Calling all ZYX aficionados

Dear Dgad: +++++ " Raul dislikes the ZYX cartridges by quite some margin.. " +++++

I dislike not only for " I dislike ". Till to now the ZYX are faulty at the low bass spectrum of the music/sound reproduction, these cartridges are not up to compete with other top cartridges like: Dynavector XV-1, Allaerts MC2 Finish, Van denHul Colibri, etc.

I agree with you: MY PERSONAL OPINION.

Regards and enjoy the music.

Raul.

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Bryanp,
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As a side note, I have not found the ZYX UNIverse to be the least bit shy in the bass. It is fast, dyanmic and great on attacks while still being incredibly musical/emotional without any sense of brightness. The strong bass response is corroborated by 2 other good friends friends that also have a UNIverse in their system.
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Dogpile (interesting moniker),
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If you have an interest in the UNIverse, contact Mehran at Sora Sound. He is very helpful and would probably find a way to help you move up from the Airy3 to the UNIverse. Do try to get a low output version if at all possible.
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Rgds,
Larry
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I just received my UNIverse today - and since I didn't have my new phono preamp yet, I installed it on a friends Avid Acutus table for a quick listen. We did this during our lunch hour.

Before installing the UNIverse we listened to his Dynavector XV1s. My initial impression was that the Dynavector sounded great. In the first few minutes of listening, I mentioned to my friend that this was similar to the sound I was looking for. Upon continued listening, I'd say the Dynavector XV1s was somewhat slow, very precise and very refined. To some extent, the Dynavector XV1s and its highly refined character made me wonder if the cartridge would become somewhat boring to listen to over the long term. Instruments were scaled accurately but seemed somewhat recessed as if they were off in the distance - under developed harmonically & far less audible compared to vocals.

While we removed the Dynavector and mounted the ZYX UNIverse, we both commented about the "hi-fi" nature of the Shelter 901. The 901 being less refined somehow made listening more enjoyable - but the paradox is that the Shelter's splashy character always seemed to leave me craving more refinement.

Upon completing the installation of the UNIverse we listened.

What I can say to summarize my quick (15 minutes) with the UNIverse is that it clearly is a great cartridge - new right out of the box. It has similar refinement to the Dynavector but seems to have better developed harmonics which make it more interesting to listen to. Instruments and vocals seemed more balanced and equal. The pace of the UNIverse was to some extent on par with the Dynavector (somewhat slow). I wasn't expecting this because everything I've read about the ZYX cartridges proclaim it to be very fast - which was not my impression at all. Cartridges like the Shelter 901 or Benz LP seem to be much faster than either the XV1s or the UNI.

The UNIverse has a great precision again much like the Dynavector but couples that with an open transparency & sweeter more inviting highs that the Dynavector seems to lack altogether (in comparison).

My friend thought the UNIverse was "tubey" sounding - full bodied and somewhat rich in the mids. Again, this was different than what I expected - particularly having read much about the ZYX cartridges in general.

We both felt the UNIverse (not broken in) may to some extent exaggerate the size of instruments by a small fraction vs. the XV1s.

Well.. that's the best I can do in 15 minutes of listening to the new cartridge. I'll keep y'all posted as this thing breaks in.

So far I am very impressed.

Bwhite, Thanks for the nice summary.

I have the XV1s and i had owned Airy 2S (low Output) for few months. XV1s can be a bit too slow depending on loading and phono pre. but with Xono at 250 ohm it's really fast. It's a heavy monster cartridge and it's required really stable arm.

However,the XV1s brother, Te kaitora Rua is more suitable for my system and taste. The high seems to be more extended and has ribbon like sparkles compare with the XV1s. The mids is also sweeter without being too warm like my previous Benz 2. (Airy 2S is drier in comparison)

One more thing, Te Kaitora Rua costs $2,550 compare with $4000 for XV1s and $3000 for Airy 2S.

I'm looking forward for UNIverse someday.