VPI Classic and ZYX Airy 3 X SB...good match?

One thing that concerns me about test records, is whether they can be relied upon? What if on test tracks, groove damage is eventually created? Then, is it an accurate means to judge?

Akin to the old saying (or something like it) "If a Bear farts in the Woods, and no one hears it, did it happen"?

Meaning, if you're not hearing distortion on the records you play, is one then trying to fix something that isn't broken?

I know many of us don't have the discerning ear that our friend Doug D. possesses, so we perhaps need the aid of certain tools to assist us.

I reckon in this case, it is not about the journey, and how you get there, but that you do get there some way, and somehow, to extracting the best sound your vinyl rig has to offer. Mark

Hi Mark,

I agree with you in a certain way.
Fine tune has to be done by listening, but certain things need to rely on precise measurements to maximaze the result.

An example:

How would you set the azimuth of your cart?

You first regulate it with a mirror and then, you can either trying to audition few known recordings or you can do it with a DMM and a special track.
While the first is more subjected to personal preference and can lead to a non-optimum result (i.e. you might prefere the sound on that vinyl a certain way and second you do not know how the recording was done) the other is more scientifical way.

I think same thing applies to AS regulation and VTF.

Sometime distortion, limited distortion, might be perceived as something "different".
There are interest studies in this sense.

IMHO It is very important to find scientific and especially repeatable measurements that can easily give you reading of distortion and other parameters.

It is the first time I am trying to set the cart as precise as possible, maybe because this is my first very high end cartridge.
The VPI tonearm lets me regulate the azimuth easily VTF and all the other parameters and that makes things easier.

I'm looking at buying an Airy 3 as well, and getting a Prime. I would like to know if the SB , which adds several hundred dollars to the cartridge, is necessary, or could I use the addon weight I currently have on my VPI JMW10. In other words, does the silver make a difference? I see they also sell a Copper weight as well.
Carl

Brrgrr,

The purpose of the SB option is to get the effective mass of the cartridge/tonearm combo high enough to get into the range where a ZYX performs best. From my experience with many ZYX models and reports of others, that range is somewhere around 15-20gm or so.

So, total up the effective mass of your tonearm, the weight of the cartridge and mounting screws. Then add whatever additional weight you need (at the headshell end) to reach 15-20gm.

Whether you add the weight with ZYX's SB option, VPI's headshell weights or otherwise won't matter insofar as effective mass is concerned. Of course the fact that ZYZ's SB weight is glued to the cartridge probably effects the propagation of stray energies differently than a VPI weight, but I can't say which would be better as I haven't compared. All my ZYXs have been with the SB.

P.S. ZYX doesn't sell a copper weight as far as I know. The only weight option is the "SB" option. What ZYX offers in copper, silver or gold are different material options for the coils.

The silver base on ZYX cartridges is not the same as adding a flat head shell weight, like the VPI weight.

The silver base is not flat on the bottom, but contoured to fit "up to" and contact, the moving coil "engine", and damp vibrations throughout the cartridge body, in addition to, adding effective mass.