really an optimal solution …
With this tonearm and all entry-level Rega tonearms, that’s the only solution there is. Of course, there are better tonearms with more adjustment features and the Ingenium is well worth the extra expenditure that comes with higher-end tonearms.
With regards to adjusting the tone arm height, look at the Mitchel Engineering VTA. I have it and it very good. Also tone arm is very limited due to the very small hole. I decided upon RB880 and This works very well with the Ingenium. I also have an ATOC9XSH cart and the metal platter. Hope this helps, Darren
Excellent suggestion, Darren! I was not aware this existed for 3-point tonearm fixations.
@Dejan, look at Michell VTA Adjuster 2 or VTA Adjuster 3. I think you will need the latter. Also note that this adjuster raises the tonearm height by a few mm even at its lowest point.
Hi Christiaan,
thanks for your review, all you write sounds really credible and as far as I can say is clearly audible too. I used the Avid Diva II first with a Jelco 250 SA and a Goldring 2500, then I changed the pickup to a Transrotor Uccelo Reference (improved GR 1042) then I bought an Roksan Tabriz Zi and finally a Acoustical Systems FIDELES pickup. Every change was a nice step upward the audiophil ladder. Lately I changed the deck and went to the Avid Diva II SP, this meant to take four or fives step at once. Now the sound is so detailed, vivid, three dimensional and rhytmically precise that I can hardly believe it. Do you think with another tonearm (SME perhaps?) the journey could go even further?
Thanks and best regards
Nice! The AVID’s basis is so good that every step you take reaps benefits. I have no personal experience with Jelco tonearms but I do know that really good arms can cost, well, an arm and a leg. In other words, I’m afraid that you’ll again hear clear improvements as you upgrade the tonearm. However, a more expensive arm is not always better, sometimes, the match is less ideal and you actually go backwards. SME tonearms have a great reputation but you can no longer get one new. Alas, there are too many good arms out there and I’ve heard too few of them for me to make a proper recommendation.
Today, I upgraded my Avid Ingenium with an Van den Hul DTT Special cartridge. The Tonarm I use is a Michell Tecnoarm II and it sounds outstanding. I can highly recommend an upgrade of the Ingenium. I also use the metal platter, which brings big improvements on the overall sound and Imaging.
Even if the Ingenium sounds surprisingly good at the price, I am not a big fan of the MDF platter. As I understand it, the difference between it and the upgrade metal platter is similar to the difference in weight: substantial!