Doug,could you enlighten me,as to the differences between the ZYX Univ "silver vs copper",as this is of interest to me?Thanks,in advance.
SirSpeedy,
I've had three UNIverses in my system: copper, silver and gold coils. (Gold is by special order, Mehran doesn't stock them.) The price is the same for all three IIRC.
The sonic differences were precisely the opposite of what I expected, precisely the opposite of what electrical conductivity would lead anyone to expect.
COPPER
Most neutral, least colored, comes closest to achieving live microdynamics, reproduces natural waveforms the best. Probably the most Colibri-like of the three UNIverses (remembering Mikelavigne's comparison). Easily my favorite and Paul's. Requires the most careful attention to VTF and especially VTA/SRA. No gain without the pain.
SILVER
Slightly warmed/smoothed, almost Koetsu-ish, which means we didn't like it at all. Mehran sells about as many of these as copper and many people love it. Just not our cup of tea, we do not tolerate rolled off transients. Cello and Vetterone also prefer the copper, but if this is the kind of thing you like, you'd like it!
GOLD
Very warmed/smoothed, more Koetsu-ish than a Koetsu. Personally it made me puke, but gold resists harsh chemical conditions well so it survived the short visit and the trip back to Mehran! Grado fans might enjoy it, or someone with a terribly edgy system that needed taming. We prefer accuracy at the source and fine tuning later if need be, but YMMV as always.
It took me forever to puzzle out why superior conductors created inferior results, but it's obvious if you forget electricity and consider the whole picture. Silver is denser than copper and gold is denser still. Extra mass on the cantilever means reduced transient speed and rolled off waveforms. It's like Twl's HIFI mod, mis-applied. Greater inertia on the tonearm increases stability, greater inertia on the cantilever impairs stylus freedom.
For me, this A/B/C comparison settled any argument about HO vs. LO MC's. Here were three identical MC cartridges, all of them highly resolving, the only difference being the coil material. The lowest mass coils produced notably more accurate results even though they were inferior from an electrical standpoint. End of argument. If the stylus can't trace the groove right it doesn't matter how well the electrons flow.
