New cart, step-up or ???

Dear Wc65mustang: Many. I really learn several audio topics in this forum every day.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

Dear Lugnut: Tks for your answer. It is incredible that with all your great live music experience you are in love with step up transformers: Do you think that if the signal has to pass for additional stages in a SUT: cables, connectors, transformers, etc, etc, this can be an improvement in the signal against direct path in a high gain phonopreamp?

Any signal that has to pass for additional audio stages suffer a high/heavy degradation and that's what happen with the signal on a SUT. No question about.

+++++ " You do not like tubes, insultingly calling them equalizers " +++++

I'm not insulting. I named for its true name: all them are a very expensive natural assorted equalizers. No question about. You and any one can't change that fact.

+++++ " You don't like my cartridge and likely have never heard one " +++++

I already heard three differents ZYX cartridges and I confirm here that the ZYX are faulty at both extremes of the frecuency range, especially at the bottom end.
In the past I already post opinions of people that does not like the ZYX quality sound reproduction, here it is one more about:

+++++ " to Analog heaven and I must confess.I was very distressed with the sound of any ZYX cartridge I heard including the Universe.The ZYX was colored ,cold sounding ,thin,somewhat brittle.It was like someone turned up an equiliser +6 dbs or more from the midband all the way up to the 20k region.I would say from about 5k to 20 k this cartridge has a steep high freq. rise,But maybe not but it sure sounds like that.
Yes it does sound artificially fast at first,But I heard no acoustic trail following any loud passages.I could hear no ambient information at all on any recordings.The midbass on the catridge is way to lean,and I could not hear any deep low bass power at all.Even the midbass was to light and lean.
The Lyra Titan was much better and accurate then the ZYX " +++++

This person had these experiences at the last Audiofest. I agree with him.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

Raul,

It's likely that the person that wrote negatively about the ZYX cartridge he heard at Audiofest was listening to the same cartridge I heard there as well. My comment to that vendor was that there was something grossly wrong with either setup or component matching and that my exact cartridge sounded way better right out of the box than their's did. Something was wrong, period. I know what that cartridge can do and if I were to have written criticism of the one I heard it would not been nearly as polite as the cut and paste critque you posted. The cartridge cannot be held accountable for improper installation, loading or phono stage settings used. Interestingly, you criticized several of us that auditioned several ZYX cartridges and tonearms in a fairly well organized scientifically controlled comparrison, insulting us in the process BUT you take this incredibly non-scientific display of one ZYX cartridge without any controls and give it absolute credibility. THAT indicates a closed and narrow mind. Do you have any retail affiliation with any cartridge or tonearm manufacturer? Are you a dealer of any audio products?

Regarding step up transformers vs. transistor gain stages. Are you trying to say that transistors do not also act as what you call equalizers? Somehow you are alluding to an unscientific fact that transistors impart no sonic signature. Hogwash. Admitedly, anything in the signal path imparts some type of signature to the sound. Is active gain always better than passive gain? If so, then please explain why some of the most revealing systems in the world use passive preamplifiers.

What three ZYX cartridges have you heard? Where did you hear them? Did you listen to them in solitude as you promote? What associated equipment was used? What loading did you use? How long were these listening sessions? Who else was in attendance?

Every one of these questions were laid out for all to see prior to anyone needing to ask when we did our experiments in Miami and you attacked our methods. Here is your chance to tell us all how it is really done in the world of super sci-fi a la Raul. Please disclose fully your testing procedures. Fair is fair Raul.

If mine, and others, opinions believe that stepup transformers are more faithful to live sound that active gain stages and we base these opinions on live music, then what is your problem with it? You cannot have things both ways Raul. Either we use live music for the comparrison or we do not. I do and have considerable seat time to back up my opinion.

I do not have any affiliation with any manufacturer other than a satisfied (or not) customer. Further, I have never had such a relationship in the past. I hold deep suspicions about your intentions Raul.

I give up.

I'm sorry I brought this thread back to life. I was just searching the archives for some information and thought it would be a good idea to post a note to see if Swampwalker and I could compare notes since we have similar components.

I guess sometimes threads are better left for dead.